In previous posts we have mentioned that in a matrix organization structure it is common for very senior managers to underestimate the impact of the matrix on management. The reason for this is that, at the top of the matrix, relatively little changes -  everyone still works for you!

I found this interesting article about a 2 CEO structure at Wipro, a $4Bn Indian software services organization. The article proposes that there are some special corporate and national cultural aspects that may help make this particular example of a matrix organization structure work.

It also mentions previous experiments with this form such as Unilever.

Take a look – have you ever experienced a two-CEO structure, did it help with matrix management or make the matrix structure even harder to operate - how did it work?

Jun 17 2008

I was reminded by a great comment, left by my mother on a podcast, about an example that often comes up on our skills for the matrix training about a very common form of matrix management – the matrix of mum and dad.

In a family, if the kids come to dad and ask “can I do X?” , what is the first question dad asks? “What did your mother say?”

Parents naturally know that alignment is important, otherwise the kids drive a wedge between you – AND end up doing whatever they want.

This instinctive alignment, naturally checking in with what the other reporting line of the matrix is thinking, is far more powerful and effective than regular and detailed RASCI reviews.

In business you are more likely to receive the answer: “What does your other line manager know about the real priorities – listen to me not them”. Good luck with that approach!

Jun 16 2008

Welcome to the first ever “Life in a Matrix” podcast on matrix management.

Kevan Hall, CEO of Global integration and author of the book Speed Lead talks about what is different about cooperation in large, matrix, virtual, global and other complex teams and organizations.

He believes that too much unnecessary cooperation, communication & control makes complex companies slow, expensive to run and less satisfying to work in.

In this podcast, he argues that there is too much cooperation going on and recommends some practical steps to introduce simpler ways of cooperating that could help save you up to a day per week of unnecessary work – less teamwork – more freedom to get things done.

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See more about this at Kevan’s corporate site www.global-integration.com

Don’t forget to subscribe to the RSS feed for this site so we can let you know when future editions arrive. You can get the show through iTunes here.

We would love to hear your comments on the content and format – we want it to be challenging and practical . Please post any questions or comments here and they will help shape future topics.

Jun 12 2008

Influence without authority is a core skill in matrix management – see previous post. Understanding your ability to influence in a matrix organization structure depends in part on understanding what sources of power you have and how to apply them.

• First we have to realise which of these types of power we have access to to get things done.

• Second we have to consider what will be the consequences of using this style of power on our followers – this is rarely taken into account.

In this first  of two posts we will look at three sources of power

1. Coercive – use of, or threat of force. This traditional style of power may no longer be available to you, strong worker protection in some parts of the world, or the need to retain talented people may mean this style is normally unacceptable. Even if this style of power is theoretically available to you the impact on your followers may be so negative that it negates the advantages of using it. This style of power may work in an emergency.

2. Normative- based on values and right to manage – most people accept that there needs to be some authority in organizations and many will buy in to the “values” of good organizations they work for. These “softer” forms of power are extremely useful in large complex organization as they sit in the background subtly influencing decisions “it’s the way we do things around here” – and just as this power becomes more useful it becomes more difficult to develop in large, diverse, matrixed  and multi-site organizations where true values may be different and developing a common approach is more time consuming and expensive.

3. Presence–  respect for the personal characteristics. This is great if you can develop it and we can all work to improve this one by earning respect. Multi-site and remote working makes this one more difficult to apply in complex companies – so when you do have the opportunity of presence use it to top up the “tank of goodwill” and reinforce relationships – not to deliver PowerPoint presentations to darkened rooms.

More on this from me later in the week.

What other sources of power work well for you in complex and matrix organizations?

Jun 11 2008

I have a Google alert which tells me about any new mentions of the words “matrix management“ or “matrix organization” and I have noticed a steady increase in the number of jobs asking for matrix management skills. Here is one that arrived last week

“Experience managing, providing direction, and facilitating in a matrix management environment and proficiency using Microsoft Word.”

Brilliant – the ability to manage highly complex organizations, influence people without authority and do your own typing too! I mention this not because it is unusual – but because it has become commonplace.

