5 Vital Differences Managing Small vs. Large Teams!

There is a striking difference between managing small and large teams. As a leader, you must be able to adapt to your team’s needs so you can all synergistically move onward toward the same goals. You can’t effectively manage small and large teams using the same strategies.

Managing small teams involves a more direct approach where leaders can be more personal with their engagement. In contrast, managing large teams requires adherence to a hierarchy and formality. Small teams thrive in fluidity, while large teams need protocols’ stability. 

This article discusses the differences between managing small and large teams, particularly the varying strategies a leader must implement to be effective in their roles. We will discuss how contrasting organizational politics, communication styles, and monitoring processes can be in both types of teams due to the hierarchical structure and the different approaches to be implemented to affording team members autonomy and coaching. Let’s start!

Key Differences Between Small and Large Teams

Effectively leading and managing a team means you must know how to tailor-fit your approach depending on the group’s needs and expectations. Leaders must be keen on adjusting their methods depending on the size of their team. 

Small teams in business typically comprise 2-10 people, while teams with more than ten members are considered oversized. 

Here are some of the key differences between managing small and large teams:

1. Autonomy 

When managing small teams, leaders must be highly visible and present in practically all aspects of the team. You will be front and center when setting goals, making decisions, and ensuring everyone is on the right track. All eyes will be on you, so you must ensure you’re always efficient and professional and practice what you preach. 

Direct interaction with your team members is a great way to foster trust and build strong professional relationships. When a small team trusts and values its leader, they are more motivated to achieve success beyond their comfort zones. 

Direct interaction with your team members is a great way to foster trust and build strong professional relationships.

On the other hand, leading large teams won’t require you to be as direct with your approach toward your team members. Compared to a smaller group, the sheer number of individuals in the team allows you to take a backseat in some aspects involving the team. In this case, delegation is handy in ensuring that tasks are accomplished promptly, and goals are attained efficiently. 

When delegating assignments to your team members, consider an individual’s strengths and weaknesses. Despite its size, you will need their know-how, skills, and assistance in ensuring that the team functions as seamlessly and efficiently as possible. 

2. Communication Style

Communication is a critical factor in ensuring that a team functions appropriately. The bigger a team is, the more complex communication becomes. 

With small teams, spreading critical information is easier and quicker. All you must do is ensure that you’re concise and clear so that each team member understands facts and principles substantially. 

Make an effort to verify that each team member understands what has just been communicated. Be quick in clarifying misconceptions and correcting wrong assumptions. Being proactive helps prevent a possible disastrous domino effect where team dynamics are disrupted due to unclear goals and a vague understanding of methodologies. 

These are the communication styles suited for small teams:

• Passive communication style. Passive communicators give value to the needs of others more than their own. This non-confrontational style emphasizes the benefits of going with the flow and letting the team take the lead. This is a great way to uncover your team members’ needs, priorities, and characters.
• Personal communication style. Personal communicators place a premium on making connections and emotions. They listen actively to their team members and ensure they’re motivated to work. This benefits small teams in terms of boosting morale and fortifying teamwork. 
•  Intuitive communication style. Intuitive communicators highlight the bigger picture and don’t dwell too much on specifics. They value results more than the strategies that help get you there. This style allows team members to enjoy the freedom to inject their own take on how the team accomplishes goals. 

On the contrary, large teams require a more stringent approach to communications and information dissemination. This helps ensure that vital information quickly and accurately reaches the target audience. 

Some leaders prefer to break up large teams into smaller groups to ensure seamless communication. For instance, if your team comprises 20 individuals and has a particularly crucial project, why not break it into groups of 5? Communication will be more accessible, task monitoring will be more straightforward, and you will be better able to manage each group as its leader.

Here are the communication styles appropriate for large teams:

• Assertive communication style. Aggressive communicators are self-assured and confident that their points of view are valid and relevant. They rarely encourage and entertain input from others and always advocate for their perspectives. This may sometimes be detrimental to fostering teamwork, but for larger teams, it helps ensure that more tasks are accomplished faster. 
• Analytical communication style. Analytical communicators rely on facts, figures, and logic. They are keen on specifics, a beneficial attribute for leaders of large teams where ambiguity can spell confusion and disaster. 
• Functional communication style. Available communicators thrive on details and step-by-step processes. They prefer going slowly but surely, and this can significantly benefit large teams in progress monitoring and ensuring that everyone is on the right track. 

