How many people can you actually lead well, and are you past it?

Span of control is the number of people who report directly to one manager. A wide span means many direct reports and few layers; a narrow span means few reports and more layers. Neither is right on its own. The right span depends on the kind of work, how senior and stable the team is, and how much of the manager's week direct contact actually takes.

There is no single number. This calculator uses a recommended band per role type, shown with your result, rather than a universal ratio: 5 to 8 for a team lead, 4 to 7 for a manager of managers, 5 to 9 for an executive and 5 to 8 for a founder or CEO. The bands are Leaders ADAPT working assumptions from client work, set in September 2026, and they will be revisited when the benchmark publishes. The older management literature argued for a narrow span where the work of the reports interlocks. What matters more is whether your calendar supports the number you carry, which is what the load score measures.

Three components, each 0 to 100. Span compares your direct reports with the upper end of the band for your role. Contact takes your meeting hours plus an assumed half hour of ad hoc contact per report and compares the total with the week. Layers adds load for each layer between you and the work. The score weights them 50, 35 and 15 percent, then adds a small adjustment for new or remote reports.

It is the number of direct reports your current contact pattern would support if direct contact were held to 35 percent of a 40 hour week. It is worked out from the hours you actually give each report today. If it is lower than the number you carry, you are past what the calendar holds, whatever the org chart says. The 35 percent ceiling is an assumption, stated here so you can judge it.

No. The score, the band, the recommended span band, the hours per report and the calendar supported span are all shown at once, and the result page can be shared by link without an email. We only ask for an email if you want a copy of the result sent to you, and nothing on the page is held back until you do.