How I coached matrix project teams to reduce conflicts and achieve better productivity

How I coached matrix project teams to reduce conflicts and achieve better productivity

As a team coach for matrix project teams, I've witnessed firsthand the unique challenges and opportunities these dynamic structures present. Matrix organizations, with their intersecting lines of authority and responsibility, offer fertile potential for innovation and efficiency. However, they also present unique challenges that can hinder team performance if not properly managed. In my team coaching work, I've consistently observed several key issues:

  1. Conflicting Priorities: Team members often struggle between project demands and departmental responsibilities.
  2. Role Ambiguity: Unclear roles and responsibilities can lead to confusion and reduced productivity.
  3. Communication Hurdles: Coordinating efforts across multiple departments with varying communication styles can be daunting.
  4. Power Struggles: Conflicts between functional and project managers can create confusion about decision-making authority.
  5. Resource Allocation: Balancing resources across multiple projects and departments requires careful navigation. There are never sufficient resources, and teams tend to fight against one another to obtain more resources
  6. Team Cohesion: Building unity among team members from diverse backgrounds and departments can be challenging.
  7. Cultural Differences: Varying departmental or organizational cultures can create misunderstandings and friction.

Real-World Scenarios

To illustrate these challenges, let me share two common scenarios I've encountered:

  1. The Disengaged Team: A project leader, let's call him Tom, struggles to engage team members who consistently prioritize their departmental work over his project. Their line managers subtly reinforce this behavior, leaving Tom frustrated and the project at risk.
  2. The Overtime Dilemma: Julie, a project manager, faces a tight deadline that requires her team to work weekends. She grapples with how to motivate her team to work the extra hours without causing burnout or resentment.

These situations highlight the delicate balance matrix project leaders must strike between achieving project goals and maintaining positive relationships across the organization.

A Systems Approach to Team Effectiveness

The key to overcoming these challenges is viewing teams as complex adaptive systems. This perspective recognizes that teams are:

  • Influenced by their environment
  • Interact in non-linear ways
  • Capable of adapting and learning

Team members understand that their interactions are only sometimes predictable. They embrace this complexity by fostering open communication and collaboration, allowing creative problem-solving and innovation.

The team views setbacks as learning opportunities. They regularly reflect on their processes, seeking continuous improvement. This adaptive mindset helps them pivot quickly when faced with obstacles, ensuring they stay on track to meet their goals.

By viewing the project team as a complex adaptive system, team members develop a more holistic and effective project management strategy. This approach leads to better alignment with external factors, enhanced collaboration, and a continuous learning and adaptation culture.

The 5Cs Shared Leadership Disciplines

I've successfully implemented the 5Cs Shared Leadership Disciplines framework to put this systems approach into practice. This comprehensive model addresses the multifaceted nature of matrix team management:

1. Connect:

  • Foster team synergy by leveraging complementary strengths
  • Build relationships and trust through understanding and accepting diverse personal values

2. Contract:

  • Develop a clear, shared vision for team goals
  • Set explicit expectations for responsibilities and success metrics
  • Involve stakeholders in establishing team norms

3. Collect:

  • Assess individual and collective strengths
  • Evaluate available resources and identify potential constraints

4. Collaborate:

  • Create an environment that encourages open idea-sharing
  • Build consensus through inclusive decision-making processes

5. Challenge:

  • Promote critical thinking and questioning of assumptions
  • Identify and mitigate potential risks to project success

Finding Your Team's 'Why'

A compelling and shared purpose is at the heart of every successful matrix project team. Establishing this 'why' is crucial and involves:

  • Facilitating open discussions to develop a clear purpose
  • Aligning team goals with broader organizational objectives
  • Ensuring each team member understands and connects with the purpose

As team management expert Meredith Belbin wisely noted, "The merits of a team should never be assessed without first considering its purpose."

