Matrix management training recalibration

One of my colleagues, Janet, used the phrase “recalibration” in our recent development meeting on matrix management training. It’s a phrase I have thought about a lot as we are developing some new matrix management training modules based on our client work.

A lot of it is about recalibrating and challenging some traditional expectations of management to be more relevant for fast changing, matrix and complex organizations.

In matrix management training we need to help managers recalibrate:

• expectations about the types of relationships, communities and trust we need to be effective
• assumptions about control and how we can exercise it in a diverse and distributed organization
• reliance on more cooperation and communication being the answer (rather than a large part of the problem)
• expectations about how much we should know about what our people are doing on a daily basis.

These are some pretty fundamental challenges to some of our management training “sacred cows” but the role of matrix management training is to let managers step back from their busy lives (where they don’t have time to reflect) and, by raising these issues and bringing some practical alternatives we can help them recalibrate.

If they don’t then matrix managers may find themselves working harder and harder, applying out of date solutions that were developed for much simpler times – and sometimes these solutions just make things worse.

If your management population work in a matrix and your management skills training does not reflect the reality of complex diverse matrix and virtual working, maybe its time to recalibrate.

See more about what we have learned delivering over 100,000 participant days of  matrix management training and other programs for people in complex companies.

How have you had to recalibrate your expectations and skills in matrix management? Did you get the matrix management training you needed?