Our leadership team has ballooned to nine people and our weekly meetings are turning into status updates. How do we trim the room without making people feel demoted?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

A leadership team of nine people is too large. When you have that many voices in the room, deep debate becomes impossible, and your Level 10 Meetings inevitably devolve into shallow status updates. The sweet spot for an effective leadership team is three to seven people.

To trim the room, you must separate ego from the Accountability Chart. Belonging to the leadership team is not a reward for tenure or a status symbol; it is a functional responsibility to run the business.

Start by redesigning your Accountability Chart from scratch. Focus entirely on the major functions your business needs to scale, such as sales, marketing, operations, finance, and HR. Do not look at the names of your current employees while doing this.

Once the optimal seats are defined, apply the GWC filter to place the right people in those seats. Many of your current leadership team members will fit better in departmental leadership roles where they can actually execute rather than sitting in high-level strategic meetings.

Communicate the changes individually before announcing them to the company. Frame the transition around focus and impact. Explain that by narrowing the leadership team, you are freeing them up to focus on what they do best without the burden of high-level administrative meetings. Most leaders will actually feel a sense of relief once they realize they no longer have to sit through meetings that do not leverage their strengths.