Summary: As managers take on larger teams, they’re simultaneously consuming information more superficially, creating a dangerous state of constant reactivity. When megamanagers skim instead of listen, they miss signals of disengagement and burnout. Leaders need to build behavioural self-awareness, block uninterrupted time for meaningful conversations, create recovery space between decisions and practice choosing what not to react to.
The average manager’s span of control jumped from 10.9 direct reports in 2024 to 12.1 in 2025. Thirteen per cent of managers now oversee 25 or more people. We’re in the era of the megamanager.
More direct reports means more decisions, more conversations, and less mental recovery time between them. That alone creates challenges for effective people leadership.
But there’s another problem that isn’t getting enough attention. Whilst managers are taking on larger teams, they’re simultaneously consuming information more superficially than ever. They’re scanning headlines instead of reading articles, getting AI summaries instead of engaging with full context, and reacting emotionally to trending content before thinking it through.
This combination is dangerous. Leading more people requires deeper attention and better judgement. Instead, managers are operating in a state of constant reactivity that makes thoughtful leadership nearly impossible.
What shallow consumption looks like in practice
Reactive leadership feels productive because it’s visible and constant. But visibility doesn’t equal effectiveness. Here’s what it actually looks like when leaders consume information superficially:
- Making decisions based on trending narratives rather than the patterns showing up in their own teams.
- Jumping to solutions before fully understanding the actual problem.
- Constant motion without meaningful progress on the people issues that matter most.
When managers skim instead of truly listen, they miss the signals that indicate trouble: disengagement, burnout, and the quiet frustration that precedes someone handing in their notice.
Recent research in the New York Times found that workers spend an average of 47 seconds on a task before self-interrupting. After each interruption, it takes 23 minutes to regain focus. That cycle compounds when managers lead larger teams and make more decisions with less recovery time between them.
The result? Decision fatigue replaces judgement, speed replaces discernment, and the attention discipline required to lead 25 people well becomes nearly impossible to maintain.
The cost of people leadership
Discernment requires depth. This involves asking better questions before offering answers, sitting with uncertainty long enough to understand what’s actually happening, and resisting the urge to jump to conclusions before you’ve truly listened.
With 25 or more direct reports, meaningful conversations become impossible if leaders are mentally elsewhere. In 2024, one manager told Business Insider she went from managing zero to 21 direct reports and ultimately quit due to burnout. Her meetings became transactional because there was only time to discuss urgent issues. There was no time for development, advice, or actually getting to know her team.
Managers who spend less time on individual contributor work and more time actually managing have more engaged teams, regardless of team size, a Gallup study found. Quality of attention beats quantity of direct reports.
At the same time, larger spans of control require more attention discipline, not less. But leaders are practising less of it than ever, pulled into the same dopamine-driven consumption patterns affecting everyone else.
Sorting out urgent from important noise
The Eisenhower Matrix isn’t new, but it’s especially relevant now. Essentially, urgent tasks demand immediate attention, while important tasks contribute to long-term goals and values.
The problem is that everything feels urgent when you’re operating in constant reactivity. Every Slack message, every headline, every request from your growing team demands immediate attention.
Leaders managing larger teams need a different approach. That means having actual conversations with your reports instead of quick status updates. Listening to what they’re saying instead of thinking about your next meeting. Deciding what you won’t respond to, which is often harder than deciding what deserves your time.
In 2026, attention management may be the most valuable leadership capability – not charisma, not vision. Leaders need to distinguish signal from noise and direct their focus accordingly.
What HR leaders can do
Don’t think that disconnecting entirely or banning technology is the solution. Really, it’s to build behavioural self-awareness about how you consume information and make decisions.
Start by understanding your own patterns. Are you naturally wired for urgency? Do you chase novelty? Do you seek validation through constant engagement? These aren’t weaknesses, but they get amplified in an attention economy. When you don’t recognise them in yourself, they drive your decisions instead of informing them.
High-impact people leadership requires managing your attention deliberately. That means:
- Prioritising depth over speed when it matters
- Being fully present in conversations rather than mentally sorting through your next 10 tasks
- Creating space between decisions instead of operating in constant reactivity.
What could this look like in practice? Blocking time for uninterrupted one-to-ones with your direct reports and turning off notifications during those conversations. When you catch yourself about to react to the latest trending topic, pause and ask whether it’s relevant to the actual challenges your team is facing.
Leaders who recognise how the attention economy works and adjust accordingly will do more than survive the megamanager era. They’ll actually lead well, build engaged teams, and avoid the burnout that comes from managing attention poorly, while managing more people.
Key takeaways
- Larger spans of control require more attention discipline, not less. Block uninterrupted time for meaningful conversations with direct reports.
- Decision fatigue is replacing judgement. Create recovery time between major decisions rather than operating in constant reactivity.
- Understand your behavioural patterns. If you’re wired for urgency or novelty, those tendencies get amplified in an attention economy.
- Quality of attention beats quantity of direct reports. Managers who focus on actual leadership rather than individual contributor work have more engaged teams.
- Practice choosing what not to react to. Distinguishing signal from noise may be 2026’s most valuable leadership capability.
Matt Poepsel, PhD is the VP of Talent Optimization at The Predictive Index, and is the author of Expand the Circle: Enlightened Leadership for Our New World of Work and host of the Lead the People podcast. He holds a PhD in Psychology, an MBA, and a Harvard Business School Certificate of Management Excellence.