3 Types of communication styles	Description
Assertive communication style	It is a way of expressing yourself effectively and confidently while respecting the rights and opinions of others.
Analytical communication style	It pertains to a way of communicating that is characterized by a focus on data, facts, and logical reasoning.
Functional communication style	It is a way of communicating that is focused on conveying information efficiently and effectively to achieve a specific goal or outcome.

3. Hierarchical Structure

The simplicity or complexity of a team’s structure affects the business’ protocols and organizational politics. The more people there are on the team, the more complicated the structure, business relationships, and procedures become. 

Leaders typically have well-established and more personal relationships with their peers and team members in small teams. Protocols and processes aren’t as stringent, and interpersonal relationships are less formal. 

Leaders typically have well-established and more personal relationships with their peers and team members in small teams.

This simpler arrangement makes decisions faster, and leaders can be more reactive when faced with challenging scenarios and conflicts. Team members also find it easier to reach out to their superiors, and they are afforded more opportunities to be independent and more enterprising with their roles in the team. They are more fluid in their jobs and are not expected to be extremely conventional. 

In comparison, since large teams have a more complex chain of command, decisions are arrived upon after strict protocol compliance. Leaders must be more reactive since hierarchical structures must always be respected. Team members are also expected to adhere to stringent structures and practices, and they cannot be as proactive in their jobs because of the stricter organizational structure. 

4. Mentoring

Proper coaching and mentoring are among the hallmarks of good leadership (you can sign up for a free session with Sancus Leadership here). Managing a team includes making sure your team is motivated and empowered. It would be best if you gave them enough opportunities to hone their skills, expand their experiences, and reach their full potential. 

In small teams, you can more effortlessly mentor and coach your team members through one-on-one discussions and practical applications of learning by guiding them as they do their tasks. For instance, you can accompany a promising team member on one of their client calls and brainstorm later about crucial points during the encounter. You can then closely monitor the individual, preparing them for more significant roles and responsibilities in the future. 

Alternatively, implementing a mentoring program in large teams is crucial to ensuring that team members develop and progress in their careers. With multiple employee levels to deal with and many tasks to juggle, it can be easy for a leader to feel utterly overwhelmed. A mentoring program will help take some duties off your back.

Partner mentors with new hires and team members who exhibit strong potential. This way, the mentor and mentee can focus on skill improvement, professional exposure, and experiential learning.

5. Staying On Track/Aligned

Strong employee engagement and collaboration should always be encouraged when leading a small or large team. This ensures that productivity is consistently high and team goals are progressively achieved. 

In small teams, ensuring team members remain aligned with the set goals and timeline is much easier for leaders. It all comes down to delegating tasks and responsibilities based on each individual’s strengths and weaknesses so the team functions like a well-oiled machine. 

When fewer people work together as a team, each individual’s contribution is crucial and relevant. Social loafing — a circumstance where some indolent, opportunistic individuals ride on the efforts and success of their peers —is avoided.

In contrast, it is much trickier for leaders to keep track of their team members’ progress. Social loafing may be more challenging to prevent and identify. Still, a strong and intricate monitoring program must be established to ensure that each team member contributes significantly to the business and is always on track.

I am not a big fan of surveilling my team, but there are several employee monitoring software to choose from, and we’re highlighting a few based on Business News Daily’s 2023 assessment:

• Interguard. Arguably the best software for remote workers, it can help you track your team members’ usage of websites, emails, files, programs, and even social media while on the job.
• BambooHR. This software can be integral to your business’ Human Resources department. It can help onboard new team members, monitor the team’s performance, manage company benefits, and control employee payroll.
• ActivTrak. Dubbed the best software for analytics, it can assist you in monitoring your team members’ work hours, team engagement, and computer activity. You can even block websites that affect productivity to ensure your team functions efficiently while on the job.

Here’s a podcast talking about the differences between managing a small team vs. a large team and the skills needed to effectively manage your team as more people join your team.