No Bullsh!t Leadership How Many Direct Reports Is Too Many?
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Mar 31, 2026 A sharp look at whether ultra-flat organisations actually work and why teams need clear structure. Covers why leaders are essential for direction, visibility and talent allocation. Examines the risks of massive spans of control, including hidden costs like communication failure and burnout. Offers four practical factors to judge whether your structure helps or harms performance.
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Geniuses Alone Produced No Value
- Martin G Moore recounts a tech experiment where hiring dozens of PhDs with broad objectives produced lots of activity but no commercial value.
- The unit was shut down after a year because the experts “went off in a thousand different directions,” illustrating the need for team structure and leadership.
Division Of Labour Still Drives Organisations
- Division of labour remains essential: organisations exist to organise resources into function-specific teams for efficient value creation.
- Martin ties the concept back to Plato and Adam Smith and argues it still applies amid AI by splitting tasks between humans and machines.
Five Essential Roles Leaders Play
- Martin lists five reasons leaders are necessary: direction, visibility, talent allocation, executing management's will, and disseminating communication.
- He emphasises leaders translate strategy into coordinated work, report progress, place talent, enforce accountability, and explain top messages locally.