The BRIDGE Method: How Cross-Functional Projects Can Accelerate Business

Forbes

a day ago

Bihag Karnani, Growth Product Leader, Google Search.
Even as corporate culture has shifted from performing well in an in-person setting to performing well in a hybrid setting for career growth, the one facet that has remained consistent is that professionals who can create and execute large cross-functional projects are considered high-potential professionals, and this one skill can act as a career accelerator for most. The complexities and challenges that accompany creating and running projects that span multiple teams, departments and stakeholders are recognized by most leaders. As a result, professionals who master this art come into the focus for better opportunities and promotions as they earn broader visibility and recognition throughout the organization.
However, most professionals approach any cross-functional project relying on goodwill and hoping logical arguments will help them overcome any challenges. The reality is that success in cross-functional projects requires an approach to gathering information, building consensus and influencing decision makers across teams.
The BRIDGE Framework: Your Path To Cross-Functional Success
After assessing multiple successful cross-functional leaders and analyzing what separates the winners from the lucky, I created the BRIDGE framework—a systematic approach to getting buy-in and building influence necessary for large project success:
B: Build your foundation.
R: Research and reconnaissance.
I: Identify key influencers.
D: Develop targeted pitches.
G: Gather stakeholder alignment.
E: Execute with documented buy-in.
This framework has several actionable steps that are broken down in greater detail below.
Ensuring that your own home base is secured before reaching out to other teams is a crucial first step. Get buy-in for your idea from your own key stakeholders—your manager and closest counterparts within your immediate circle.
They provide air cover when things become challenging and provide much required feedback for your approach. Many times, members of this group will open up their own network of influence and open doors you might not directly have access to.
Jumping straight into meetings with decision makers instead of understanding what actually drives the other team's priorities and metrics is a quick path to failure.
Intelligence gathering is a key first step when reaching out to another team. Meet with someone close enough to the team, but not necessarily the direct person you need to influence. This could be someone you've worked with on a previous occasion, a social contact, a peer-level contact or even someone from your extended network who might have insight into the target team.
A few questions to maximize this initial but crucial meeting can be:
• What are this team's goals and focus areas this year?
• Which metrics and KPIs actually matter to them?
• Who are the real decision makers and influencers?
• What previous initiatives have succeeded or failed, and why?
• Who in their organization might care most about your proposed project?
The insights gained in this meeting become invaluable for crafting your future approach.
Now you're in a position to identify the person in the target organization who's most likely to care about your project. Most importantly, the higher this person is in the organization, the better it is, since they can sponsor this project rather than just participate.
It might be best to ask your contact for an introduction email to the influencer. Usually, warm introductions carry more weight than cold outreaches. Once you've been introduced, set up a one-on-one meeting with this influencer. This meeting is your opportunity to validate or invalidate the information your contact shared with you while simultaneously building a relationship with a potential project champion.
You're now armed with which metrics matter most to the team, so you can gather and analyze data. It's important to lead your arguments based on their priorities, as you've learned them from the key influencer.
Get your sales pitch reviewed by your insider and then implement their feedback religiously. Tailor your pitch specifically to this audience by addressing their goals, metrics and pain points. It's important to ensure the project drives results for them.
Now, it's time to start building consensus. Start with a small circle of decision makers. It's important to build momentum with key influencers before expanding to the broader audience group.
Present your pitch to this circle and carefully note their feedback to improve the pitch even further. Once you've gotten this group's buy-in, expand to the next broader set of decision makers from both sides. These would include counterparts at your level, their managers and the people who will actually execute the work.
Here's a pro tip: Meet any key decision makers and influencers 1:1 before this large meeting. It's essential not to surprise key stakeholders in a group setting so they get a preview and have the opportunity to ask any questions privately.
If you've followed steps 1-5, this final meeting would feel more like a formality than a nail-biting negotiation. In addition to getting verbal agreement in meetings, it's crucial to document this buy-in. Sending a follow-up email that confirms everyone's commitments and outlines next steps. This documentation will prevent misunderstandings and create a sense of accountability.
Your Next Steps
The BRIDGE framework is a practical methodology you can start utilizing immediately. Begin by identifying a small cross-functional initiative to practice this approach. Build the foundation, perform the reconnaissance and work through each step systematically. It's important to get the practice in with smaller, lower-stakes projects to learn the kinks and nuances of the framework and your own personal approach before using the approach in large-stakes projects.
Mastering these skills empowers you to create visibility to senior leadership across the organization, not just within your immediate team. This approach will help you build a reputation as a leader who can make things happen across organizational boundaries.
Start small, practice consistently and watch your career accelerate as a result of driving cross-functional success.
Forbes Technology Council is an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs and technology executives. Do I qualify?