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HR Summit 2024

Navigating the Matrix:

Managing Change in a Decentralized Organization

One HR: Shaping the Future of Work Together

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Top-Down Structure

Flow top-down:

Strategy
Priorities
Decision-making
Resource allocation
Communication
Conflict resolution

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Matrixed Structure

Flow top-down

AND horizontally

Strategy
Priorities
Decision-making
Resource allocation
Communication
Conflict resolution

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The University Matrix

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Challenges of a Matrix

Slower decisions shared among multiple stakeholders

Need to facilitate open discussions and clear decision-points

Confusion about authority and accountability

Need to re-align frequently on goals, be clear on who is responsible for what - multiple leaders may assume others are driving the change

Conflicting priorities from multiple stakeholders

Need clear channels for surfacing and resolving conflicts

Influencing without direct authority

Requires strong coaching and relationship-building skills

Communication often comes from multiple sources

Requires proactive and transparent communication

Focus on results not process

Ensures that everyone is working towards the same goal, even if approaches may differ

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LEADING FROM A CENTRAL ROLE:

Phoebe Johnson

Senior Director for IT Leads

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Sr. Director for IT Leads

IT Leaders from Academic and Support Units will have solid reporting lines to both the new position “Senior Director, IT Leads” as well as their academic or support unit Dean, VP or Chancellor.

Enhanced bi-directional communication �and accountability
IT priorities set by the business are well-understood across the system
Improved ability to mature practices and modernize systems
Individual contributors reporting to IT Leads will be given opportunities to lead or join virtual teams

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Chief Technology Officer

Information Security

OIT Human Resources

OIT Finance

Learning Network

of Minnesota

VPCIO

Cross-Functional Teams

Academic Technology

User Support

I&P

App Dev

IAM

HST

System IT Leads

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University IT: Facts

IT services span 5 system campuses
Technologists represent ~6% of total University staff
29 IT leaders systemwide
Technology represents ~6% of total University expenditures
21 centralized services with more than 150 public facing technologies

Overview

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595

total years at UMN

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84%

10+ years at UMN

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5

avg # of positions held

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25%

were student workers

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56%

are UMN grads

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Lessons Learned 20 Months In

Relationships Are Key
Systemness Always
Build Trust
Show, Don’t Tell
Recognition Matters

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LEADING FROM A COLLEGE ROLE:

Maggie Heier

Consultant, Talent Strategy – OHR

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CLA all the way!

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Director - CLA Career Services

Director for CLA Career Services unit

Managed a team of 15+ full-time staff, plus undergraduate and graduate students, curriculum and course instructors, etc.

College leadership role in Undergraduate Education

Career services and student services leader

Collaborations and partnerships across the UMN system (ex. Career Directors group)

Local and national engagement (ex. BTAA)

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Leading (change) in CLA

15 staff : 13,000 undergraduate students

(6-8 career counselors)

60+ majors, 30+ academic departments

Across an array of career fields

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What stands out?

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“Two things � can be true…” � - Hospice grief counselor �

The biggest truth I can share with you is this statement – which has been one of the most relevant and useful leadership lessons for me – but that came from a very unlikely place.
Greta told us that it can be helpful to affirm to young children that two things can be true – and you can feel two or more feelings at the same time. We can feel happy when we think of the good times with Grandpa or how fun it was to have your favorite dinner that night – and also very sad that he is gone and won’t be coming back.
And it relates directly to how we need to think about our work leading change and navigating our decentralized, but coordinated – or matrixed – environment here at the University.

I have found, that the more I can accept that there can be more than one right way – that there may be more than one version of what’s best, needed, possible – the easier time I have being open, creative, and effective in finding a way forward.

I offer this to you too –

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Tips for navigating…

within formal structures

beyond formal structures

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Tips for navigating…

within formal structures

Know…

What is valued
Who holds decision rights
How power is held, given, shared
Who are the informal influencers to know
What moves the various stakeholders in your group
How this group learns and makes sense of the world
What else?

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The University Matrix

In some of my work – depending on the goal – it was super great that our Dean had ultimate authority and agency to influence how we would organize and deliver our career services support to students. The faculty still had a great deal of power to affirm (or not) some of our approaches – like whether or not they’d agree to approve a required career course for all undergraduate students.

