■ How to operate effectively with many direct reports

Up: § Business philosophies

I've become very interested in learning how some leaders seem to operate effectively with a significant number of direct reports.

The most notable example of this is Jensen Huang, the CEO of NVIDIA who has 60 direct reports. He does not do 1:1s, has a preference for group meetings, and delivers feedback openly in group settings.

The concept of reducing the number of layers and significantly flattening the organization is very appealing, and it makes a lot of sense that the number of people reporting into the CEO establishes the hierarchy and number of layers throughout the rest of the organization.

Some relevant links:

• https://www.instagram.com/reel/C38HZKnrTGB/?igsh=MTVuYTkxMDJsdmx6ZA==
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNwoA5akBlg

Quotes:

• ❝ The more direct reports the CEO has, the less layers are in the company
• ❝ We have almost a circular structure. Instead of having a typical executive committee, I meet on a monthly basis with a group of 20 senior vice presidents