We have nine people on our leadership team because we wanted everyone to feel included and valued, but our weekly Level 10 Meetings are running over, and we are struggling to get through our IDS list. How do we restructure and shrink the team to a highly effective group of four or five without causing resentment or making the demoted members quit?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A leadership team of nine is not a leadership team, it is a committee. When you have too many people in the room, active participation drops, status management increases, and resolving issues through IDS becomes nearly impossible. A highly effective leadership team should be between three and seven people.

To shrink your team without triggering a mass exit, you must shift the focus from status to function. Your Accountability Chart must be designed around the needs of the business, not the feelings of your people.

Start by looking at the major functions of your business: Sales and Marketing, Operations, and Finance, led by your Integrator and Visionary. Map out a clean, streamlined leadership structure based strictly on these core seats. Identify which of the nine current members actually own these high-level functions.

For the leaders who will be moving off the leadership team, schedule one-on-one meetings before you announce any changes. Frame the restructuring as a necessary operational decision to make the company more agile, not as a demotion or a reflection on their value.

Explain that by stepping off the leadership team, they will be freed from high-level strategic meetings and can focus entirely on running their specific departments. Ensure they still have a strong voice by establishing clear departmental meetings where they can escalate issues to their respective leadership team member. If you handle this with clarity and respect, most leaders will appreciate the return of their time.