Like many west coast start-ups, the company had grown quickly. It doubled in size in a year. And then doubled again the next year. As the dust settled at the end of 2021, the CEO was now working with over 15 direct reports. And that didn’t include the relationship with the board or investors. The CEO was frazzled from trying to manage all those direct reports. I asked one of the executives, “Have you heard of the concept of span of control?” Of course, he hadn’t.

Span of Control

The concept of "span of control," sometimes called the management ratio, is the number of direct reports controlled directly by a leader or a manager. The concept of span of control was developed in the United Kingdom by Sir Ian Hamilton in the 1920s in his book The Soul and Body of an Army. It arose from the assumption that managers have finite amounts of time and energy to spend with their people and their jobs. Analyzing British military leaders, Hamilton found that the leaders could not effectively control more than three to six people. These figures have been generally accepted as the "rule of thumb" for span of control ever since.

In the 1930s, A.V. Graicumas, a Paris-based management consultant, built upon Hamilton’s research by looking at the concept of span of control mathematically. His research showed that there was an exponential growth in the complexity of relationships as the number of reporting subordinates for each manager increases. Using Graicumas’s formula, an executive that has four direct reports has 44 relationships; if she had six direct reports she would have 222 relationships. That’s a lot of relationships to manage!

Although having a flat organization is all the rage, it is a challenge for managers and leaders to effectively and efficiently manage more than six direct reports. Are you managing more than six direct reports?

Army Examples of Span of Control:

The US Army pays attention to span of control and tries to build its structure so that leaders don’t exceed their span of control. However, the US Army, like many businesses, exceeds the “rule of thumb” for span of control for leaders/commanders at most levels:

• Infantry Squad Leader (9 People) — 2x Direct Reports

• Infantry Platoon Leader (38 People) — 6x Direct Reports (4x Squad Leaders, Platoon Sergeant, and Fire Support NCO)

• Infantry Company Commander (130 People) — 7x Direct Reports (3x Platoon Leaders, First Sergeant, Executive Officer, Fire Support Officer)

• Infantry Battalion Commander (700 People) — 9x Direct Reports (6x Company Commanders, Command Sergeant Major, Operations Officer, Executive Officer)

• Brigade Commander (3,000 People) — 10x Direct Reports (7x Battalion Commanders, Command Sergeant Major, Operations Officer, Executive Officer)

Optimal Span of Control

Establishing the optimal span of control for leaders and managers is one of the most important tasks in structuring any organization from start-ups, to lines of business, to non-profits, or even coaching staffs. Finding the optimal span of control involves balancing the relative advantages and disadvantages of retaining responsibility for decision making and delegating or empowering others to make those decisions. Of course, there is no perfect answer. It is all about the trade-offs.

Narrow vs. Wide Span of Control

Some ideas on the advantages and disadvantages of narrow and wide spans of control:

Narrow Span of Control

• Advantages:

  • Managers have good control over operations

  • Lots of communication

  • Nimble

• Disadvantages

  • Lots of supervision for employees; may stifle innovation and responsibility

  • More expensive

Wide Span of Control

• Advantages:

  • Forces managers to develop clear goals and policies, delegate tasks effectively, and select and train employees carefully

  • Employees get less supervision, take on more responsibility and have higher morale

  • Less expensive

• Disadvantages:

  • Managers get overloaded with work, have difficulty making decisions

  • Employees have less supervision

  • May be slower moving

One of the biggest ways you can impact your company, non-profit, or coaching staff is through restructuring and optimizing the span of control for your portion of the team. Ask yourself do I have more than 6 direct reports? Do my direct reports have more than 6 direct reports? Where could we restructure the organization to improve the span of control?

Conclusion

Have a large span of control? Are you frazzled trying to keep up with them? Want some ideas to better manage your direct reports? Reach out to me me here for a free consultation.

I published a book last summer on how to develop your perseverance and better accomplish your goals — Grow Your Grit, available for sale at Amazon.

Go on the offense and make sure your span of control is appropriate for you and your organization.