INSIGHT EXPERIENCE www.insight-experience.com

152 Commonwealth Avenue | Concord, MA 01742 | 978-369-0639 | info@insight-experience.com

Accelerating the Matrix: What’s a leader to do... A webinar from Insight Experience

6

• Insight Experience helps leading companies develop leaders and execute strategy

• We create dynamic business simulation and leadership development experiences that connect leadership to business results

• We work globally across industries, at all levels of management, with a focus on Fortune 1,000 clients

About Insight Experience

2

• Insight Experience helps leading companies develop leaders and execute strategy

• We create dynamic business simulation and leadership development experiences that connect leadership to business results

• We work globally across industries, at all levels of management, with a focus on Fortune 1,000 clients

About Insight Experience

7

All our clients operate in

some form of formal or informal matrix,

functional partner, or network structure

• The original definition

– Managers have two reporting relationships

– Executives “share” P&L responsibility

• The 21st century definition...Multiple dimensions

– Two dimensions, like products and functions.

– Three dimensions, like functions, business units, and countries.

– Four or more dimensions, which arise when serving global customers

– P&L clarity and budget dependency

What is a matrix structure?

8

• None

• Two (often a business/product and functions)

• Three (business/product, geography, functions)

• Four or more (business/product, channel, geography, functions)

Poll: How many dimensions in your organizational structure?

9

• To focus on multiple goals simultaneously

• To leverage resources for economies of scale

• To break down silos and encourage cross boundary collaboration

• To make resource allocation and cross-functional priority tradeoffs more visible

• To develop broader people capabilities

• To respond to opportunities at the local level

Why a matrix?

10

• Multiple goals

• Economies of scale

• Cross boundary collaboration

• Visible tradeoffs

• People development

• Speed of local response

Poll: Which is the primary objective of the matrix for your organization?

11

History

8

“The companies ...assumed that changing their formal structure

(anatomy) would force changes in interpersonal relationships and decision

processes (physiology), which in turn would reshape the individual attitudes and actions of managers (psychology).”

– Christopher Bartlett

“It is wise, therefore, for managers thinking of adopting a matrix to be familiar with the diagnoses, prevention,

and treatment of nine particular pathologies: tendencies toward anarchy, power struggles, severe groupitis,

collapse during economic crunch, excessive overhead, sinking to lower levels, uncontrolled layering, navel

gazing, and decision strangulation.” – Stanley Davis and Paul Lawrence

1960s -1970s 1978 1990 2005 2012

To date few studies have examined the human side of the matrix. Most focus on its structure and variant forms.

– Sy and D’Annuzio, Human Resource Planning

...a matrix has an innate cultural dimension. It is a way of operating and interacting—a complex web of

formal and informal relationships that reflects how things actually get

done across the organization. – Jon Katzenbach

We believe that in the future matrix organizations will become almost commonplace and that

managers will speak less of the difficulties and pathologies of the matrix than of its advantages

and benefits.

Crystal Ball 1978

13

While true...

14

• Average multinational organizational size

• Globalization of brands

• Information cycle time

• Information volume

A lot has changed...

11

Functions

Business Units/Products

Accounts/ Channels

Geographies

The complexity of the matrix has dramatically increased

Increasing complexity demands good leaders

17

• Clarify, prioritize, and adapt strategy

• Synthesize across complexity

• Relate across cultures

• Identify tensions and tradeoffs proactively

• Create and sustain momentum

Matrix organizations push tradeoffs down– so leaders at all levels need those skills

18

In best practice companies it’s not about reducing conflict – but balancing competing voices.

– Amy Kates

President

Director of Products

VP Design

VP Manufacturing

VP Finance

VP Marketing

Human Resources

Products Manager A

Products Manager B

Products Manager C

Products Manager D

Marketing Manager

So what’s a leader to do? Leadership Levers

Perspective

Operating Model

Relationships

• Build deep social capital and reciprocal relationships

• Encourage others to develop relationships to enable cross boundary work

• Nurture strong working networks at all levels

• Offer a broad perspective on why and how to collaborate

• Align your agenda

• Communicate shared goals and values

• Identify and resolve issues to build matrix capability

• Create an effective operating model to support collaboration (structure, processes, systems)

• Use shared systems and measures to encourage collaboration

Insight Issue: A Platform to Talk about Issues and Ideas

20

Challenge: Build relationships to launch a new product

21

Product Organization Meters and Monitoring

Global Sales Organization

Enterprise Sales

• Existing revenue target

• Scarce resources

• Market development

• Technical sale, requires new skills

• Need for first year sales for ROI

• Focus on launch activities

• Future market segment and long term growth opportunity

22

These choices are representative of each leadership lever

23

Operating Model

Disease State Coordination Council

Integrated database

Roles and Decision Rights

Relationship Building

Travel Budget

Planning offsite

Cross Business Assignments

Leadership Perspective

VP of Technology Message

Talk with field leaders

Connect to the Strategy

What this group chose...

24

What this group chose...

25

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Operating Model

32%

Perspective

38%

Relationship

30%

Discussion this could trigger:

• When is one lever more important than another?

• Which is our team’s strength? Which is our team’s opportunity?

• What specific actions could we take?

Levers of Collaboration Vary in Real Life

26

Discussion this could trigger:

• What is our organization or leadership bias?

• Should we balance our approach differently?

• Do different parts of our organization depend on different levers?

Leading the matrix requires attention to more than a single decision

27

• Clarity of the strategy, direction and goals

• Consistent, continuously communication and reinforcement

• Who do you work with

• What relationships do you build

• How do you spend your time

• How do address proactive and reactive issues

Direction

Stakeholders Time

Issues

28

Direction

Stakeholders Time

Issues

Intent Interaction Example

Inform & Engage

Update/ Engage

• Keep up to date on progress • Share information • “Elevator speech” • Build ongoing relationships

Gain better understanding

Inquiry

• Hear perspectives/point of view • Increase your knowledge of a situation • Identify issues • Gather input to the frame, analysis or alternatives

Build alignment

Influence

• Align perspectives and actions • Ensure support • Respond to concerns • Overcome objections

Change Behavior

Coach

• Provide constructive feedback • Empower other to address and solve problems • Build capability through situational leadership • Increase accountability of team members

Leverage Disagreements

Dialogue and Decide

• Use “productive conflict” skills to approach conflict situations • Separate business from personal conflict • Avoid surprises • Keep communication open

Interactions are the currency of matrix leadership

The skills for effective interactions are in scarce supply (per the Hay Group)

30 The Hay Group, 2012

The secret sauce: What do great matrix leaders do?

1. Lead for the big picture

2. Assume positive intent

3. Embrace issues

4. Explain criteria

31

• Stay big picture

• Assume positive intent

• Embrace issues

• Explain criteria

Poll: Which is the most challenging behavior for leaders in your organization?

32

Your view of Barriers in the Matrix

33

Poll: How will matrix organization structures change in the next 5-10 years?

34

Leaders need to pay attention to all three levers for the matrix to deliver its promised results...

Where is your opportunity?

Perspective

Operating Model

Relationships

The leadership at the top performers see mastering the requisite complexity

as a source of advantage.

(Jay Galbraith 2009)

36

38

www.insight-experience.com

152 Commonwealth Avenue Concord, MA 01742

978-369-0639

INSIGHT EXPERIENCE

info@insight-experience.com

@InsightXP