Every CHRO knows that spans and layers sit quietly beneath the surface of an organization, yet they influence almost everything. They shape how fast decisions move, how connected leaders are to their people and how well teams can deliver. For decades, we have used the same mental models to guide these choices: Keep spans manageable so managers can lead. Keep layers lean so the company does not slow itself down.
These ideas still matter. What is changing is the work beneath them.
At AlignOrg, we are seeing a pattern emerge across industries. AI is not simply improving productivity: it is becoming the new constraint-breaker in organization design. For the first time, leaders can revisit structural choices that once felt locked in by human limits.
AI is reshaping the daily reality of managers. It is taking on tasks that once crowded their calendars and limited their capacity to lead. It is giving leaders earlier insight into risks, progress and patterns. As the nature of work shifts, the guardrails we once relied on for designing spans and layers need to be revisited. They are no longer fixed truths. They are variables we can optimize with far more precision.
Why We Have Always Been Careful About Spans and Layers
Large spans used to be a warning sign. A manager could only stretch so far before coaching suffered and employees felt disconnected. Once a span got too big, small problems went unnoticed, performance conversations became rushed and the team’s experience declined.
Research supports this. McKinsey has found that frontline managers often spend between 30 and 60 percent of their time on administrative work and meetings, and only a minority of their time actually managing and coaching employees. When you start from that reality, it is no surprise that traditional spans needed to stay conservative.
Layers create a different challenge. The more layers added, the slower everything becomes. Messages drift. Costs rise. Decision speed erodes. Bain’s research on spans and layers shows that many companies operate with eight or nine layers between the CEO and frontline. However, best in class organizations simplify that while widening spans to improve clarity and velocity. In its case examples, Bain documented that reducing layers led to meaningfully faster decisions and lower complexity.
A Hypothetical Engineering Organization Feeling These Limits
One example where these effects are magnified are in engineering organizations, where rapid problem solving and technical alignment are essential.
Picture an engineering team with six layers and an average span of 4.2. This structure made sense years ago when the work required constant oversight and managers had to personally track issues, gather updates and write documentation. The intent was to keep quality high.
Over time the structure became heavier than the work required. Teams waited for approvals. Managers spent more time coordinating than coaching. Senior leaders felt farther from the people actually building the product. Nothing was broken, yet everyone sensed the organization was moving slower than it should.
This is where AI begins to open new possibilities.
How AI Changes the Manager’s Job
When engineering teams adopt AI enabled tools, something powerful happens. The work that once justified small spans and tight layering starts to shift.
AI spots defects and integration risks earlier than humans do. It prepares summaries and documentation that once consumed hours. It provides real time visibility into work across teams so leaders spend less time gathering information. The manager’s job does not become easier—it becomes clearer. The noise drops. Leadership work rises.
A manager who once struggled to lead a span of four can now confidently support six without sacrificing the human side of leadership. In the same way, a layer that once acted as a traffic cop for information or escalation no longer serves the same purpose when insight flows directly to decision makers.
A helpful metaphor is to think of AI as removing friction from an engine. The engine is still the same size, yet it can accelerate faster, respond quicker and operate with less drag. The structure finally starts working at the speed the business intends.
What the Business Gains
This shift is not about doing more with less. It is about designing work so leaders spend their time on what truly matters.
Decision cycles speed up because the distance between teams and executives shrinks. Managerial capacity increases because coordination work drops. Employee experience improves because managers have time to coach. Costs decrease because a layer that no longer adds value can be removed. Career paths become clearer, which helps retain scarce technical talent.
The message is simple. AI is changing more than workflow. It is changing the design rules of the organization itself. Spans and layers that once seemed non-negotiable deserve a second look. Leaders who embrace this moment have an opportunity to create structures that feel lighter, move faster and support stronger leadership at every level.
Spans and Layers: What Not to Do
As organizations explore these possibilities, a few missteps can undermine the effort.
- Do not expand spans without redesigning leadership work.
If you simply add more direct reports without removing coordination burdens, burnout increases and performance drops. - Do not remove layers without clarifying decision rights.
If authority is unclear, leaders become bottlenecks and the organization stalls. - Do not assume AI replaces coaching.
AI accelerates insight, not trust building, feedback, or judgment. - Do not treat AI as a shortcut to cut headcount.
The real benefit comes from elevating leadership capacity, not reducing people.
Organizations who understand and avoid the risks are the ones that gain real performance lift.
Preparing Your Organization for the AI Enabled Future
If you want to explore how AI is reshaping leadership capacity, structure and decision velocity, our AlignOrg AI Executive Guide offers a practical roadmap. It highlights the questions executives should be asking and the design choices that matter most in an AI enabled environment. You can download it to support your own work or to spark strategic conversations within your leadership team.
