When your organizational structure is a mess, it doesn’t make it a matrix. That’s a message I’ve had to give clients over and over again. It is amazing ot me how often people say “well, we have this sort of matrix, where people do a lot of different things.” But a matrix is a highly tuned, well orchestrated structure, with clearly understood responsibilities that span structures and walls.  If your people have well defined obligations to multiple people/structures/goals, and there is routine communication horizontally across your organization, maybe you have a matrix. If you just have a lot of people who feel like they are supposed to somehow figure out how to prioritize and naviagate between multiple (and often conflicting) power structures, you probably don’t have a matrix – you just have a mess. Get it straightened out for the sake of your people.