Here's how you can navigate the challenges of working in a cross-functional Agile team.

in my experience, diversity of opinion has always been achieved through good facilitation skills. With technics such as Round-Robin to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to speak, Silent Brainstorming to encourage written ideas, and breaking into smaller groups for more in-depth discussions or gathering anonymous feedback for honest input.

If the project requires specialized knowledge, it might be beneficial to create a glossary for commonly used jargon. However, in most situations, effective communication will depend on: 1) Regular training 2) Being open to asking and answering questions

I recently encountered a situation where our team had to switch to a non-native communication language, which led to communication problems. We haven't solved this problem yet, but we're in the process of outlining an action plan. This involves reformatting our daily meetings, using visualization tools for better understanding, conducting voting in Zoom, and having a survey after each sprint to assess the effectiveness of our communication.

Self-organization should be a goal for every Agile team, but this doesn't mean there are no roles. It's crucial to understand who is responsible for each part of the process, as roles play an important part in this. Self-organization means being flexible, staying organized, and remaining adaptable regarding roles and responsibilities.

It is important to support adaptability not only by talking about it, but also by processes such as a single backlog between all teams, HR practices, and rewards for team contribution and learning new skills. One of the tools that will help you get started in this direction is a competency matrix. You can learn more about it in my profile.

As an experienced Agile project manager, I handle conflicts by fostering a culture where they are seen as growth opportunities. I organize conflict resolution workshops and develop clear frameworks based on Agile principles. Mediation by a neutral party and emotional intelligence training are also key strategies. Regular retrospectives include conflict discussions to learn from past issues. An anonymous feedback mechanism helps identify underlying problems. Focusing on common goals and encouraging diverse perspectives turn conflicts into creative opportunities. Regular one-on-one meetings and celebrating conflict resolution successes further strengthen team cohesion.

Sometimes there are systemic problems behind conflicts, but they have been around for so long that people only see bad workers. In such situations, I welcome the POSIWID principle: “The purpose of a system is what it does.” Systems find precisely those results that allow them to optimize the purpose and maintain a stable, coherent structure. POSIWID works well for any social system: a team, a product group, an organization, etc.