!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Strict//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-strict.dtd"> Streamline Training & Documentation: Matrix Management I: The Issues

Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Matrix Management I: The Issues

Matrix management ... The dilemmas of reporting to two different bosses can all too often make it seem like matrix madness.

The goal of the matrix approach is to have the advantages of strong functional expertise and efficiencies, without the disconnects and inefficiencies associated with working in “silos” rather than cross-functional teams.

In other words, a matrix system aims to address simmultaneously two interdependent goals:
  • Maintaining up-to-date functional expertise, a key organizational resource, and


  • Producing and marketing the organization’s goods and services in tight alignment with the organization's strategic objectives.
It's the inevitable conflicts over resource use, and the predictable difficulties with communication, that generate the heartburn associated with matrix set-ups.

The FEIs -- frequently encountered issues — arising with a matrix approach will vary in their specifics from one organization to another. In general, one can anticipate issues relating to:
  • Reaching and sustaining agreement on priorities and success criteria


  • Ownership and accountability, roles and responsibilities — Who has authority in deciding/negotiating how employees will allocate their time? How do you reconcile differences between two bosses in financial and non-financial performance objectives?


  • Speed in completing tasks and projects


  • Flexibility in handling tasks and changing requirements


  • Communication — e.g., clarifying priorities, coordinating operational plans and changes


  • Cost control — e.g., in administrative support areas


  • Learning and improving
Reading through the above list suggests what skills managers and employees have to particularly cultivate in order to be effective in a matrix set-up:
  • Aligning goals — With two bosses, the likelihood of incompatible demands that need reconciling is high. For example, the functional boss may press for top-notch quality, while the project boss is insisting on rapid turnaround.


  • Communication — Employees need to be good at eliciting input, explaining their POV, uncovering and examining assumptions, anticipating what others need to know, collaborating across geographic distance.


  • Building and maintaining healthy working relationships with all sorts of people; developing an informal network of colleagues


  • Negotiating resource use


  • Reaching decisions collaboratively


  • Conflict resolution and problem solving
To assist in making a matrix system work as intended, those responsible for employee training and development need to assess existing skill levels — as far as practical on an individual basis — and determine the best way to address skill gaps.

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