How To Align Goals When There Are Two Managers

I work for an international NGO with matrix teams across 50 countries. How do you ensure goal alignment when staff have two bosses ? How do you manage conflict of priorities, time allocation to the line manager and the dotted line manager?

The Team Doc Says…

This type of organizational arrangement is becoming more common across all industries. With the advances in technology, teams can be dispersed across many locations and managers can have responsibility for different groups — many have shared responsibilities as you have indicated.

So what to do? Communicate. Hands down, that is the single most effective behavior that will make you and your team successful. Your managers could have competing priorities and if that’s the case, your team will get stuck in the crossfire. Not a good thing.

It’s important that you take the time to set team goals that align with organizational goals. Then have a joint session with both managers to ensure there are no conflicts.

Set aside some time at least once a week to check in with each of the managers to ensure you are on track to meet their expectations. If you sense the slightest bit of misalignment, take care of it right away.

What do you think reader? Have a suggestion to add? Please leave a comment.

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About Denise O'Berry

Hello! My name is Denise O’Berry — aka Team Doc. I’ve spent years working with teams and their leadership to help them improve and work through team issues. You see some of that advice in the answers on this website. I’d like to help you too. Connect with me on Google+, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube

Comments

  1. Kevan Hall says:
    March 18, 2009 at 1:15 pm

    What you describe is normal in a matrix organization. We set up a matrix because we have competing goals. If we could align fully we would not need a matrix – so get used to some ambiguity.

    The most used tool for alignment is RASCI (Google it for more)

    To resolve the inevitable challenges of multiple bosses you can either escalate to them to solve or leave it in the hands of the individual at the intersection of the matrix to manage the trade-offs. Either way you need to make sure that the knowledge, confidence and authority lies with the right people to resolve this

    More ideas, including some podcasts etc.. you may find useful on matrix management at http://www.lifeinamatrix.com

  2. Denise O'Berry says:
    March 18, 2009 at 7:48 pm

    Great explanation Kevan. Thanks for adding your thoughts and offering additional resources.

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