---
title: "Span of control"
description: "Tradeoffs between span of control and org depth"
url: "https://www.rubick.com/wiki/people/span-of-control/"
---

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[Wiki](https://www.rubick.com/wiki/) / [People Management](https://www.rubick.com/wiki/people/) / Span of control

# ↕️Span of control

Tradeoffs between span of control and org depth

## How many people should a manager manage?

-   [Trend in larger companies towards larger teams](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-06-17/why-companies-are-cutting-middle-managers-in-the-ai-era). In 2026 many larger companies were betting that AI can magically allow for a doubling in team size.
-   [Bob Sutton on team size](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7472705028496150528/). Commentary on [Meta’s disasterous attempt to increase team size](https://www.wired.com/story/andrew-bosworth-meta-employees-unrest/). Routine work can have larger teams. Moving to larger teams requires clear rules, norms and goals.
-   [There are real tradeoffs](https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7477051240498110464/) by me. Larger teams are desirable because they flatten corporate hierarchy. But the cost is local effectiveness and retention. Also smaller teams are more innovative.