Managing in a matrix organisation presents existing and potential leaders with a unique array of challenges, and requires a unique capability – particularly when leaders are new to an organisation, according to Joe Marincic, human resources manager for 3M ANZ
Leaders in matrix organisations need to possess exceptional communication skills, an ability to understand complex environments both locally and globally as well as multi-disciplined and cross-functional management capabilities, he said.
From a geographic perspective, 3M has operations in more than 65 countries, and global strategy is rolled out from the US, but each region also its business priorities, and Marincic said this presents a unique challenge for both current and up-and-coming leaders in 3M.
“You might get someone who’s smart and a really great leader, but they just don’t know how to manage the matrix,” he said.
As a matrix organisation, 3M has five businesses: consumer, electronics and energy, healthcare, industrial as well as safety and graphics, and each of these businesses has multiple divisions.
“If a company makes soap and that’s all they do, then that’s relatively easy. But we don’t make just soap.
“We’ve got thousands and thousands of different products, so learning to manage the matrix and the flow of information is a real challenge for up and coming leaders, particularly when they’re new to our organisation.”
One key way in which 3M develops leaders is through rotating leadership potential through different functional roles both locally and globally.
“If a company makes soap and that’s all they do, then that’s relatively easy. But we don’t make just soap”
Marincic himself moved into role for close to four years, which involved managing a distribution centre with 60 people into a unionised, blue collar environment.
“This was brilliant for my development and what I learned out of this was great from a practical HR perspective, from dealing with blue collar employees and negotiating EBAs through to understanding how a supply chain works,” he said.
Being a global business also affords 3M some other advantages locally. In addition to a number of formal training programs and international leadership programs in the US and through Asia, leadership talent is also offered extended business trips.
“So this might mean going to Singapore or somewhere in Asia or the US for a month or two, in order to give individuals a different kind of development opportunity,” said Marincic.
This benefits the local arm of 3M, given it is a relatively small subsidiary of the global business. “Sometimes high flying employees ‘run out of runway’ unless we can find some other things for them, so that can be a challenge for us,” he said.
Marincic said organisations should not underestimate the importance of leadership development and underscored the importance of on-the-job learning.
“It’s not just about training,” he said. “In the old days you would send someone to a training course, but these days there’s more to leadership development than just the training course.
“You get more benefit out of on the job experiences and collaborating with different people from different subsidiaries and different businesses and sharing ideas and so on.
“It’s critical to any operation, because if you don’t do it, people get bored. They don’t learn and what they do is the end up leaving the organisation.”
For the full interview with Marincic and feature on how top companies including 3M, Unilever and Siemens build great leaders, see the next issue of Inside HR magazine.
