What is a manager?

Based on our experience and McKinsey’s “How to identify the right spans of control for your organization,” managers can be classified as coach, supervisor, facilitator, or coordinator.

• Coach: High‑touch, accountable role. The manager helps employees succeed, guides careers, and trains in the craft. Recommended 3–5 direct reports. This is the role most common among our clients and at Reflect.

• Supervisor: Moderate responsibility. Best when work processes are standardized; employees do similar work, though activities may vary. Recommended 8–10 direct reports.

• Facilitator: Limited responsibility. Work is often standardized; teams perform similar tasks, autonomy comes quickly. Recommended 10–15 direct reports.

• Coordinator: Minimal responsibility. Work is highly standardized; employees perform the same tasks and activities daily. Can have 15+ direct reports.

Why master your span of control?

Too few direct reports means too many managers. Risks:

• Cost: Managers spend time coaching/training; that’s time not spent on daily tasks and dilutes focus.

• Communication: More managerial layers slow information flow upward.

• Flexibility: With only one direct report, delegation options are limited.

Too many direct reports means too few managers. Risks:

• Training & engagement: Career development is a key retention lever; overloaded managers can’t invest enough time in each person.

• Supervision: If a manager has too many reports, work quality suffers from reduced oversight.

• Recognition: Promotions and objective evaluation get harder with an overly large span of control.

Individual contributor vs. manager

Some people don’t want to manage—due to personality fit, fear of losing expertise, or reluctance to tie advancement to others’ performance. These are individual contributors: autonomous experts who deliver without managing a team.

For moving from manager to IC, see Harvard Business Review: “You Can Stop Being a Manager Without Sinking Your Career.”