Beijing Eaps Consulting Inc., Ivey (2009)
HBR.ORG
APRIL 2012 reprint r1204H
How Many Direct Reports?
Senior leaders, always pressed for time, are nonetheless broadening their span of control. by Gary L. Neilson and Julie Wulf
With compliments of...
How Man Direct Re
2 Harvard Business Review April 2012
ny eports?
Gary L. Neilson is a senior vice president in the Chicago office of Booz & Company and a coauthor of “the Secrets to Successful Strategy execution” (HBR June 2008).
FoR aRtiCle RePRintS Call 800-988-0886 oR 617-783-7500, oR viSit HbR.oRG
Julie Wulf is an associate professor at Harvard Business School and has conducted extensive research on the internal governance of senior management in large U.S. firms.
Senior leaders, always pressed for time, are nonetheless broadening their span of control. by Gary L. Neilson and Julie Wulf
I
f senior executives are feeling ever-increasing pressure on their time—and few would suggest that’s not the case—why would they add more to their plates? It seems counterintuitive, but according to our research into C-level roles over the past two decades, the CEO’s average span of control, measured by the number of direct reports, has doubled, rising from about five in the mid-1980s to almost 10 in the mid-2000s. The leap in the chief executive’s purview is all the more remarkable when you consider that companies today are vastly more complex, globally dispersed, and strictly scrutinized than those of previous generations. Let’s look at Sara Mathew, who became the chairman and CEO of Dun & Bradstreet in January 2010. On top of the six people who had reported to her predecessor, she tacked on the 10 who had made up her team when she was COO. In addition, she chose not to replace herself in the COO role, because she didn’t want to burden her staff with additional change, and—more to the point— she wanted to stay on top of what was happening across the organization, so that she could quickly adjust direction if need be.
April 2012 Harvard
APRIL 2012 reprint r1204H
How Many Direct Reports?
Senior leaders, always pressed for time, are nonetheless broadening their span of control. by Gary L. Neilson and Julie Wulf
With compliments of...
How Man Direct Re
2 Harvard Business Review April 2012
ny eports?
Gary L. Neilson is a senior vice president in the Chicago office of Booz & Company and a coauthor of “the Secrets to Successful Strategy execution” (HBR June 2008).
FoR aRtiCle RePRintS Call 800-988-0886 oR 617-783-7500, oR viSit HbR.oRG
Julie Wulf is an associate professor at Harvard Business School and has conducted extensive research on the internal governance of senior management in large U.S. firms.
Senior leaders, always pressed for time, are nonetheless broadening their span of control. by Gary L. Neilson and Julie Wulf
I
f senior executives are feeling ever-increasing pressure on their time—and few would suggest that’s not the case—why would they add more to their plates? It seems counterintuitive, but according to our research into C-level roles over the past two decades, the CEO’s average span of control, measured by the number of direct reports, has doubled, rising from about five in the mid-1980s to almost 10 in the mid-2000s. The leap in the chief executive’s purview is all the more remarkable when you consider that companies today are vastly more complex, globally dispersed, and strictly scrutinized than those of previous generations. Let’s look at Sara Mathew, who became the chairman and CEO of Dun & Bradstreet in January 2010. On top of the six people who had reported to her predecessor, she tacked on the 10 who had made up her team when she was COO. In addition, she chose not to replace herself in the COO role, because she didn’t want to burden her staff with additional change, and—more to the point— she wanted to stay on top of what was happening across the organization, so that she could quickly adjust direction if need be.
April 2012 Harvard