How to identify the right ‘spans of control’ for your organization.

Throughout the 20th century, many organizations chased the notion of finding and using one ideal universal “span of control” (SOC)—the magic number of employees a manager could oversee to achieve optimal effectiveness and efficiency. However, there is no single magic number that fits all types of managers and the work that they do. In fact, chasing one single number can actually reduce effectiveness.

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The top-down assignment of managerial span of control, based on external comparisons, misses the specificity critical to designing something that is right for each company’s context and strategy. It doesn’t take into account how each department and team should perform their work to accomplish their collective performance and health goals.

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A new way to set target spans of control is one that enables companies to build organizations that are “fit for purpose” to their context and strategy. Optimized managerial span requires an understanding of the complexity and the nature of the work done by both the manager and their direct reports. Individual managerial jobs, can be categorized into five different archetypes that reflect the most typical types of managerial work:

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1. Player/coach: A player/coach has a significant level of individual responsibility. There may not be guidelines or standardized processes in place for this work. The teams conduct different types of work, and those work activities are rarely repeatable. Self-sufficiency can be achieved only after several years because work requires skills developed over an extensive apprenticeship.
2. Coach: A coach archetype has a substantial level of individual responsibility and executional support from others. Process guidelines are in place. Subordinates typically conduct more than one type of work. Additionally, for a given type of work, coach activities are conducted differently. Self-sufficiency can be obtained typically within a year because work requires skills developed during a substantial apprenticeship in a structured way.
3. Supervisor: A supervisor archetype has a moderate level of individual responsibility and has leadership from others for execution. A standard work process exists. Direct reports conduct the same type of work but activities may be conducted differently. Self-sufficiency can be achieved more quickly (for example, within six months) because work requires skills developed through a moderate apprenticeship in a standardized way.
4. Facilitator: A facilitator archetype has limited responsibility for individual delivery, with primary accountability for managing the day-to-day work of others. Work is mostly standardized. Teams conduct the same type of work and similar activities. Self-sufficiency can be achieved within one to two months because skills can be acquired quickly or direct reports have the majority of skills before starting the job.
5. Coordinator: A coordinator archetype spends nearly all of his or her time managing day-to-day work. The work is highly standardized or automated. Direct reports perform the same essential work and activities. Self-sufficiency can be achieved in a couple of weeks because work requires few specific skills or people have the skills before entering the role.

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By applying these managerial archetypes to current manager roles, you can identify opportunities to rightsize their spans of control, ultimately increasing the effectiveness, efficiency, speed, and productivity of the entire organization.

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These archetypes cover spans ranging from three to five to more than 15 direct reports per manager. Ranges are used to allow for flexibility in strategy and execution, as we know that not every individual in a given manager cohort will have the same managerial capabilities. Ranges give room for managers both new to the role, who are still upskilling, as well as for high-performing managers, who are at the top of their game.

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Each role in an organization can be mapped to one of the five managerial archetypes depending on four aspects of managerial complexity:

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1. Time allocation. How much actual time is the manager spending on her or his own work versus time spent managing others?
2. Process standardization. How standard and formally structured is the work process?
3. Work variety. How similar or different is the work of individual direct reports?
4. Team skills required. How much experience and training do team members’ jobs require? How independent are the direct reports?

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By better understanding the managerial archetypes in the organization you can set specific guardrails for each managerial cohort. Using rigorous analytics and evidence, targeted actions can be taken to either streamline or increase the spans of control for each group.

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By rightsizing your managerial spans of control, companies can dramatically improve the productivity and speed of their organization.