Military hierarchy has been pretty similar for a very long time because it works conceptually. Section/Squad/Platoon/Company/Battalion/etc.
10 direct reports don’t work from a management sense unless some folks are expected to operate very independently or if the reports themselves are second level managers, or the manager is only nominally “managing” a time card or whatever.
Management to me means you are accountable for output. I can’t be aware enough of what 10 different people/teams are doing to be meaningfully accountable for a longer period of time. It’s not fair to me and certainly not fair to the people not getting the support they need.
In my professional life, I’m responsible for a team of ~200, with 5 direct reports. It’s a mix of engineering and product/service teams. We aim for teams of 4-5 with two functions each. The secret is to be as honest as you can, have high standards, and be flexible.
10 direct reports don’t work from a management sense unless some folks are expected to operate very independently or if the reports themselves are second level managers, or the manager is only nominally “managing” a time card or whatever.
Management to me means you are accountable for output. I can’t be aware enough of what 10 different people/teams are doing to be meaningfully accountable for a longer period of time. It’s not fair to me and certainly not fair to the people not getting the support they need.
In my professional life, I’m responsible for a team of ~200, with 5 direct reports. It’s a mix of engineering and product/service teams. We aim for teams of 4-5 with two functions each. The secret is to be as honest as you can, have high standards, and be flexible.