Cross-functional Collaboration in CX Development

I used to believe Customer Success should drive the product roadmap. Here’s what I know now. The roadmap should be a collaborative design, built by Sales, CS, Support, Product, Marketing, and Leadership together. No one team sees the full picture. ▶️ Marketing sees market shifts. ▶️ Sales hears why deals are lost. ▶️ Leadership ties it all to strategy. ▶️ Product builds scalable solutions. ▶️ Support sees recurring pain points. ▶️ CS sees where customers struggle. When we isolate roadmap ownership, we build for one team. When we collaborate, we build for the entire business. Want true collaboration? Set it up intentionally: 1️⃣ Monthly cross-functional planning meetings: Bring leaders together to align on customer feedback, market signals, and business priorities. 2️⃣ Voice of Customer (VoC) programs: Collect real user feedback consistently — surveys, interviews, success metrics. 3️⃣ Closed-lost analysis with Sales: Review why deals are lost and what patterns could inform the roadmap. 4️⃣ Support ticket and escalation reviews: Identify top friction points that need attention. 5️⃣ Market research and trend studies: Analyze competitor moves and emerging trends quarterly. 6️⃣ Executive alignment sessions: Validate that roadmap priorities map directly to company strategy. The roadmap shouldn’t be a surprise. It should be a shared vision. One that every team feels connected to — and proud of. How does your company approach roadmap collaboration today? Because if you're only building with one team's input, you're only solving one piece of the puzzle. ____________________ 📣 If you liked my post, you’ll love my newsletter. Every week I share learnings, advice and strategies from my experience going from CSM to CCO. Join 12k+ subscribers of The Journey and turn insights into action. Sign up on my profile.

One of the biggest challenges in customer experience (CX) initiatives isn't just getting buy-in—it's making sure communication flows seamlessly across different teams to drive meaningful progress. It's not enough to have passionate people involved; it's about aligning everyone around a shared purpose and ensuring that action follows. I see it all the time—CX councils or teams that meet to discuss customer feedback, but the conversation doesn't always translate into real change. It's critical to go beyond just reviewing the numbers. We need to collaborate, co-create, and drive real impact for our customers. So how do we ensure communication within cross-functional teams leads to action? ▶️Structure your meetings to drive progress. If you have cross-functional buy-in, it's essential to manage those meetings effectively. Make sure that everyone understands their role, the goals, and what success looks like. It's not enough to simply review metrics—what are the actions you'll take based on those insights? ▶️Unify efforts across the organization. In many organizations, different teams—like those working on journey mapping and those focused on customer insights—work in silos. We need to bring those efforts together around your customer experience mission, ensuring that all teams are aligned with a shared definition of success. ▶️Be proactive and resourceful. Don't wait for things to fall through the cracks. Be a resource to your team members, follow up, and offer support where needed. This could mean helping a colleague facilitate a journey mapping session or providing customer feedback to help illustrate a challenge. Communication is key, but proactive support is what drives progress forward. When working cross-functionally, the responsibility doesn't end with the meeting. We need to be deliberate about setting expectations, following up on actions, and ensuring everyone understands how their efforts contribute to the larger customer experience mission. Great communication can turn fragmented efforts into unified progress. Let's make sure we're not just talking about customer experience, but working together to make it happen. How do you ensure effective communication across teams in your organization? Drop your process below! #CustomerExperience #CX #CrossFunctionalTeams #Collaboration #Leadership #Communication #CXStrategy #CustomerJourney

Strategy isn’t a slide. It’s a fight worth having. I’ve been quiet here for a day because I just came out of two intense, energizing sessions with our extended strategy team. And I’m still fired up. 💥 We pushed each other hard. We challenged assumptions. We laughed a lot. And we left with crystal-clear alignment and a shared determination to think bigger, move faster, and win as one team. Our focus: ✅ Think Big, Go Fast Not in months and quarters. In days and weeks. ✅ Win Every Key Moment in the Customer Journey Especially the ones that define value and long-term loyalty. ✅ Win as One Team Not your team, not my team. Our team. Rooted in shared goals, not personal preferences. For some reason, I usually get to help moderate these sessions. That’s no small task with 25 to 30 strong leaders in the room from every department. But it gives me a front-row seat into how we build alignment that lasts. Here’s what works for us and might work for you: 1️⃣ Be clear up front Why are we meeting? What are the most important objectives? And how exactly are we going to win together? Set the tone early. Remove ambiguity. Drive purpose. 2️⃣ Bring the voice of the customer into the room 🎤 The most substantial alignment starts with empathy and clarity around what matters most to our customers. When we anchor the conversation in value needed and delivered, priorities become clearer and conflict becomes productive. Customer insights create unity. 3️⃣ Make cross-functional ownership real 🤝 Everyone says “we’re one team.” But real alignment means we walk out with shared KPIs, not siloed tasks. Product, Sales, CS, Ops, we all succeed only when we move together. 💬 So here's my call to action for you today: If you’re leading in CS, CX, Product, or Revenue, and you’re halfway through Q3, ask yourself: Are you chasing alignment? Or are you building it through purpose, participation, and shared accountability? The next level doesn’t arrive by accident. We create it. Together. #CreateTheFuture #LeadershipInAction #CustomerSuccess #StrategyExecution #CrossFunctionalAlignment #OneTeamOneMission #Q3Momentum

