How Emotional Intelligence Can Solve The Matrix Management Problem

Forbes

2 days ago

Matrix organizations present well-known challenges: difficulty influencing across reporting lines, navigating unclear direction from multiple stakeholders with competing priorities, and driving growth and performance without traditional authority structures. When you add in exponential change and AI's impact, these challenges are multiplied.
The conventional wisdom? Throw soft-skills workshops at the problem. But Beth Hoban, Vice President of Talent Management at LMI, a 2,700-person digital solutions provider for the government, had a different approach. When she systematically built 'power skills' (i.e., emotional intelligence across relationships) into daily operations—not through formal training events, but through embedded systems—everything got better.
At LMI, Hoban is responsible for developing talent in one of the most complex organizational structures imaginable: a matrix organization where employees report to both project managers and capability leaders, deploy across multiple government markets, and navigate constant change in federal contracting. I recently had the opportunity to ask Hoban about several of the ways LMI enables leaders to develop their 'power skills.'
Frequent PM Touchpoints
Most organizations approach skills development through intensive multi-day workshops. Hoban takes a different approach: embedded learning that happens within daily work.
"We, at this point in time, are not doing the classic, let me take you out for three days to go teach you how to talk to each other,'" she explains. "We want multiple checkpoints throughout the year to really embed and reinforce it."
The approach includes weekly forums where program managers can ask questions, learn new technical skills, and practice difficult conversations. When teams face challenges like contract losses, Hoban provides individual coaching to the PMs, too.
Three-Question Performance Management
When it comes to performance management, Hoban eschews the traditional, complex annual review ritual. Instead, LMI built their entire performance culture around three simple questions that Hoban says they use in "all of our career conversations":
"It's a really simple methodology that we repeat over and over and talk about in the flow of work. It's changed the way we're having conversations," Hoban says. Her philosophy is straightforward: "People can't meet expectations for their leaders if they don't know what they are."
The approach recognizes a fundamental truth about human nature. "I always ask people, 'Raise your hand if you came to work today to be totally mediocre,'" Hoban notes. "And no one raises their hands—we're here because we want to be of service and we want to do great work."
The Systems Approach That Scales
What makes LMI's approach work isn't any single program—its systems thinking. Hoban describes herself as "a systems thinker" who focuses on creating what she calls multiple options in critical subject areas.
"It's more about creating options in certain buckets and having toolkits. For lack of a better analogy, it's almost a menu," she explains. "Here are some tools and resources that we have at different phases of your career and to counter different problems."
These include everything from EQ assessments for specific situations to leadership development for senior teams. The tool is determined by the question: What problem are we trying to solve for? What's the insight we need to get to?
The Mission Connection
Perhaps most importantly, LMI grounds all of this in mission. As a company serving government clients, every employee can connect their daily work to national security, veteran healthcare, or other critical objectives.
Hoban emphasizes the importance of embedding LMI's vision throughout the organization: "How does every single person working here see themselves in the mission? One of my favorite things to ask our leaders is, 'Tuesday afternoon at 2 o' clock in your staff meeting, how are you role-modeling this?"
This mission orientation provides what she calls a "bearing point" during times of constant change—a fixed reference when everything else is shifting.
The Bottom Line
Matrix organizations are becoming the norm in tech and consulting, but they're also where traditional management breaks down. As AI automates more knowledge work, the organizations that thrive will be those that master human relationships.
But this isn't about sending people to communication workshops or posting values on the wall. It's about building systems that embed power skills into daily work, create multiple touchpoints for feedback and development, and connect individual growth to organizational mission.
Hoban's system approach yields impressive results. While most organizations struggle with AI-driven transformation, LMI actually saw attrition decrease during their 2020 transition from not-for-profit to for-profit status—precisely when employee turnover typically spikes.
Hoban references a quote from futurist Alvin Toffler that captures the challenge: "The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn."
In an AI-powered world, that learning agility—combined with the uniquely human ability to connect, collaborate, and build trust—becomes your only sustainable competitive advantage.
Kevin Kruse is the Founder + CEO of LEADx, an emotional intelligence training company. Kevin is also a New York Times bestselling author. His latest book is Emotional Intelligence: 52 Strategies to Build Strong Relationships, Increase Resilience, and Achieve Your Goals.