Engineering leaders must inspire contributors and motivate collaboration to meet the demands of complex projects and ensure their success. The Master of Science (M.S.) in Engineering Leadership program offered online by The University of Texas at Tyler (UT Tyler) equips graduates with the skills and insights needed to manage engineering teams and technical projects across various economic sectors.
The curriculum focuses on developing expertise in the role of collaboration in engineering leadership in building cross-functional teams. The course Leading Complex Technical Organizations, for instance, focuses on nurturing a culture that balances innovation, efficiency and continuous improvement. The Organizational Behavior course and Engineering Leadership and Professionalism course teach students how to achieve corporate objectives through leadership and communicate and lead effectively in an evolving engineering landscape.
What Are the Key Principles for Cross-team Collaboration in Engineering?
An article from Indeed on engineering leadership explains that all types of engineering projects — including civil, mechanical and electrical — typically involve a large number of people with different roles. As a result, an engineering leader is central to this process of collaboration. They cooperate “with clients and other stakeholders to determine requirements, timelines, budgets and scope, and they work with team members so they understand the goals and realize them within the given specifications.”
Effective cross-team collaboration enhances efficiency and innovation. Diverse perspectives can generate out-of-the-box thinking and streamline workflows by minimizing redundancy and optimizing resource allocation. However, these outcomes depend on the engineering lead’s mastery of key principles that ensure all team members are on the same page. Those principles include the following:
- Fostering a unified approach to solving problems by encouraging contributors to recognize the team’s goal of achieving an overarching company objective
- Recognizing core dependencies at the outset, aligning teams around shared goals and structuring communications to ensure cross-functional visibility
- Creating a culture that encourages team members to understand that escalating issues is a proactive step toward finding solutions, not an admission of failure
- Developing contingencies and allocating time for workarounds to manage unexpected dependencies or tasks and keeping the project on track
- Ensuring every project has a responsible owner who drives it forward and maintains accountability
Effective engineering leads who apply those principles enhance innovation, efficiency and contributor engagement. On the other hand, ignoring those principles can hobble a project, create a competitive rather than collaborative environment and lead to financial losses due to inefficiency and missed opportunities.
What Are Some Real-world Steps for Fostering Collaboration in Engineering?
Writing on LinkedIn, product and engineering leader Tom Murton transitions from principles to the practical, describing ways to build teamwork. Bridging gaps between engineers and their counterparts in other departments begins with involving all contributors early in the decision-making process. Empowering them to push back when necessary creates space for experimentation, which supports innovative thinking and problem-solving. As Murton explains:
- Engaging engineers from the outset in product discussions or customer meetings enables them to question assumptions, pinpoint potential issues and suggest creative solutions.
- Cultivating a team environment where fostering effective feedback models is valued and encouraged builds robust cross-team partnerships and ensures engineers are viewed as vital contributors, not obstacles.
- Encouraging engineers to prototype, experiment and validate solutions fosters shared ownership in solving customer problems.
- Supporting informal cross-team communication promotes open dialogue and trust, which helps ensure long-term project sustainability.
“By implementing these practices, we can ensure that engineers aren’t just building products, but are actively shaping them,” Murton explains. “And in doing so, we’ll create stronger teams, better products, and ultimately, happier customers.”
What Are Examples of Barriers to Collaboration and Ways to Overcome Them?
Disregarding the key principles for building cross-team collaboration or neglecting to implement them as practical steps can derail a project. Carve Consulting identifies common barriers that erode teamwork and threaten project integrity, including the following:
- Unrealistic expectations
- Out-of-sync processes, timelines or priorities
- Communication breakdowns
- Misaligned goals
- Lack of trust
Overcoming these barriers is essential. Organizations that prioritize cross-functional teamwork report increased productivity and employee engagement, leading to better overall performance and market success. Following best practices for cross-team collaboration is the first step to preventing barriers, but it’s not a guarantee.
If challenges arise, an effective leader who can address them proactively will drive significant value for the organization. You can gain the skills to develop into such a leader by pursuing an advanced education like that offered through the M.S. in Engineering Leadership online program from UT Tyler.
Learn more about The University of Texas at Tyler’s online Master of Science in Engineering Leadership program.