MIT Sloan Management Review Article on How to Make Your Matrix Organization Really Work

Much has been written about why matrix organizations are needed and what they look like at a surface level. Far less advice is available about what it takes to make them work. This information gap sets many teams up for disappointment because matrix organizations flourish or fail based on attention to their design and dynamics.

Consider the case of Juan, a regional supply chain leader in a large health care system who was caught between competing agendas from multiple bosses in his organization. Juan reports to Brenda, his enterprise-level boss in the supply chain organization, but he also has a reporting relationship to Steve, a regional operations executive. (Note: All names have been changed for anonymity.)

About the Author

Vishal Bhalla is the chief experience officer at Atrium Health. Daniel Gandarilla is the chief talent officer at Atrium Health. Michael Watkins is the cofounder of advisory firm Genesis and a professor of leadership at the International Institute for Management Development (IMD).