Not too long ago, we took on a consumer electronics manufacturing company as a client. They were reeling from a recent major setback, and we’d been asked to provide a postmortem that:
a) identified where they’d gone wrong; and
b) offered advice for putting them back together.
The trouble began with one of the company’s regional vice presidents in Asia. Let’s call him Bob. Bob was responsible for managing the launch of a new piece of computer hardware that was set to go to market the following quarter.
Just months before that was supposed to happen, though, he discovered a not-so-small problem: his direct report had failed to deliver the product roadmap. Suffice it to say, he was not pleased that the key deadline had been blown clear through, especially without any warning.
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When Bob asked his direct report why he was late, he told Bob that the head of R&D —whom he also reported to— had brought him in to work on another project whose deadlines had been moved around because of a crisis.
“I know I report to both of you,” the direct report told Bob, “but it felt critical to deal with his fire first. I thought he was going to call you and let you know.”
Alarmed by this answer, Bob picked up the phone to call the head of R&D and let him know —with great, shall we say, “passion”— what a lurch he’d been left in by the delay.
Matrix Organizational Models: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
Inside the Matrix
Does this scenario sound familiar? Probability suggests the answer’s “yes.”
Bob’s dilemma happens every day in all types of organizations. It’s a typical result of what happens when two different power structures are required to operate and coordinate together, an organizational structure commonly referred to as a matrix. (No, this one doesn’t involve Keanu Reeves.)
What is a matrix structure? It’s the opposite of a pyramid. Instead of working strictly up and down in a rigidly defined hierarchy, relationships are more lateral and diffuse. Some employees may answer to multiple managers (like Bob’s direct report does).
The Benefits of a Matrix Organizational Business Structure
When it works, a matrix organizational structure can help synchronize and maximize a company’s limited resources.
- They’re especially useful in supporting businesses and functions that are highly interdependent.
- Because they are cross functional, they’re often appealing to organizations that want to break down existing silos.
- They may be a key part of an organization’s strategy to increase its footprint in global operations.
There are lots of good reasons why an organization, especially one that feels constrained and inefficient, would be attracted to a matrix setup.
And if things are already running smoothly, a matrix structure can feel like the ultimate luxury—a large pool of resources all aligned around the same priorities, looking out for each others’ needs, recognizing each others’ contributions, and understanding how the web of strong relationships provides the glue that ultimately produces the results we’re after.
But when it doesn’t work, well, you end up in Bob’s shoes.
Inside the Matrix
Disadvantages of a Matrix
Interest in a matrix organizational structure first peaked after the publication of Paul R. Lawrence and Stanley M. Davis’s influential 1977 book Matrix. In the book, the scholars articulate the benefits of such a structure—and its considerable risks.
“Matrix is an exceedingly complex form that is not for everybody. To put it bluntly, if you do not really need it, leave it alone,” they warned.
The matrix “solution” that looks so compelling on paper can also be tremendously hard to implement and even harder to live in — particularly in challenging times of uncertainty.
When sales slip, when a pandemic hits, when a key product launch date is missed (see: Bob), or when a sector-wide market slump occurs, the tensions around the organization mount, and people start to retreat into their clans and caves. Functional managers, once so eager to embrace the efficiencies and silo-busting that can come from a properly executed matrix model organizational structure, may find themselves throwing up their hands in despair.
Call-out/Tip
“Matrix is an exceedingly complex form that is not for everybody. To put it bluntly, if you do not really need it, leave it alone.”
– Paul R. Lawrence and Stanley M. Davis in Matrix
Pressure then increases to work around the matrix structures and the myriad processes designed to support them. People start to just want to “get things done” — in a matrix situation, never an encouraging sign. Far from embracing collaboration and deferring to others for the good of the company, each group sees “progress” as a zero-sum game.
Then, if things get really hard, another restructuring is planned. We’ve seen organizations literally seesaw back and forth every four or five years, dismantling and then rebuilding the same boxes and lines on the organizational chart in the vain hope that things will really be different this time around.
Unfortunately, they often aren’t. In many cases, the root causes that plagued your previous matrix team structure will follow you into whatever shiny new matrix option you have just adopted.
A Strong Organizational Matrix Structure Needs a Strong Foundation
To borrow a famous quote from MIT mindfulness researcher/advocate Jon Kabat-Zinn, “Wherever you go, there you are.”
This means that no matter what your organizational model, things like leadership practices and mindsets, the norms around accountability and performance, and the avoidance of risk required for greater/faster innovation will keep surfacing, for better or for worse.
Accordingly, it’s essential to understand these “non-structural” factors so that you can proactively diagnose them and build requisite capabilities into the organization that supports the successful implementation of a matrix.
If you miss them or try to ignore them, you run the risk of having your “shadows” follow you into your next home.
Bob’s company’s shadows clearly followed them into the matrix. Would we be able to help them find their way? Find out in the next blog post.