Whose Game Is It Anyways ?

There are many types of org structures. Vertical, flat, pyramid, hybrid but none of the structures provide you with the thrill, adrenaline rush and spike in the ownership level which a " MATRIX " structure does. A matrix is a " SIMPLE" structure where dotted and solid line reporting cross paths. There is a functional head who is subject matter expert and there is a P & L head who is expected to be jack of all trades and is required to make decisions for the unit within a business. Now add another scenario to it. They both report into a CEO. Well , both the functional head and the P&L head needs to make & take decisions. The functional head takes & makes it for the function and P&L head makes and takes it for the unit. Very often these authorities try and reason their views and opinions. Eg A Finance head of company procuring funds at a particular rate and the P&L head looking at a different finance raising option to minimise his risk. Eventually both initiatives are beneficial but then which one sails through and who convinces whom? or Sales head of a real estate coy believing in a discount scheme and P & L head of the unit in which the project lies believing otherwise. Sales heads wants footfalls and the P&L head wants to maximise revenue so that the debt levels are decreased. Again both beneficial to organisation but who convinces whom?

The fact is that this is one relationship in which the partners are never in love!! This relationship comes with a disclaimers, asterixs * and hashes #. Though a matrix structure brings about collaborative accountability , responsibility and result orientation, it often leads to a conflict of decisions, one-up manship and often trails of mails reasoning their own views. All these affect the key deliverable and milestones. People, are assets to an organisation and many create a competitive advantage due to skill & competence they posses then how does one accept this rather uneven structure where only entity involved is the "PEOPLE".

May be the answer lies in the kind of personalities leading these key posts. Does a "X " kind of personality at Functional and "Y" kind on the P&L or vice versa help? Will a formalised written Delegation of Authority(DOA), Decision Matrix (DM) or a RACI (Responsibility, Accountability, Consult & Inform) Matrix help? OR Will a robust IT platform differentiating budgetary controls and rites ? OR Probably the answer lies in the timing of its introduction.

A matrix structure needs rational & a mature environment to blossom and grow. The stage at which an organisation introduces the same needs to be mapped correctly. One, it has a greater chance of success where processes, product are already known and also being inforce for long enough to be successful. Two, people involved have already attained a considerable competence and are sure about their strength which is unquestioned. When a culture of accepting & respecting the strength of functional head as a core expertise and accepting and respecting the competence of a P&L head to understand the function correctly to make collaborative decisions putting organisational interest as prime objective, the MATRIX structure thrives.

It is not often the leaders but the level 2 or level 3 staff that need to report dual. The level of maturity to understand the structure, respecting its challenges and also proactive positive thinking is often found to be at lower levels in these ranks when it comes to understanding MATRIX. There may be few exceptions. Questions like who will decide my promotion , my growth often looms large in the minds of staff. Loyalty is a the most fragile aspect in these kinds of structure and the best way to deal with it is to avoid thinking about it everyday!! There is no answer to the question of where the loyalty lies? Giving verdict in favour of either of the authorities means "DISLOYALTY" hence it is better to not answer the question. For all practical purpose we can say that a staff in a matrix situation trains under one authority and represents the function under other authority without questioning the motive. A friction point is imminent but not all frictions are ranked skirmishes and all not all skirmishes are ranked battle. Ranking the importance of intervening is must and the authorities must avoid getting into it unless it has a stature of full blown escalation. May be that is where a nodal point structure will work fine. Most of the decisions made and taken by both authorities converge at a point they intersect. These can intersect at Level 2 staff or 3 or even at operational command. That is where the answer lies. The "NODE". If we define correctly these nodal points and /or even use the principle of 80:20 onto it we can decode the structure , at-least to our use and need.

Say , 20% of the decisions on the Node are left to the two authorities to make. Suddenly we now reach a manageable situations. The other 80% are solved as per a RACI or a DM signed by both and delegated down by training them. We may still have difference in some within those 20%!!! There is still a solution and the solution lies within these dynamic individuals themselves. Beyond a point , remember there is a third umpire (an organisation coach)!!! and even a match referee (CEO) !!! Sometimes it is also good to agree to disagree with a purpose however the purpose should not be personal but professional and in interest of the organisation. By all practical purpose , the P&L authority claims a slight edge over the functional counterpart being responsible & accountable for the P&L and managing risks of multiple functions. It is however a race he would ideally like to win along with his functional counterpart. If the P & L head is a pilot , Functional head is a navigator. Both are helpless without one another. The pilot though can still fly since he is taught basics of navigation before being a pilot however not the same with the navigator.

A Matrix structure of reporting is always considered a brave decision to implement. It requires extremely grounded and mature outlook to accept and respect. Accepting and Respecting are to different aspects here. They two converge into "COLLABORATING". When this phenomenon takes place a true MATRIX is successful otherwise sometimes it backfires but most of the times one question remains " Whose Game Is It Anyways ?"