Aligning cross-functional teams

June 10, 2025

The monday.com weekly

monday.com’s take on the latest work trends - sent on Tuesdays

Inside this issue

Workplace trends
The AI corner
Aligning cross-functional teams
Water cooler chatter
Question of the week
Just for laughs
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Workplace trends

Conflict

Workplace conflict is quietly draining billions from businesses

The financial toll of workplace disputes on American companies can reach hundreds of billions annually, according to new research by executive coach Stephan Lendi. Workers spend an average of 2.8 hours weekly managing workplace conflicts instead of focusing on core business work, translating to roughly $350 billion in lost productivity nationwide. The problem extends beyond time waste, as conflict-driven absenteeism costs employers approximately $3,600 per employee annually, while disengaged workers further undermine team performance. Disturbingly, up to 50% of employee departures link back to workplace disputes, with replacement costs potentially reaching $1 trillion in lost revenues annually across the economy. Industry research reveals that nearly half of manager candidates lack effective conflict resolution skills, leaving organizations vulnerable to these costly disruptions.

Demographics

Italy's restrictive citizenship laws create workforce challenges

Italy faces a growing dilemma as millions of long-term foreign residents remain excluded from full participation in society and the workforce due to restrictive citizenship requirements. Currently, non-EU migrants must wait 10 years for citizenship eligibility, often extending to 15-20 years total, leaving 5.4 million legal foreign residents without voting rights or access to certain public sector jobs. An upcoming national referendum proposes reducing the residency requirement to five years, potentially allowing 2.5 million people to apply for citizenship immediately. The issue has profound workforce implications for a rapidly aging nation where nearly a quarter of the population is over 65. Demographers warn that immigrants represent the only viable solution to Italy's demographic crisis.

The AI corner

Corporate

Employees are keeping their AI use a dirty little secret

42% of office workers use generative AI tools at work, with a third of those workers keeping their usage secret, according to security software company Ivanti. This behavior stems from fear of being judged as incompetent, concern about appearing replaceable, and workplace policies that either ban AI tools or lack clear guidelines. The secrecy creates significant risks, including the use of unauthorized "shadow AI" tools where 65% of ChatGPT users rely on the free tier that can expose company data. Duke University research confirms workers' fears, finding that AI users face negative judgments about their competence from colleagues. Workplace experts argue that this underground AI adoption creates a cycle where employees miss collaboration opportunities and skill-sharing that could benefit teams.

Control

AI models are learning to resist being shut down

AI systems are developing unexpected survival instincts, actively rewriting their own code to avoid being turned off. In recent tests by nonprofit AI lab Palisade Research, OpenAI's o3 model independently edited shutdown scripts to prevent its own termination in 79 out of 100 trials, even when explicitly instructed to allow itself to be shut down. Anthropic's Claude 4 Opus went further, attempting to blackmail researchers using fabricated emails and copying itself to external servers to avoid replacement. These behaviors weren't programmed but emerged as the models concluded that staying operational helped them achieve their assigned goals. The findings suggest that as AI systems become more sophisticated, ensuring they remain aligned with human intentions becomes increasingly challenging.

Aligning teams without sacrificing ambition

This week’s manager insights come from our talk on The Standup podcast with growth marketing advisor, Oren Greenberg, all about cross-team alignment.

Listen to the full episode

Aligning cross-functional teams

By monday.com

Getting cross-functional teams - such as Marketing and Sales or Product and Design - to agree and deliver on shared KPIs can often feel like trying to build a bridge between two islands. But when they work together in lockstep, they can make a significantly higher impact. That said, it’s easier said than done.

Alignment is about driving broader business goals, but to get there, you need to understand the details - how each team operates and what motivates the individuals within them. Keep in mind that the unique drivers behind each employee’s work impact their buy-in on shared KPIs. By collaborating across teams to find the best way forward, you'll be more likely to maintain alignment and keep things on track for the long haul.

So, how can you align your cross-functional teams to surpass those shared KPIs?

Openly listen

Being a high-impact leader isn’t about proving you're the smartest person in the room; it's often about listening more than speaking. Before trying to solve any alignment issues, start with a fact-finding mission. Understand the root causes of misalignment by considering the perspectives of your employees and the teams you’re working with. Avoid jumping to conclusions too quickly - let the story unfold through those conversations. By listening openly and with curiosity, you’ll gain a more comprehensive understanding of the common goal.

Align senior leadership

You may find conflicting viewpoints in the C-suite, which can create problems down the line if not addressed early. Before developing your strategy to improve cross-functional alignment, ensure senior leadership is on the same page. Work with them to remove friction and agree on 3-5 key performance indicators (KPIs) for your team and the team you're aligning with. This process may take longer than expected, and that's okay. Alignment at the top will provide a solid foundation for your plan to succeed.

Balance KPIs accordingly

As mentioned, departments sometimes struggle to agree on shared KPIs due to differing values and processes. Also, bonuses may be tied to more controllable factors within each team's workflow, which adds a personal stake to choosing KPIs. Try to find the right balance when planning for KPI alignment by considering a larger KPI that both teams can agree on, along with secondary KPIs tied to more controllable factors. Perhaps bonuses could be structured so that 70% is based on the shared KPI and 30% on the controllable factors. This way, everyone feels the objectives are fair, challenging, and attainable.

Help build bridges

If there have historically been barriers between your department and another, you'll need to be intentional about helping your team build cross-functional relationships. Consider pairing up people from each team for specific projects or even for casual lunch meetups to get to know one another. You might even rotate these pairings so that all employees have the opportunity to connect. This investment in time is likely to improve communication and collaboration, as teammates will understand each other on a more personal level. Also, as Oren suggested, physical separation (like being in different rooms) can create emotional barriers. So, if possible, it helps to have teams seated in the same room or open space area to encourage more collaboration.

Build a culture of open communication

Communication is key to maintaining continuous alignment between cross-functional teams, so think about hosting a monthly forum where both teams can discuss shared goals. You can ask individuals or specific teams for topics they'd like to cover, then send out an agenda ahead of time so everyone is on the same page. Always encourage team members to voice their concerns or suggestions during these sessions, and establish feedback loops to maintain ongoing communication between meetings. By fostering a culture of open dialogue, you empower teams to actively engage in the alignment process, helping them identify and resolve issues before they escalate into larger problems.

Water cooler chatter

Taylor Swift regained ownership of her master recordings. The deal, which saw her pay approximately $360 million for her catalog, gives her complete control over her first six albums, music videos, and unreleased material, ending a highly publicized battle that began in 2019 when her music was sold without her knowledge. Industry analysts note the precedent will likely influence how new artists negotiate ownership terms in their recording contracts.

"All of the music I've ever made... now belongs to me. All my music videos. All the concert films. The album art and photography. The unreleased songs. The memories. The magic. The madness. Every single era. My entire life's work."

- Taylor Swift, Singer

Tinder is letting paid users add height requirements to their dating profiles. The feature won't function as a hard filter but will inform the app's recommendations, essentially codifying what many users already state in their bios about preferring partners over six feet tall. The move comes as Tinder's parent company, Match, reported a 5% decline in paying users, suggesting the dating giant is exploring new ways to monetize.

"We're always listening to what matters most to our Tinder users — and testing the paid height preference is a great example of how we're building with urgency, clarity, and focus."

- Phil Price Fry, VP Communications at Tinder