Everyone talks about cross-functional collaboration. But, most senior leaders are incentivized to protect their territory. I've guided and worked on many transformation projects, and the change happens when you flip the script. Here's what actually works to turn territorial leaders into enthusiastic partners: 1. Speak the universal language of business outcomes A CTO I worked with, transformed resistance into momentum by starting here: "Our time-to-market is 3x industry average. What could we unlock by cutting that in half?" Suddenly, the CFO saw cost savings. Marketing saw competitive advantage. Sales saw bigger wins. 2. Translate value in their metrics. Your innovation might mean: - Revenue lift (Sales) - Efficiency gains (Operations) - Brand equity (Marketing) - Risk reduction (Legal) Connect your initiative to what they measure. 3. Build proof with micro-wins. Start small. A quick pilot. A 2-week experiment. Show them real results in their world, not PowerPoint promises. 🫀 Here's what happens: When stakeholders see their success metrics improving, turf wars dissolve into transformation stories. I've watched this work in Fortune 500s and startups alike. The key? Stop selling your project. Start amplifying their impact. 💡 What's your experience? Have you seen other approaches that turn skeptical stakeholders into strategic partners? ♻️ Share this with a leader who may benefit from this ➕ Follow Shirley Braun , Ph.D., PCC , for insights on leadership, scaling, and transformation that sticks.

We assume our managers know everything we’re doing and the value we’re creating. They don’t. Years ago, I faced a challenge with a department that consistently missed deliverables. The frustration was building on both sides—they felt overwhelmed by competing priorities, and we felt let down by promises unfulfilled. That’s when I developed what I call “Three-Point Landings” - a simple but powerful approach to cross-functional collaboration: 1. WHAT are you going to deliver? 2. HOW are you going to deliver it? 3. WHEN will it be delivered? It sounds basic, but I’ve found that most breakdowns in trust happen not because people don’t want to deliver, but because expectations were assumed rather than explicitly stated. With one particularly challenged IT department, we got to the point where we would actually write these three points on paper and have their leader sign it. When deliverables were met, we’d celebrate by posting them above their office door with a “Way to Go” sign. When expectations weren’t met, the rule was simple: come back and renegotiate before the deadline. This approach transformed our working relationship, created accountability, and built trust between departments—which is really important when navigating matrix environments. I’ve since used it with finance teams, marketing partners, and even in conversations with my own leaders. The next time you’re collaborating across departments, try this approach. You might be surprised how something so simple can be so transformative. #Leadership #CrossFunctionalTeams #ExpectationSetting #TransformativeLeadership

Everyone talks about cross-functional teams like they're the answer to everything. Get product, engineering, design, operations and business stakeholders in the room. Collaborate. Make decisions together. Sounds great. Here's what sometimes happens: you often end up in endless debates where nobody can make a call because everyone has veto power. Cross-functional doesn't mean everyone gets a vote on everything. It means everyone brings their expertise to the table, but someone still needs to make the final decision. Typically product owns the what and why. Engineering owns the how. Design owns the experience. Operations owns the execution. Business stakeholders provide context and constraints. But when it's time to decide, you need clear ownership. Otherwise you're designing by committee, and that's how you end up with products that make nobody happy. Before you give everyone a seat at the table, make sure you know who’s in charge. Who gives sign-off on next steps? Who overrides the committee if you can’t get consensus? Collaboration and broader insight is key, but it can't cause swirl. Then, bring everyone in. But make sure someone has the space and responsibility to take action afterwards.  

When was the last time your executives met with your customers? Customer Success isn’t a single department’s responsibility—it’s an organizational mindset. The most successful companies I've worked with weave executives and cross-functional leaders into every stage of the customer journey. Your customers don’t just buy from a company. They buy into the people behind it. How are your leaders showing up? Here are a few ways to engage leaders and teams across your org: 🤝 Exec Sponsorship: Assign senior leaders as sponsors for strategic accounts. This creates a direct line of communication for your customers and also gives your execs a front row seat to feedback and the actual customer experience. 🤝 Cross-Functional Business Reviews: Bring leaders from Product, Sales, Ops, etc. into QBRs, EBRs, or key account reviews. Their insights often uncover new growth opportunities or identify gaps in delivery. 🤝 Unified Company Goals and Themes: Align your entire organization around customer-centric metrics like NRR, retention, and customer satisfaction. I'm a big fan of company wide themes that put the customer at the center. When every department is working toward the same outcomes, silos disappear. 🤝 Tiger Teams: Form cross-functional "tiger teams" to tackle specific customer challenges or opportunities. 🤝 Hackathons and Innovation Labs: Engage both customers and internal teams in hackathons to co-create solutions that directly address customer pain points. 🤝 Go-to-Market Collab: Encourage CS, Sales, and Marketing to collab on messaging, events, and campaigns that will resonate best with your customers. 🤝 Customer Advocacy and CABs: Involve execs in customer-facing events like webinars, product launches, or industry panels. Invite them to the customer advisory board meetings. 🤝 Customer Stories in Company Meetings: Incorporate customer stories and voices into company all hands or leadership offsites. Invite a customer to share their journey, successes, and challenges with your teams. Hearing how your product impacts their business helps other teams feel like they are part of something bigger.... How are you engaging executives and cross-functional leaders in your customer journey today? Are there specific strategies or moments where their involvement has made a measurable impact? I'm looking for ideas!!

