As organizations get flatter and matrix structures replace steep hierarchies of the past getting things done becomes increasingly challenging. Going from command and control to influencing others based on your leadership takes, well, leadership. Project and program managers, product managers, and many support functions responsible for delivering their objectives (Launch dates, C-Sat scores, and Marketing events) are measured not by how hard they worked, but by how they were able to harness others in getting them to deliver on their tasks and how that translated into improving the company’s bottom line. Even with total authority over your own resources increasing interdependencies in today’s complex organizations makes it critical for anyone to understand and succeed in getting others outside their span of control to come through.
Clients holding positions, where they have to rely on their success based on how well others deliver on their commitments, often come to me for guidance on how to get others who work on their team to help them succeed in their assignments, when they have no direct authority over their resources working on their team. Geo-dispersed teams with communication and cultural barriers further exacerbate this. Although this challenge may appear daunting in an organization, where a single resource can be assigned or pulled in many directions, there are certain strategies and tactics that work well when one understands how human psychology works and how you can translate that knowledge into getting your project to succeed, while others fail in similar situations.
Here is my guidance:
- Invest some time in planning your project or task. Carefully map out the tasks, skills required to complete those tasks, interdependencies, and timelines to meet the final deadline. This is one of the biggest shortcomings in most failures. Careful, up-front planning is critical to any endeavor, big or small.
- Identify critical team members for each major task and review their track record in coming through in a clutch. This is almost like assembling a team for the Mission Impossible assignment. Work with respective functional managers to first explain to them your need, what you are trying to accomplish, its place in the scheme of things, and whom you want on your team from that function to lead the charge (make a request and NOT a demand for such resources). Once you get the right person the team that comes together under their charge will also be equally committed. Also, by taking this key step you have enrolled the support of the functional manager in case you need it.
- Once you have all the team members assembled, individually discuss each leader’s assignment and ask for their input on how to structure the overall task under their lead. Ask about the people they have selected and how to set up accountabilities so that you do not have to micromanage their team. Set up the controls after you have agreed on the milestones, dependencies, and resource requirements. Be open about assumptions and contingencies.
- If possible have an all-hands meeting to launch the project and show the overall mission with roles of each team clearly defined. In a geo-dispersed organization do this virtually or through an email that sets the tone for the project. This is a critical step for creating ownership and accountabilities.
- Develop and post a Wiki or a dashboard so that everyone on the team knows in real-time where things are and who is holding things up. Having a project map with a graphic Critical Path showing at all times is a great visual aid for all team members to focus on their own commitments and what is causing any delays. Team members do not like to expose their delays to others, so they are likely to do whatever is required to stay on track.
- If a task or a team falls behind, find the root-cause and develop a recovery plan without blaming anyone. On high-risk tasks such setbacks are common and the trick is to find ways to recover from them with leadership intervention. If a particular team member is errant in their ways then escalate the matter to the Lead and then to the functional manager without delay. Find a replacement.
- When any team member or Lead shows exceptional results send an email to all team members, functional managers, and their bosses praising their actions and work. Nothing gets more attention than someone being publicly praised for a job well done. This simple (and free) act inspires others to raise their bar and rise to the challenge.
- Celebrate wins and find ways to share common learning and best practices. These events and shared learning build camaraderie as the project moves towards its goals.
- As a task or project progresses reassess the role of each team member through their respective Leads and reassign team members to keep the project effectively staffed.
- If the end task slips, quickly assess the slippage and create a recovery plan in concert with key stakeholders. Keep the customer or client apprised of this so that there are no surprises. If the project scope needs changing do this early and communicate to the entire team as soon as it is formalized. When the project is complete thank the team and especially the heroes publically and celebrate the success.
Working on complex projects in a matrix organization presents unique challenges. Leadership is about understanding those challenges and finding ways to achieve the right outcomes despite all the impediments, including your lack of direct authority. The above prescription can help if you follow it well.
Good luck!