Discovering Your Team's 'How'

Once the 'why' is established, it's time to focus on the 'how'. This involves:

  • Fostering shared ownership and accountability
  • Clearly defining tasks, responsibilities, and deliverables
  • Assembling a team with complementary skills and expertise
  • Establishing ground rules for communication and decision-making

In Tom's example above, Tom may need to engage his team members and their line managers on the importance of his project to the organization to foster shared ownership and accountability. He might also have to empathize with his team members' demanding work schedules and work out flexible ways to best accommodate everyone's schedule.

Next, he might have to set ground rules for the project work and get everyone's contribution and agreement on mutually agreed-upon behavioral norms and ways of working together.

Above all, he needs to create sufficient psychological safety so that everyone's contribution is heard and they can express their ideas without inhibition. Tom must avoid the "leader as hero" mentality. He must empower team members and distribute leadership responsibilities.

Adapting to Team Changes

Matrix project teams are often dynamic, with members joining or leaving as project needs evolve. When a new member joins, it's crucial to assess:

  • Shared Goals: Does the new member align with the team's objectives and mission?
  • Culture Fit: Does their personality, values, and work style complement the team culture?
  • Psychological Safety: Will they feel comfortable expressing their opinions and taking risks without fear of judgment or reprisal?
  • Attitudes: Are their attitudes towards work, colleagues, and the organization positive and constructive?
  • Motivation Factors: What motivates them to perform at their best? How can we align their intrinsic motivations with the team's goals?
  • Team Coordination and Cooperation: How will their skills and strengths contribute to their effectiveness?
  • Adaptability: Can they adapt to changing circumstances and learn new skills as needed?

Similarly, when a team member departs, consider:

  • The impact on the team's overall capabilities
  • Whether immediate replacement is necessary
  • Potential effects on team morale and productivity

In both cases, it's essential to revisit the team's purpose, re-evaluate dynamics, and focus on team development and culture.

Ensuring Project Success

Throughout the project lifecycle, I emphasize:

  • Ongoing contracting to maintain alignment
  • Collaborative problem-solving and decision-making
  • Strengthening connections between team members
  • Leveraging diverse skills and work styles
  • Challenging assumptions and encouraging innovation

As projects near completion, I facilitate reflective discussions to capture lessons learned and promote continuous improvement.

Conclusion

Leading a matrix project team is undoubtedly challenging, but it can be gratifying with the right approach. By viewing your team as a complex adaptive system and applying the principles outlined in above, you can navigate the complexities of matrix management and drive your team toward greater productivity and success.

Effective team management is an ongoing process. Regularly revisit your team dynamics, especially when:

  • The team composition changes
  • New tasks are assigned
  • Conflicts arise

By consistently maintaining this vigilance and applying these strategies, you'll be well-equipped to master the matrix and lead your project team to new heights of achievement.


My name is c.j., and I'm a Sales Leadership Team Coach. I also help management and internal project teams leverage one another's strengths to create team synergy.

What are your experiences working in an internal project team? Share your stories in the comments below!

#teamcoaching #teamculture #projectteams #sharedleadership

Neil Mann

Emerging Tech Futurist | Board Advisor | Strategic Foresight | Global Keynote Speaker

2mo

Insightful. I am a proponent of the “ground rules” not only about what we will do and how we will do it, but also with an active set of “these are things we will NOT do”. If anything on that latter list transpires then that’s where effective communication as the conductor comes in 🎯

Leila Boutaleb-Brousse

Self-leadership | Leadership | Career | Team Coach | B2B Tech-Marketing Advisor and Mentor

2mo

Very insightful cj Ng 黄常捷 - Sales Leadership Team Coach love the clear framework and the structure of how to effectively manage a matrix project.

Firdaus Johari

🚀 Boosting Business Profitability With 🧠Brain Science & 💡 Creative Thinking 🎨 How? Ask Me.

2mo

"Culture eats strategy for breakfast" - Peter Drucker Many leaders underestimate the value of ground rules and team norms.

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