A project manager’s role within different organizational structures
Organizational structure. You also learned that Classic and Matrix are two of the most common organizational structures.
Understanding the differences between Classic and Matrix organizational structures can help you ask questions during a job interview to understand the role and responsibilities you are considering fully. This will also help you know which skills will be most vital for you to have if you get the position.
Once you are hired into a role, knowing a company’s organizational structure can help you identify key communication points and critical stakeholders. It can also help you navigate within the organization when you need support or need to determine who has authority in a particular situation. Let’s examine the characteristics of each of these organizational structures in greater depth so you can identify the type of structure an organization has and how to navigate it as a project manager.
Classic organizational structures
The Classic organizational structure is a top-down hierarchy system where a Chief Executive Officer (CEO) has direct authority over several department managers. The department manager has direct jurisdiction over several other sections of employees. This system requires communication both up and down the ladder. In a Classic structure, power comes from the top and filters to the bottom. Frequent reporting of project status updates may be required to pass up through management levels to keep higher leaders informed.
Classic organizations are also called functional organizations because the organization is divided into departments based on function. An active manager leads each department, and employees are grouped according to the tasks of their roles. For example, the primary part of Friendly Skies Airlines, an airline company, is to fly airplanes. Typically, departments are logically arranged to fulfill other essential company functions, such as Marketing, Human Resources, and Strategy. Employees usually have a specialty within the organization and may not work within different areas during normal operations.
Managing a project in a Classic organization
Friendly Skies Airlines has a Classic organizational structure, as indicated by its reporting or “org” chart.
Imagine the Friendly Skies Airlines Board of Directors approving an initiative to retrofit existing airplanes to carry more passengers. The CEO sponsors a project team to redesign the airplanes. A project manager from the Engineering and Innovation department will lead the project. It will require representatives from Finance, Marketing, Strategy, and Operations, along with several other team members from the Design department, to complete the project successfully.
The project team will typically remain in their reporting lines but act as their own assembled team. They do not fall under any of the existing functional departments. The project builds from existing departments to form groups in the Classic organizational structure.
Suppose you are a project manager in this type of structure. In that case, you may need to consult with functional managers to understand your resources and the capacity of each teammate, as well as to familiarize yourself with each function’s internal processes and approval structure. Your authority may be slightly limited due to competing priorities, approval chains, and other complexities, but setting expectations up front will enable you to navigate the organization and execute your project successfully.
Matrix organizational structures
The Matrix structure differs from the Classic structure in that the employees have two or more managers. In Matrix structures, you still have people above you, but you also have people in adjacent departments with whom you must communicate about your work progress. Functional areas tend to cross paths more frequently, and depending on the nature of the work, the responsible manager for each room has the most authority.
As a project manager in a Matrix organization, a team will have at least two chains of command or managers. You can think of the project manager as a temporary manager while assigned to the team. The functional manager is consistent regardless of the project a project manager is supporting. The visual below illustrates Friendly Skies Airlines would look like if it had a Matrix organizational structure.
Managing a project in a Matrix organization
Imagine that Friendly Skies Airlines is organized in a Matrix structure. Their Product Excellence team develops a new amenity kit for long-haul flights. They ask the Project Manager to help gather marketing materials that present research data about how this product fulfills passenger desires. The project manager works on behalf of the product excellence team, but they can work in partnership with the marketing team to create these materials.
You can read more about an overview of Matrix organizations in this PMI article.
Key takeaway
Project managers must clearly define roles and responsibilities in both Classic and Matrix organizations to work effectively. However, within most Matrix organizations, some project managers or department leads may have the same level of authority as the functional managers and operate more directly.
Now you know how to identify Classic and Matrix organizational structures, how project managers fit into them, and how an organization’s network may affect projects. You are well on your way to becoming a great project manager in any organizational structure!
