Martin Training and the New Matrix Management
We provide training and management consulting, helping companies execute their business strategies in increasingly complex and cross-functional organizations.
Executing work that crosses functional groups, also know as working in a matrix, requires a different management approach than executing work that resides within its own functional group. This approach is called New Matrix Management and Martin Training Associates is the recognized leader in this new methodology for matrix organizations. We’ve published more, trained more and consulted with more companies in how to apply this new management paradigm than anyone else. (Check out this article from HR Management Report).
Your Org Chart is not Your Business
The old way of doing business focuses only on the vertical dimension of an organization - the dimension of business units and functions, the dimension of authority. But organizations have to focus on customers and suppliers and leveraging business processes and projects to an organization’s strategic advantage, the horizontal dimension.
This is the dimension of projects and processes – delivering products and services to customers using processes and creating new and better products and services through projects. This is the dimension where managers don’t have authority over most of their teams. This is the typical cross-functional or matrix organization and making it work requires changes at all levels of an organization. Without making changes cross functional projects and processes carry a high risk for failure and this translates to an unexecuted organizational strategy. It’s like declaring everyone should now drive on the opposite side of the road without changing the stop signs, turn signals, or traffic laws to make it reality.
How Can Martin Training Help You
As the leaders in New Matrix Management, we specialize in helping companies transition into the 21st century by moving them from the old paradigm (authority based management) to the New Matrix Management paradigm: leading and working without authority in a matrix organization that is focused on customers and suppliers. We offer consulting and workshops that structure the organization and build the skills needed so that matrix organizations can deliver the results that ensure their success.
We make this expertise available to our clients in the following service offerings:
Collaborative Consulting – Expertise to Help You Develop Your Own Solutions
Our collaborative consulting services will help you develop solutions to your most difficult problems - problems like cross-functional warfare, unsuccessful or stalled projects, and issues with accountability and team conflict. Our belief is you know your business better than we do so our approach is to work collaboratively with our clients to identify their needs, develop customized solutions, and execute what is needed. And of course we focus on transferring our knowledge on this new management technology to ensure your self-sufficiency once our engagement is finished.
Training Workshops – Practice Makes Perfect
For almost twenty years Martin Training has been offering workshops in the critical competencies that every executive, manager and employee needs. As a full-service management training company we offer programs in the key skills needed at every level within your organization – from participating on a team and empowering yourself to decomposing strategy and meeting leadership accountability. Here’s a brief breakdown of the skill areas available as workshops:
- New workshops for leaders including Principles and Practices for all levels, Matrix Readiness Assessment, Project Sponsorship and Portfolio Management, Accountability for Executives, Leaders and Teams, and more…
- New Matrix Management for executing work in a matrix including a PMBOK aligned method in Project Management, Portfolio Management, Project Planning, Risk Assessment, Project Scheduling, Leading Effective Meetings, and more…
Books and Other Products – Spreading the Word about New Matrix Management Throughout Your Organization
For almost twenty years Martin Training has been consulting, training and publishing about the management best practices that comprise New Matrix Management. Our 48-page QuickGuides, Memory Joggers (written for and published by GoalQPC) and other materials perfectly distill with clear, easy-to-follow instruction and examples these key skills and concepts in the new paradigm for 21st century managers.
These products can serve as the perfect introduction to the subject matter of New Matrix Management. They are also great companions to any training or consulting effort you have as well as provide opportunities for continuous learning once the classroom part is done. Some of these materials are great reads when time is short and perfect reference sources. Visit our storefront to view our current offerings.
New Matrix Management – A Synthesis of Best Practices
New Matrix Management:
Every organization, whether formally or not is considered a matrix. This means that you operate in two dimensions - The Horizontal Dimension which is customers and suppliers (internal and external) and the Vertical Dimension which is bosses and subordinates. Through our consulting practice and our workshops you’ll builds skills in the New Matrix Management methodology consisting of best practices in structuring, governing and operating in a matrix, implementing the right types of standards and systems (goal setting, performance management, project management, accountability) that make the matrix work effectively, and identifying the skills required by managers and specialists to work cross-functionally in this environment.
Accountability:
Accountability is the purview of every manager and leader in an organization be they a project leader, staff manager or in some other supervisory or executive position. These leaders must be accountable for ensuring that every goal in the organization receives the attention (resources and support) it needs to be achieved. The Accountability Practice within Martin Training’s New Matrix Management system focuses on building knowledge about accountability and the three types (Organizational, Team and Individual), debunking old assumptions about how organizations work, educating leaders how to use Accountability to execute goals and building the commitment among your management teams for using a new system for creating a culture of success.
Project Management:
A consulting and workshops practice designed for anyone who needs to lead teams to create deliverables, our approach is useful to anyone new to project management as well as the most experienced project manager. All workshops are PMBOK aligned and provide PDU credits towards certification requirements for PMP certification. The Project Management Practice also addresses the governance systems and skills needed to be successful including Project Portfolio Management and Sponsoring a Project and advanced skills for experienced project managers.
Team Development:
Project Teams, Management Teams, Department Teams – much of what we do requires gathering a team yet in a matrix organization the team leader usually has no line authority over the resources on the team. Our Team Development practice, completely aligned with our New Matrix Management methodology, provides the essential skills required to create high-performing cross functional teams. We focus participants on using collaborative tools to accomplish goals, deal with conflict resolution, motivate team individuals and facilitate the team through processes that accomplish team goals.
Collaborative Management Skills:
Managers are the glue in any organization, in that it is through them that goals are achieved, people are managed and developed, resources are allocated and ultimately customers satisfied. Non-management employees are often promoted to management positions without developing core management skills to be a success. Our Management Skills content supports the other practice areas of New Matrix Management and provides training so that managers can creatively collaborate with those their superiors and reports, deal with difficult employees, motivate employees to perform, lead effective meetings, and manage change.
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