Overcoming challenges on the way to common goals
Although obstacles can arise along the way to achieving shared goals, Harve stressed the importance of being wise to focus on long-term solutions to obstacles rather than addressing them with quick fixes. “It starts with at least recognizing that there is a challenge,” she said. “It’s not about people just putting up barriers for no reason, it’s about understanding the why and addressing it.”
Gardiner stressed the importance of agreeing on common goals, business objectives and key performance indicators early on. “How do you identify those common goals in advance – business objectives, business KPIs?” she asked. “How do we identify those in advance so that everyone feels like they’re fully engaged, so to speak, and knows exactly what’s expected?”
Ensuring that everyone is involved in the success of the project not only promotes accountability, but also facilitates iterative progress, allowing for adjustments and refinements over time.
Managing conflicts while driving innovation
Conflict is inevitable in any collaborative environment, and panelists presented valuable strategies for managing and containing it. Cutter said REI has convened what it calls a “product council” for the past few years.
“We bring together product leaders, development leaders and UX leaders from across the organization to get things cleared up,” she said, which promotes accountability and transparency.
Harve emphasized the role of risk management in driving innovation, pointing out that constraints can often lead to creative solutions. “Constraints can drive innovation,” Ertell agreed. “I think we’ve been able to mitigate a lot of conflict just by A/B testing,” Cutter said, adding that “the emotions are taken out. It’s all about data.” Teams can experiment and find the best solutions without significant friction, eliminating potential bias.
Another key aspect discussed was the need for flexibility and alignment with cross-departmental partners. “Ultimately, it’s about aligning with your cross-departmental partners,” Cutter said, and making sure you’re training senior leadership.
“Our teams really deal with a lot of technical aspects, and that needs to be communicated to the leaders,” she said. “They will not and do not need to understand all the technical details of how we are going to implement something.”
