Team Building
·Autodesk · 2019–2022
Building Teams for Strategy and Execution
How do companies get the most from the varied talent they hire? How can team members feel more valued for their expertise?
The Challenge
Functional team structures aren't inherently broken. But they create predictable problems at scale — siloed work, misaligned incentives, and individual contributors who feel more like execution resources than invested partners.
At Autodesk, the symptoms were familiar:
Disconnected from the work. Projects ended and teams disbanded. At best, an intact team would move on to a related project, determined by management. There was little continuity, and little reason to care about what came after.
The customer was two steps removed. Research and usability findings arrived as reports. The real audience for that work felt like management — not the people the product was actually for.
Strategy happened elsewhere. Tactical direction was set a level or two above individual contributors. They were an execution arm. The people with the most working knowledge of the problem had the least say in how to solve it.
The result: talented people operating with one hand tied behind their back.
Approach
The model we turned to wasn't new. Call it a Triad, a Squad, or simply a cross-functional team — the concept is well-established. What mattered was how we operationalized it.
- 1.
Product, not project responsibility
Triads owned a product area, not just a delivery. They would be around to see — and live with — the results of their decisions.
- 2.
Strategic direction only
Managers and stakeholders could offer opinions, but the cross-functional team was explicitly responsible for translating guidance into product decisions. Tactical direction stayed with the people doing the work.
- 3.
Clear roles as permission to collaborate
Defined responsibilities didn't limit input — they enabled it. When a designer knows they own look and feel, they're more willing to hear a developer's perspective. Clarity created safety, and safety created better ideas.
- 4.
Management as advisors
The managing layer was organized into its own cross-functional team, mirroring the IC triads. Their role was to empower — not direct. Regular joint check-ins replaced the one-on-one escalation loops that slow teams down and quietly erode trust.
- 5.
Functional teams stayed intact
Designers still needed a place to develop their craft and grow alongside other designers. The triad model didn't replace community of practice — it ran alongside it.
Outcomes
20% improvement in employee survey scores for belonging — a leading indicator for engagement, satisfaction, and retention.
Measurable reduction in cross-functional conflicts — fewer escalations, fewer one-on-one interventions.
Division-level award for best collaborating team, awarded to our pilot triad.