Managing the Matrix: The Secret to Surviving and Thriving in Your Organization

Debra was not in a good mood as she entered Johann’s office for their third meeting. One of her colleagues had just been promoted and, although the guy who got it was good, she didn’t think he was any better than her. Well, except at one thing, he was always playing politics - sucking up to the more senior guys and volunteering to be on any committee going.

Debra knew the type - went to the same school, belonged to the same club - she didn’t have a hope against the kind of connections he had so she might as well give up. It seemed doing a good job just wasn’t enough around here.

Debra and Johann work in an environment with multiple and complex reporting lines – in other words, a matrix. There’s room to “slip between the cracks” – if a person wants to take advantage of confusion over who is managing performance; or if they can’t make the necessary transition to self-management. Communication can be difficult even when there is an apparently shared language.

Read how Johann and Debra work together to identify the skills needed to succeed in a matrix, and how using Emotional Intelligence (EI) can develop specific behaviours you can incorporate in your daily job.  The result will help reduce stress and increase your chances of success.

Dawn Metcalfe, Managing Director of PDS, based in Dubai, uses her experience as a coach and trainer to give us a behind the curtain look at how mentoring can help an individual develop the skills they need to survive and thrive in today’s complex work environments.

Keywords: Personal Career Development, Matrix organization, communication, influencing, coaching, negotiation, conflict management, Dawn Metcalfe, complex reporting lines, lack of role clarity, confusion over accountability, constant restructuring, circuitous decision making, job performance, matrix-style business, matrix organization chart, matrix organizational structure, matrix management, matrix management model, functional organization