High-Span Managers Are the High-Touch Networkers
Multiple Span Measures
Typically span is the second most important indicator of management load. But the direct report span is only the starting point
Meaningful networker spans would include all matrix reports in and out. Indeed, an additional boss causes considerably more position stress than an additional report
Key relationship counts in and out of a node, including process and group links, will identify another group of operating networkers with richer connections
Including information flows in the measures of a position’s degree would identify another large group of information networkers
OrgScope shows relative span by diameter of red disk
Most managers, at all levels, manage a very small number of reports. A surprisingly large number manage a large number of reports, which usually means under-service by functions like IT and HR that apply standard policies for all managers (e.g., how performance reviews are conducted)
In our pilot analysis, we expected a normal curve in the plot of manager span, which would indicate the presumptive random nature of hierarchical organization in large scales
Instead our plots of real data looked more like an exponential curve, a few managers with many links (reports) and many managers with only a few reports