Managing a large team
When your business grows and your team grows, you may eventually find yourself managing a much larger team. Growth on your team can be very exciting as it helps you grow your skill set as a manager. It can also be challenging when the processes and techniques that you have implemented to manage your team begin to lose some of their effectiveness.
When your team grows beyond a certain size, your methods of management will need to change. Generally speaking, the ideal number of direct reports is five to seven (see Chapter 16 for more on this). When you exceed seven direct reports, it is very difficult to give the members of your team adequate time. This effect is somewhat modulated when your team grows slowly, so you have time to develop trust and shorthand with your team members before your team is larger, but it can be very pronounced when your team grows quickly.
As your team grows, it is also important to be aware that productivity does not scale linearly...
