Hit 200 direct reports last quarter and nobody warned me about the isolation

I spent 15 years climbing the ladder thinking bigger teams meant more leverage. At 200 people across 4 sites, I can tell you I've never felt more alone. The political bullshit gets exponentially worse. My calendar is all status updates and HR meetings. I barely talk to the people doing the actual work anymore. Has anyone else hit a number where the job fundamentally changed and not for the better?

2 comments

2 Comments

oscar_hunt6126d ago

Barely talk to the people doing the actual work anymore" - that hit me like a truck. That's a crazy number of people to manage, I can't even imagine how disconnected you must feel from the real day to day stuff.

the_jennifer26d agoTop Commenter

I actually just read that story last week about the CEO who did that "undercover boss" thing and it really made me think. You know the one where he worked different jobs in his own company for a week? He was shocked at how much the actual workers knew that never made it up to him. It's wild how layers of management can just totally filter out reality. That disconnect you're talking about is real and I bet way more common than people want to admit. There's probably a ton of smart people on the ground with great ideas that just get lost because of that distance.