This week a recruiter asked me: “How did you get Engineering, Marketing, and Finance to align on the same roadmap?” I paused. It made me think — because the truth is, they never fully aligned. They just committed. Over the last few years, I’ve led 10+ cross-functional v-teams across Engineering, Marketing, Finance, and Data Science at Microsoft, AWS, and Expedia. Every time, I learned that leading without authority is the hardest and most valuable skill to master. Here are 5 lessons I learned (mostly the hard way): 👇 1️⃣ Alignment ≠ Agreement Stop chasing consensus. Chase commitment. After weeks of debate on telemetry standards, I finally said: “Here’s the decision. Who’s blocking?” Silence. ✅ Shipped. No drama. 2️⃣ Speak Their Language 💻 Engineering → scalability & precision 💰 Finance → ROI & risk 🚀 Marketing → agility & storytelling One project. Three translations. 3️⃣ Make Others the Hero Don’t say: “My framework drove $100M in decisions.” Say: “Engineering’s optimization saved $100M — enabled by better data.” Your success is measured by how much you amplify others. 4️⃣ Over-Communicate (then some) If you think you’re over-communicating, you’re probably only halfway there. Weekly syncs + async recaps = trust and velocity. 5️⃣ Earn Trust Before You Ask for Anything I spent my first 90 days helping everyone else solve their problems. By month 4, they were volunteering to help with mine. Cross-functional leadership isn’t about authority. It’s about clarity, empathy, and persistence. #Leadership #ProductManagement #ProductStrategy #Analytics #Growth #CrossFunctional #DataDriven #Hiring #CareerLessons

CX will drive growth in 2025… or disappear trying. 👻 In 2025, CX teams face a brutal truth: if they can’t prove their ROI, they risk irrelevance. Leadership wants to see how CX drives revenue or cuts costs—but few are able to make the connection. Here’s the opportunity: CX teams that deeply understand the customer data—behavior, financial, operational, and sentiment—will have the power to innovate in ways that directly impact the bottom line. The key to making this happen? Partnerships. CX must partner with commercial teams (sales and customer success) to align on shared goals. Demonstrating how CX grew revenue wins with the C-suite. CX must also collaborate with IT to democratize customer data, making it accessible and actionable across the organization. The CX teams that master this cross-functional collaboration will not only prove their value—they’ll be indispensable. 2025 is a make-or-break year for CX. How is your company planning to drive real impact with CX next year?

Become the Connector: Cross-Functional Influence Keeps Customer Marketing Essential Customer marketing does not live in a silo. And neither should you. Too many customer marketers wait for permission to join the conversation. 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗽 𝘄𝗮𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆. This is how you stay funded, trusted, and impossible to cut — especially when budgets are tight: 1️⃣ Stop waiting for permission Jump in: - Join pipeline reviews. - Sit in on product roadmap meetings. - Show up at CS standups. Bring customer insights that teams can act on immediately. Don’t ask for a seat. Bring your own chair — and data. 2️⃣ Solve problems across the customer journey Your work should close gaps, not just run campaigns. Ask: 👉 Where are customers stuck? 👉 How can I bridge that gap? Examples: ✅ Sales cycles dragging? Build quick, compelling customer proof. ✅ Onboarding slow? Create a customer jump quick-start guide with real wins. ✅ Retention dipping? Partner with CS to spotlight adoption risks to mitigate in lifecycle programs. 3️⃣ Be the source of insights everyone wants Customer marketers have a unique 360° view. Use it — and share it. - Package champion feedback for Product. - Bring win/loss insights to Sales and CS. - Share success patterns with Marketing. When you do this, you’re not just running programs — 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺. Cross-functional influence transforms your role from nice-to-have to must-have. 𝗬𝗼𝘂 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗼𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄𝘁𝗵 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗻𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁. In tough times, that’s how you stay funded, valued, and strategic. 📌 Next up in this series: How to lead these conversations with execs — and get buy-in for bigger bets. 👇 What’s one thing you’re doing right now to build cross-functional trust? Drop your tip below. #CustomerMarketing #CustomerAdvocacy #CrossFunctional #B2BMarketing #CustomerLedGrowth #GrowthLeadership #Retention #Expansion #PipelineInfluence #CustomerEngagement