Managers are often the accidental complexity of the organization

The Problem with Too Much Management

Management can mean different things, but at its core, it’s about overseeing control, organization, and planning within a team or company.

In many companies, the number of direct reports (people managed by a person) is often used to determine the seniority of a manager. Typically, if you manage a small number of people, you’re considered an engineering manager. As you oversee more people, you might become a senior engineering manager. Eventually, you’ll manage so many people that you need other managers to help you, and you become a manager of managers — a director of engineering, vice president of engineering, or something similar.

But how much management is really necessary? After all, many successful startups operate with very few managers, yet they still develop groundbreaking products, scale up, and conquer new markets. So, what happens over time that makes organizations feel the need to add layers of management? Why is it so difficult to sustain growth without adding people whose sole purpose is to “supervise” others?

The Shift from Small Teams to Too Many Managers

The answer, in part, lies in the natural progression of a growing company. In the early days, teams are nimble, versatile, and able to juggle a wide variety of tasks with ease. They don’t need managers because everyone is aligned, communication is direct, and decisions can be made quickly. As the company grows, though, the demands on the team increase, and more people are brought in to help with specialized tasks.

To ensure these new recruits align with the company’s strategy and values, managers are hired. Their role is to translate company goals, processes, and culture to the expanding team. Initially, this seems like a good idea — after all, someone needs to guide the new team members. But there’s an unintended consequence: as managers begin to leave their mark on the organization, they unconsciously erode the original mindset and culture that made the company successful in the first place.

Another cause of management bloat is career progression. In many companies, promotion is often tied to moving from individual contributor to management roles, which come with more ownership, accountability, and … money. However, more companies are slowly recognizing the value of senior individual contributors, especially for strategic initiatives.

With more managers comes more complexity. Communication and synchronization that were once fluid now require formal processes. Decision-making slows, and projects take longer to complete. When these problems arise, the typical response is to add even more management to “fix” the issues. And thus, the vicious cycle of management bloat begins.

This is where “accidental complexity” comes in. There are problems to solve, but we inadvertently create new ones (or make existing ones worse) by adding more layers of management, especially in the middle.

The Real Cause: A Drift in Culture, Not Just Communication

This isn’t just a logistical problem — it’s a cultural one. As the company grows, new people bring with them different working styles, expectations, and values. Without a strong, clearly defined company culture, these differences lead to misalignment. Miscommunication and disagreements arise, which are often blamed on a lack of coordination or “not enough management”.

However, the core issue is not that there aren’t enough managers — it’s that the company’s culture is becoming fragmented. Founders and early employees are the “patient zero” of the company’s success. Their energy, creativity, and drive were what got the company off the ground. As the company scales, it’s critical to preserve that original spark and drive.

You Don’t Need More Managers — You Need Stronger Culture

To sustain the momentum of early or past success, newcomers must deeply understand and embrace the culture that fueled it. They need to accept that certain values are non-negotiable. It’s not enough to be brilliant — you must also be aligned with the company’s mission and way of doing things. There’s room for creativity and expression, but company values and mission come first.

Here’s the critical point: you don’t need more managers to enforce this alignment. You need clarity from the leadership of the company, and you need to repeat your messages consistently, the same way you would blow on embers to strengthen or maintain a fire.

Also, successful companies tend to have strong hiring processes. They evaluate technical skills, soft skills, and what’s known as “culture fit”. But in many cases, the “culture fit” check is either rushed or done poorly, especially when companies are growing rapidly. The pressure to hire quickly often leads to a focus on hard skills, with less attention paid to whether the candidate truly aligns with the company’s values and embraces the mission. Over time, this erodes the company’s culture, which can lead to bigger issues down the line.

Don’t get me wrong — diversity of thought and background is essential. But diversity should not come at the cost of the core culture and values that made the company successful. People can bring different perspectives while still sharing the same fundamental mindset about how the company operates.

The Alternative: Empowerment Over Management

Instead of asking, “Do we need more managers to handle transversal projects, fix communication, and address synchronization issues?” companies should spend more time defining their purpose, values, and long-term mission. These core principles need to be deeply understood and embraced by every employee. When people are aligned on the company’s purpose, motivated by their work, and feel ownership and accountability for their role, managers become far less necessary. Senior individual contributors can play a big role here. They should hold as much influence as your management team, mentoring junior employees, driving projects forward, and reinforcing the company’s culture. This is becoming even more important in fields like software engineering. With the rise of Large Language Models (LLMs), engineers will spend less time on coding and architecture, freeing them up to focus on leadership and mentorship.

Think about it: if you’ve hired brilliant, competent people who are aligned with the company’s mission, they should already know what to do and how to communicate. When everyone shares the same values and works toward the same goals, there’s no need for excessive supervision. And when there’s no fear of causing a “diplomatic incident” because of miscommunication, you won’t need emissaries to smooth things over, like a country sending a diplomat to another country to negotiate.

In this type of environment, the need for managers diminishes. Instead of managing people, you can focus on empowering them. The fewer layers of management there are, the more direct and efficient communication becomes. When people are trusted and encouraged to take ownership of their roles, they will naturally collaborate, innovate, and drive the company forward — without needing someone to micromanage them.

Conclusion: Reevaluate the Role of Management

In the end, management itself isn’t the problem. The issue arises when management replaces clear communication, strong culture, and shared values. As companies grow, they often default to adding more managers to address inefficiencies, risking the dilution of what made them successful. Instead, companies should focus on reinforcing their culture, hiring those who align with their values, and empowering teams to take ownership. When everyone is aligned and accountable, the need for excessive management fades, making space for a culture of self-leadership and empowerment. And, of course, I’m not saying managers are inherently bad. You’ll still need them for things like performance reviews, budgeting, and administrative work. But the goal should be to keep the management structure lean and rely more on the drive and passion of your team.

For those interested in exploring this idea further, I recommend reading The Founder’s Mentality, a book I read a few weeks ago that helped me better understand concepts I was already beginning to develop those past years.