My first boss, Fred,  was a factory worker who had worked his way up to become HR Director of a large manufacturing facility (over 4000 people), he was a great manager to have as a young trainee. He had a lot of credibility and knew the limits of his technical ability in the job, he hired several young university educated managers and both listened to them and supported them – the system worked.

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Jun 09 2008

I found some well thought through posts on the blog “When IT goes bad” (you will need to scroll down to 17 March, Jan 27 & 19th posts on the page) on project management in a “weak matrix” (where control lies less with a project manager, and more with functional or resource managers)

The posts go into some detail on the relative responsibilities of resource and project managers and why this allocation of responsibilities is necessary – well worth a read if you are running projects in a matrix.

The ideas do not completely solve the competing priorities issue (nothing will – as we have seen “if you can align completely you don’t meed a matrix”) but may help if you can clarify respective roles in managing the project.

Jun 05 2008

As part of our Speed Lead “Save a day a week” program we are focusing with some of our clients on specific reductions in meetings, conference calls and emails – for many people in matrix and other complex companies (and some simpler ones) this consumes 40-50% of their time and they tell us that over 50% of this is unnecessary.

In these sessions the majority of people are enthusiastic but it is not unusual to find one member of a team who disagrees, one person in a West Coast USA software team told me: “Yes, I get 250 emails per day but I like the feeling of being involved and knowing what is going on”. In discussion it was clear that she was genuine about this and thought dealing with these 60,000 e,ails per year was a good use of her time.

From the rolled eyes of her colleagues as she spoke it was also clear that this was having an impact on the rest of them that they did not appreciate.

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Jun 04 2008

Blog by Kevan Hall, CEO, Global Integration

I watched a program last night about city brokers holding a downhill ski racing day. It was all very lavish and the organizer justified it by saying “But its all great team-building” It irritated me because there is a lot of money spent on questionable team-building.

I am sorry but skiing fast downhill on your own is fun but it is not team-building. Neither is motor-sport or go-karting (which I love) or anything else you fundamentally do on your own. At best some community building happens around these events or in the evening, but the community building is a by-product, not part of the activity.

Matrix teams are expensive and difficult to get together and we really need to get the best out of this scarce face to face time. To do this we need to be clear on our objectives and then design events that meet these objectives.

The first thing to realize is that we may not need to be a team (see previous posts) so building a broad but shallow network of relationships may be fine (we call this a community). If we really need to be a traditional team then we need to work more intensively on a limited set of relationships.

At my company meetings we always include some community building. Our criteria for this are that it should be:

1. Something we can do in small groups of 4-6 that regularly change to encourage interaction and conversations
2. Something that structures the time but is not so intense and absorbing that we don’t have time to have a laugh and catch up too
3. Something that is different than our everyday experiences so we build a shared set of experiences that we otherwise might not get to do, and see our colleagues in different contexts.

Things that have worked well include white water rafting (fabulous), circus school (painful the next day), stunt school (painful the same day if you misunderstand instructions on how to smash a bottle over your colleagues head – sorry Phil!) and horse whispering (hard to explain but great learning).

So start by being clear about your “team-building” objective and then match the design of the event to these objectives.

Of course if you are just looking for an excuse to enjoy yourselves and using team-building as an excuse this is also fine – enjoy!

What is the best or worst “team-building” event you have ever been on?

Jun 03 2008

As we have seen in previous posts on managing multiple bosses, one of the most fundamental skills of matrix management is the ability to manage “upwards” to reconcile and trade off between competing priorities from different matrix managers.

The ability to challenge people who are hierarchically more senior than you differs between cultures and this can cause problems in matrix management.

Various researchers have looked at how different national cultures have an impact on how hierarchy and status are managed at work. Hofstede talked about “power distance” (the difference in effective power between people at different levels and how easy this was to challenge) Trompenaars looked at ”achievement and ascription” (where does status come from and how is it exercised).

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May 29 2008

A matrix organization structure solves nothing. It is just a reflection of internal and external complexity. The matrix structure acknowledges that there are multiple and sometimes competing priorities and  shows them in the reporting structure of the organization.

Whether that structure succeeds or fails is dependent on matrix management – how well people work together in the structure, and this is the part of introducing or operating a matrix that is often neglected.

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May 27 2008