The hallmark of a winning team is their ability to work together effectively toward a common goal by leveraging their various skill sets and diverse experiences.

Professional athletes display this teamwork regularly, and it is part of what makes the New York Yankees and Philadelphia Phillies games so fun to watch.

Put simply, athletes at the top of their game often operate as one cohesive unit. Businesses need to foster the same level of teamwork, communication, and shared understanding to achieve organizational agility and secure successful outcomes.

Cultivating a team of corporate athletes among employees not only enhances an organization’s overall capabilities, but also enables the business to respond swiftly to challenges while anticipating the evolving needs of their stakeholders.

Businesses that operate with increased agility are primed to succeed in an ever-changing corporate landscape, and finance and technology chiefs are on the frontlines of that agility. We believe that business leaders must embrace team cross-functionality and work at the intersection of finance and technology if they want their organizations to succeed.

Embracing technology as a team

As technology continues to be top-of-mind for business leaders and innovation becomes more woven into the fabric of business priorities, having a well-rounded team of leaders who understand how these roles intersect is vital to an organization’s success.

Now is the perfect time to focus on these efforts. Organizing, managing, and rationalizing technology strategy within the organization was identified as the CIO and tech leaders’ top priority, according to findings from Deloitte’s US CIO Program’s CIO Perspectives report.

Companies should consider opening sightlines between finance and tech leaders to optimize performance and provide greater visibility into each function’s priorities. This can help create a deeper understanding of how both teams work together to achieve more significant organizational priorities.

While a finance or tech specialist role certainly has its place, organizations can derive greater value from employees by encouraging them to broaden their skill sets through integrated, cross-functional teams. An agile operating model enables employees to develop a well-rounded skillset that prepares them — and the organization — for the interwoven challenges of a modern business landscape.

Deloitte’s CFO Agenda 2024 emphasizes the value of finance chiefs assuming the mindset of technologists and working hand-in-hand with IT to make informed decisions on whether or how to integrate breakthrough technologies like AI into workflows. 

Employers can cultivate this “team” mindset in their employees by coupling offense (innovation-focused) and defense (security-focused) mindsets to accomplish broader organizational goals. Each team member has a wealth of knowledge and experience to share, and leaders should encourage their teams to stretch beyond their traditional roles and leverage their colleagues’ expertise as appropriate.

This way of working requires more responsive, lean processes. Revolutionizing operations begins with embedding cross-functionality within each team member — a pivotal step towards a dynamic and modernized organizational framework.

Fostering well-rounded understanding

A cross-functional approach lowers barriers that typically discourage practice leaders from collaborating and communicating effectively. Leaders tend to foster insularity when they exclusively prioritize their own practice, inadvertently creating silos within the organization. Creating cross-functional leaders requires executives to manage their organization’s functions holistically, not in segments.

By setting the tone at the top and communicating the expectation for all leaders to collaborate across functions, leaders can encourage their entire team to become balanced, well-rounded performers for organizational success.

True transformation comes from a deeper understanding of the entire organization’s strategic priorities, which drives value creation. Leaders should look for opportunities to revolutionize their operations to thrive in the dynamic and modern business landscape.

Anticipated benefits for organizations that make this transformation include unlocking superior problem-solving, improved adaptability, and a fortified foundation of resiliency that propels the business forward and differentiates it from competitors.

Commitment from the top

The aspirations outlined above remain unattainable unless there is commitment and endorsement from company leadership. Finance and tech leaders in particular must clearly articulate the need for synergies between both functions and seek to empower their teams to collaborate closely across overarching initiatives. The rise of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has created a great opportunity for leaders to put this kind of synergy into action.

Although Deloitte’s CFO Signals Survey 2Q 2024 indicated that GenAI was a top internal risk for CFOs, they are increasingly turning toward talent and successors with experience in emerging technologies, underscoring that CFOs must expand their skillsets to include tech fluency.

CEOs looking to embed the technology within their organizations might ask their tech practice leader to evaluate the best options from a functionality perspective, while finance teams research investment costs and anticipated value drivers. Collaboration between tech and finance departments ensures seamless integration of financial systems, enhancing data accuracy and efficiency.

Deloitte’s framework for AI governance within organizations encourages establishing multi-disciplinary teams to activate their company’s GenAI agenda within established guardrails. The responsibility for smart investments and strategic implementation lies with the entire organization — not just one team. Furthermore, operational continuity should be ensured beyond the current leadership and potential successors.

Contrary to historical beliefs, strong defense alone doesn’t win championships, and organizations that rely on tried-and-true business practices for fear of failure could be left behind.