“8–10 people on your leadership team?”
I usually pause… then ask a better question.
“Is that a leadership team… or a crowd?”
Because here’s the reality.
EOS is clear:
Ideal: 5–7 people
Maximum: 8
Anything beyond that, & you’re no longer getting the benefits of a true leadership team.
You’re getting noise.
Why Bigger Isn’t Better at the Top
It sounds logical at first.
More leaders = more input
More perspectives = better decisions
More representation = more alignment
But in practice?
The opposite happens.
1. Decisions Slow to a Crawl
Every voice matters.
But when you’ve got 8–10 people in the room, every issue turns into a discussion. Then a debate. Then a tangent.
Energy drops.
Momentum stalls.
And decisions take far longer than they should.
What should take 10 minutes… takes 45.
And often still doesn’t stick.
2. Accountability Gets Blurry
With too many people at the table, roles start to overlap.
Responsibilities blur.
Ownership becomes shared.
And shared ownership is dangerous.
Because when everyone owns something… no one really owns it.
This is where you start hearing things like:
“I thought someone else had that.”
“We’re all across it.”
“Let’s circle back.”
That’s not accountability. That’s avoidance dressed up as collaboration.
3. Focus Disappears
A leadership team is not there to run the day-to-day.
Its job is to:
- Set direction
- Make key decisions
- Remove roadblocks
- Drive results
But when the team gets too big, the conversation drops into operational detail.
Instead of leading the business, the team starts managing it.
And that’s where things slow down.
4. Too Many Hands on the Wheel
Here’s the simplest way to think about it.
It’s like trying to drive a car with 10 people grabbing the steering wheel.
Everyone wants to help.
Everyone has input.
But the result?
You zig-zag all over the road… & get nowhere fast.
A Real Business Example
I worked with a business that had 10 department heads sitting on what they called their leadership team.
On paper, it made sense.
In reality, it was chaos.
Meetings dragged.
Decisions stalled.
Issues came back week after week.
No one felt clear.
No one felt accountable.
Everyone felt frustrated.
So we made a change.
We rebuilt the Accountability Chart.
We created departmental leadership layers.
And we reduced the core leadership team to seven.
What Happened Next
The shift was immediate.
Meetings dropped back to 90 minutes
Decisions became faster & clearer
Accountability actually meant something
And most importantly…
The team stopped working in the business & started working on it.
Productivity lifted.
Frustration dropped.
Momentum returned.
So What’s the Right Size?
In my experience:
- Seven is the sweet spot
- Eight is manageable
- Ten is a talkfest
It’s not about excluding people.
It’s about clarity.
Not everyone needs to be in the leadership room to contribute.
They just need to be in the right structure.
What Makes a Great Leadership Team
A high-performing leadership team isn’t about size. It’s about design.
You want:
The right size
5–7 core leaders who can make decisions quickly.
The right people
Leaders who think company-wide, not just about their department.
Clear accountability
Everyone owns their lane. No overlap. No gaps.
Shared vision
Aligned on where you’re going & how you’ll get there.
Healthy dynamics
Trust, openness & the ability to call things out.
Final Thought
If your leadership meetings feel slow, repetitive or frustrating…
It might not be your people.
It might be your structure.
Because more voices doesn’t create better leadership.
Clarity does.
If your leadership team feels bloated or bogged down, it might be time to reset who’s actually at the table.
Written by Debra Chantry-Taylor, FBA Accredited Family Business Advisor, Certified EOS Implementer & Founder of Business Action.
Business Action is focused on helping Entrepreneurs lead better lives, through creating a better business. We have a small team of accredited family business advisors, EOS Implementers & Leadership coaches, as well as access to a huge range of advisors through our Trusted Partners Network.
