Cross-training in a team

There are several possibilities here – in increasing levels of time commitment:

1. Take 5-10 minutes at the start of a regular team meeting and make space for a team member to explain in their own words what their role is. Make it clear that the point of this is for team learning, and invite open questions about the job like “What are the things that are most interesting? What keeps you awake at night?”
2. Set aside an hour’s meeting at the end of a project, and let each person have time to explain what their role was in this project.
3. Make space for each team member to ‘shadow’ (ie observe) someone else in the team for an hour, or half a day, or even a full day. Have a debrief afterwards to share learning.
4. Depending on the experience and skill required it may be possible to rotate jobs for a short period so that people actually experience what it is like to play a different role.
5. The short ‘job swap’ can be extended into a programme of formal secondments across a department or organisation. This can also be helpful in career development by extending an individual’s expertise.