Matrix Leadership Essentials

In today’s increasingly complex and global business environment, many organizations leverage a matrix structure. The matrix structure, by design, creates some ambiguity relative to decision making authority, roles and responsibilities, and alignment of goals. In order to successfully lead in a matrix environment, managers and their employees need unique skills and tools. The Matrix Leadership Essentials custom program enables your employees to be successful in the matrix structure, as well as to realize all of the intended benefits to the organization.

The top five challenges typically experienced in a matrix organization include:

• Misaligned goals
• Unclear roles & responsibilities
• Ambiguous authority
• Lack of matrix guardian
• Silo-focused employees

Given these five common challenges, we have found that leaders need both information (regarding the organization and themselves) and practical tools they can implement to become more successful. A cornerstone of the Matrix Leadership Essentials program is that each participant creates an action plan,  called a MAP^TM (Matrix Action Plan), that illustrates their various roles, responsibilities, and objectives, and highlights potential conflicts and synergies and sets them on a path to greater success.

OUTCOMES AND BENEFITS

• Accomplish goals at a lower cost
• Influence and motivate others into action
• Develop flexibility of style to create effective collaboration across the matrix
• Manage conflict in the matrix and learn to reduce disagreements and eliminate unnecessary conflict
• Effectively manage in a complex, changing, and fast-paced environment
• Adjust behaviors to accommodate global customs and expectations
• Increased awareness of cultural considerations in the countries the organization is doing business

CONTENT HIGHLIGHTS

• Identify the strengths and weaknesses of a matrix structure
• Develop tools to achieve goals and objectives effectively without direct authority
• Create a strategy to effectively manage/work with multiple bosses and prioritiesEffectively manage/work with multiple bosses with sometimes conflicting priorities
• Create a personal action plan using the MAP^TM (Matrix Action Plan) tool
• Development of a tool kit to improve the skills of our people

The MATRIX ACTION PLAN (MAP^TM)

A cornerstone of the program is an individual Matrix Action Plan (MAP^TM) that participants create to reflect their current state and their desired future state.  The MAP^TM includes:

• Key Roles (highlighting any that have ambiguity
• Key Responsibilities (highlighting any with ambiguity or tension with others in the organization
• Key Goals (highlighting any that may have tension with other functions)
• Key Relationships (highlighting those that need to be developed or repaired)
• Strategies to effectively build rapport, influence, manage conflict, and communicate with up to 8 Key Relationships
• Action Plans for working more effectively with critical stakeholders