In other ways – it would have been much easier if we could have moved together as an institution. An example from the Career Services space – something I loved about that work was the complexity of being at the intersection of student’s lives as students – their academic identity – and that of the world of work. In particular – employers didn’t always understand or care which college a student was in when they were recruiting students. We needed to compete as the University of Minnesota and help our students land jobs they were competing for against students in other states and at entire institutions. Without a central Career Services office – how could we make that happen?

Or, take something a little closer to our HR home – there was an MPACT goal to “Increase on-campus employment opportunities for all students each year.” In that regard – we wanted to help our CLA students understand those opportunities existed, be able to compete for them, and we wanted to elevate the quality of those experiences too. We could have developed a CLA-wide on-campus employment effort – but it would have missed students who are in CLA but not working in CLA on-campus roles. And what about all of the non-CLA students working in CLA positions? This was an example where a central approach to taking up this charge made great sense.

Many things here do not fully honor or system-ness. Our Provost does not have reporting authority over our Chancellors. So for anything to be truly “system-wide” it must be held by our President.

Unless – you build your own coalition and structure…

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Tips for navigating…

Mix of formal and informal structures is often needed
Don’t wait for someone to create the paths needed to get work done
Look for the win-win
More carrot-less stick
Assume a learning mindset - test, pilot, repeat
Invite the skeptics
Be inclusive about who you can bring to the table
Stay fierce about your end goal, but humble about how to get there

beyond formal structures

Another bit of wisdom I can share is this – do not look only to the existing, formal, evident structures as the avenues for getting work done.

There are times where our structure limits our ability to connect and solve problems together.

In the Career Services community – awesome leaders at the U of M years ago built the “Career Development Network” – a very flexible way for people working in career services in all sorts of places at the University to join together, share ideas, challenges, resources – to grow and engage in professional development, to lift up issues, concerns, and celebrate successes, etc. The group really raised the bar on the “profession” of career services at the U, did a lot to help extend support beyond formal structures, and has helped countless students compete for jobs because there are increased ways for our University to come together when it matters – to compete as the University of Minnesota – and not just one college or School – in an external environment where our students have to compete against the “best and the brightest” across the nation. The UMN Job & Internship Fair is a terrific example of this group’s legacy.

Another example from student services is the Advising Task Force – now Advising Steering Committee. This group brought together different people and perspectives to help build a shared vision for undergraduate advising and develop recommendations for things like student to advisor ratios that could be supported across the Twin Cities campus (I believe). This would have been so much harder to do college by college. And our students benefited greatly from this approach.

Task forces, committees, work groups, communities of practice, listservs, steering committees, advisory boards or groups – these can all be convened in more ad hoc ways – to explore a question, challenge, or opportunity and bring together a diverse representation of voices, perspectives, and experiences to offer up recommendations, policies, norms, or next actions that can help drive progress and change in ways that span our formal structures.

Get curious – stay open to what the solution or outcome could be – work the process – focus on the process as much as or more than the outcome. Trust the people you bring to the table. Hold a seat for those who are historically marginalized, excluded, missed, or challenged. Get as close to those you serve as you can. Add students. Don’t select only those who are “on your side” – get the heat going and bring in the skeptics. Accept that there could be conflict and challenge. Honor that as part of a good process. Stay hopeful.

But remember this advice I learned from my grandma --

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�“Watch your back” �� and… ��

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��“Watch your back!” ��and… ��“Don’t worry. Something good could be just around �the corner…” �� - Proud UMN Alum… my Grandma Polly, who lived to 100

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To close… 10 tips for staying grounded

Relationships are everything. Lead with kindness.
Know your purpose and values. State these often.
Bring people along. Remind them (again!) where you are coming from.

Show, tell, remind, review, check for understanding. Never assume it’s clear to everyone.

Empathy and curiosity go a long way – listen with care.
Get comfortable with conflict. It is a skill you can improve with practice. (We have tips!)
Know how to balance who you are with the demands of your leadership role.

As a person, I wish … and yet my role demands …

You don’t need to know the whole plan to take the first step – try, iterate, repeat. Try again. Let go when needed. Revisit if or when the time is better.
Enlist support – seek out differing viewpoints. Find mentors, sounding boards, and others in your field who get it, but have some distance from your context.
Get onto the balcany to take perspective. Get on the dance floor and be in the thick of it.
Your energy is finite. Protect it, be honest about it. Help others know how to support you best.

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Thank you