How Big Is Too Big?

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When professional teams have losing seasons, they commonly fire their head coach to hire a younger leader with less experience and more vibrancy in pursuit of a rebuild. 

Then, that new leader assembles his staff, which far exceeds the prior group. The ownership is sparing no expense in hiring and doesn’t have a cap on coach spending. So, before long, the building is overflowing and outgrowing its office space. 

Lean and mean have been replaced with bigger and bolder. 

A new leader with little or limited experience is now charged with guiding a large group. Prior to this promotion, the new leader had dealt with small groups, smaller problems. The theory behind adding more people centers on having more eyes to examine the work and more mouths to offer sage advice. It also means more people for the newly appointed leader to lead.  

For any first-time leader, a new job comes with inherent problems that aren’t known until the work actually begins. There are roadblocks never seen before, unheard of problems to solve and more work than one could imagine.

Whatever happened to less is more? The larger the group, the harder it becomes for any leader to connect one-on-one with those he/she leads and to develop a sense of belonging to the team. 

When staffs become bigger, that doesn’t make them better. Unless the new leader understands the challenges that await, it can prove to be counterproductive. 

Here are some challenges of becoming too big too fast.

• Tension from within: Managing too many employees can create tension among those who are involved and those who aren’t. Then the tension finds partners, which then become little groups of unhappy people. 

• Unclear communication: Can a new leader make everyone understand the roles and expectations? A lack of clarity can lead to confusion, frustration, misunderstanding, conflict, and wasted time.

• Staff Development. Staff members will get frustrated as they may not get the attention and direction they need to perform better. Remember sharing information is a leaders greatest currency. 

• Maintaining the Culture. Can a great culture get established with a large amount of people? Will everyone buy in? 

• Lack of structure: If an organization doesn't have a well-set structure, the overall productivity levels may decrease. 

• Less effort, less attention to detail. In big companies with too many people the pathway to advancement is crowded which will make people look for work while doing their work. 

As the quote goes, “A corporation is a living organism; it has to continue to shed its skin. Methods must change. Focus must change. Values must change. The sum of those changes is transformation.” 

And managing large groups for a first-time leader can prevent the transformation needed to win. 

Over the course of history, we’ve commonly seen that less can provide more. 

The last day to submit your application to join The Daily Coach Network is today. 

Limited to just 80 total members, The Daily Coach Network features exclusive, monthly guest speakers and surrounds you with other high-performance leaders from a diverse set of industries and backgrounds so you can learn from their wins and mistakes— without a major time commitment.

With The Daily Coach Network, it’s a little less lonely at the top. Learn more and apply before the day ends here.

Establishing trust and respect is crucial when overseeing leaders from diverse disciplines beyond your own expertise. It's essential to acknowledge your vulnerability in specific areas, openly expressing that you may not be an expert and emphasizing your reliance on the support of team members who excel in those domains.

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