Sizing line manager teams.

Managers of managers should have teams of 4–6 managers. This offers enough space to align managers and stakeholders while investing in the organization. Fewer than four reports is good when trying to ramp up in a domain, but can lead to feeling underutilized or encourage meddling in teams if left too long. With too many managers, the role becomes only a problem solving coach.rL6


  1. William Larson, An Elegant Puzzle: Systems of Engineering Management, First edition (San Francisco, Calif.: Stripe Press / Stripe Matter Inc., 2019). (See notes.)