Functional managers organize the work of similar people (people performing a given function). They hand off their deliverables to another group. Project managers coordinate the work of numerous people to deliver a product to the organization. Matrix managers manage people of a similar function and deliver people to the projects.

In the hiring book, I wanted people to understand the problems these managers solve. But here, I want to explore a bit about how those managers intersect, and how to avoid many managers for one person, especially if the project managers work in a matrix organization.

I taught a project management workshop recently, and has a discussion about who does what. The big problem facing these matrixed project managers was: how did they learn the state of the project without looking like they were micromanaging the technical staff, and how to behave so that people didn’t have two managers, both telling them what to do?

Here’s how I separate the work of the functional managers and the project managers when the project managers are matrixed into the organization to lead projects:

The functional manager and the project managers have different ranges of vision. The functional manager reviews the strategy of the group and how well people are performing that strategy. The project manager is tactical, focused on finishing this project successfully.

If you’re both a functional manager and a project manager (how do you do that??), keep at least some time every week to review the strategic picture and make sure you’re fulfilling the strategy. It’s too easy to let the project needs overwhelm you.