Three Steady Habits of Professionals Who Excel Across Departments

Just a Suspicious Person Wandering Between Departments

• In high-achieving business circles, "cross-boundary talent" is highly praised. The idea is that individuals who provide value across departments and job functions are the key to innovation. It sounds great, and I understand the appeal. However, from my experience on the ground, there are far too many cases where I want to say, "Before you cross boundaries, do your own job properly."
• The most embarrassing pattern is someone who shows up to every project meeting, yet people whisper behind their back, "Wait, does it even matter if that person is there?" or "What exactly does that person do?" Poking your nose into everything out of curiosity without having a solid footing in your own department isn't being cross-functional; it's just being a suspicious person wandering between departments.
• You've probably seen them: the person who says, "Oh, that looks interesting, let me in on that," joins the Slack channel and meetings, but does zero actual work, only dropping random ideas before disappearing.

Too Many People Underestimate the Difficulty of Crossing Boundaries

• This isn't a position for someone who is merely "good at talking to other departments" or "interested in various things." The reality of "crossing boundaries" required on the front lines is much more gritty and severe.
• ① Insane task management skills. Crossing boundaries means taking on tasks in other areas in addition to your main duties. Naturally, you'll be multitasking. It's a huge nuisance for someone who can't manage their own workload or meet deadlines in their primary job to show up saying, "Let me help out." Clear your own plate first.
• ② Multilingual skills that make people think, "This person gets it." Different job functions use different "languages (protocols)" and "justice (KPIs)." If you tell an engineer, "Just make this screen move more smoothly," they'll get annoyed. If you only talk about technical debt to sales, it won't land. You need to be proficient enough for them to think, "I can actually talk to this person."
• ③ Delicate maneuvering through the cracks. You need meticulous and sometimes messy political skills, like "getting the blessing of Manager A, then consulting the practitioner in Team B, and finally getting approval from Executive C." Without this, you're just someone who disrupts meetings and delays decisions.

The Story of a PM Who Started as a Minute-Taker and Got a Proposal Passed in One Month

• A certain PM, let's call him Mr. A, was a non-engineer but was suddenly called in to put out fires on a delayed system development project. Did he start barking opinions right away? Not at all. The first thing Mr. A did was become the "minute-taker" for the development status meetings.
• For a month, he sat in the corner of the meetings, silently but extremely accurately logging everything. He noted every word he didn't understand and made it a habit to check with engineers for five minutes after the meeting: "Is my understanding of that discussion correct?" This "willingness to learn" built both knowledge and trust.
• By the end of the month, the engineers trusted him, saying, "Mr. A's minutes are easy to understand" and "It's a big help that he always handles the tedious logging." It was only after he had accumulated enough "trust credit" that he spoke up for the first time: "This specification seems like it might drift from the business requirements; shall we adjust it like this?" Naturally, that proposal passed immediately.

If you try to "cross boundaries" arrogantly without trust or knowledge, you will be rejected as a foreign object. Start by quietly and carefully doing the "steady but helpful work" that everyone appreciates to earn a seat at the table.

If You Want to Cross Boundaries, Do These Three Things Steadily

• ① Do your own department's work properly and create a one-hour surplus daily. Many people neglect their primary duties because they are poking around in other departments, which is the fastest way to lose trust. Cut down on time spent on slow email replies or routine tasks to carve out one hour. Using that hour to contribute to other departments is the basic move. Crossing boundaries when your own work is overflowing is just professional suicide.
• ② Pick up the unglamorous tasks that help everyone. It doesn't have to be a flashy project; in fact, unglamorous is better. Handling initial inquiries from other departments, facilitating or taking minutes for regular meetings, organizing messy shared documents or wikis, or translating specs for the business side. Everyone thinks these are "tedious," but anyone who does them is guaranteed to be appreciated. This is how you spread the recognition that "that person understands our language and is useful."
• ③ Use your core expertise as a weapon. If you only pick up balls, you'll end up being treated as just a "handyman." Mr. A, mentioned earlier, was a non-engineer but was respected as a professional in project management. When invited to a project, check if it's a theme where you can provide value using your expertise; if not, politely decline. Don't take on everything; narrow your focus to areas where you can provide value. This discernment is also a key point.

Summary

• I believe "cross-boundary talent" isn't something you aim to become by moving; it refers to a state where you have mastered your own domain to the point that you overflow from its boundaries.
• If you're thinking, "My current department is boring, I want to do more cross-functional work," it might be worth stopping to think. Can you intentionally create a "surplus" in your current job? Are you prepared to speak with respect to the professionals in the neighboring department?
• If not, start by making your current work more efficient. Crossing boundaries can come after that.