ClearPM

I work in a matrix environment where the functional managers are the direct supervisors and the project manager has direct supervision over no one.  I have no control over who is assigned to my team, though I do identify the functional areas that need to be represented.  Occasionally I request a particular person to be assigned to my project, but it's a request only and I'm subject to the vagaries of functional management and support requirements.

I guess officially we'd call this a "weak" matrix, but one thing works to my advantage.  I'm fortunate that the culture of our company places value on the major role that projects play in the organization.  Project Manager is generally a "strong" position in this culture.

A Strong Project Culture

Team members understand that team participation and success is a significant portion of their job function.  I certainly encourage team members to identify with the project, take ownership of their part, and build relationships between team members that lead to them wanting to perform well on the project.  At the same time there's an implicit expectation that the team member will complete the tasks to which they're assigned. 

I believe people want to do a good job.  They want to be recognized as a valuable, contributing member of their business and receive whatever rewards come along with that, intrinsically or extrinsically.  In this culture, I find it's just not that hard to maintain productive, respectful relationships.  Professionalism, recognition of the team member's expertise, social interaction (even on virtual teams), and simple human decency go a long way.

I don't want to make it sound all rosy.  There have been times where work wasn't done and I had to escalate the issue to the functional manager or higher.  Right now I'm leading a project where a team member has to carve project work time out of his normal daily functional support activities.  We're refreshing a number of servers, and we're running into schedule problems on the first one as a result of this team member being pulled in more than one direction.  In the past, I've also worked with functional managers to have team members replaced who, for whatever reason, couldn't do the job.

Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing

In an article for the Washington DC PMI chapter, Team Building and Development in a Matrix Environment, Karen Davey-Winter writes, "Keeping a diverse group of people together in a matrix team depends on building loyalty and trust."  She describes over a dozen techniques to do so and relates how they can be used in relation to Tuckman's five stages of group development (Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning).  Her suggestions include holding kickoff meetings, using team building techniques, and defining delivery processes. 

If your company doesn't have a strong project culture, her ideas can be helpful.  And if you do have a strong project culture, you have even more tools or advantages at your disposal.