There comes a moment in every leader’s life when the office—physical or virtual—fills with voices. It’s no longer about coordinating two or three trusted people but about guiding a growing group, one that gains diversity and multiplies in perspectives and talents. What used to be a small-table conversation becomes a long table, with more chairs, more nuances… and more opportunities. But also with a clear challenge: how do you lead a team that is increasingly large and, at the same time, increasingly autonomous?
In a context where work complexity continues to rise, and where horizontal structures consolidate over hierarchical models, leadership is not about having all the answers, but about cultivating fertile ground in which others can grow. And that, more than a technique, is an art.
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The growth of a team is always a sign that something is working. It means that the project has matured enough to require more hands, more minds, and more energy. It also means that previous leadership has been able to generate trust and results. It is, in short, a symptom of vitality.
However, that same growth entails a metamorphosis. The leader is no longer present in every conversation, reviewing every detail, or being the immediate point of reference for every decision. What used to be resolved through an informal exchange now requires processes, coordination, and, above all, trust in the group’s autonomy.
This transition is not always straightforward. Reasonable doubts arise: how do you avoid the common culture being diluted? How do you maintain cohesion when there are more voices in the room? How do you ensure that autonomy does not turn into disconnection? These are inevitable questions—but also opportunities to rethink what leadership really means.
One of the most suggestive metaphors about leadership comes from biology. The leader is not so much an architect who designs and controls every movement, but a gardener who prepares the soil, waters, and trusts that each plant will grow in its own way.
In larger teams, this role becomes even more necessary. The garden expands, species diversify, and the leader’s job is no longer to prune every leaf, but to ensure the ecosystem is balanced. That requires patience, vision, and, above all, a shift in focus: from “doing” to “making possible”.
In fact, McKinsey’s research on resilient organisations points in that direction: the leaders who manage complexity best are those who create systems in which people can make decisions for themselves, within a shared framework of values and objectives. In other words, it’s not about letting go of the helm, but about multiplying the hands that hold it.
The leaders who manage complexity best are those who create systems in which people can make decisions for themselves, within a shared framework of values and objectives.
One of the biggest fears when teams become more autonomous is losing control. However, autonomy is not the absence of direction but a pact of shared responsibility. It means that every member understands where the ship is heading and can make decisions aligned with that course.
The key lies in how that autonomy is built. A team does not become autonomous overnight, nor by decree. It becomes autonomous because it trusts that the leader will be there as a reference point, not as a constant shadow. Because it feels part of a shared project, and because it knows it has permission to make mistakes, learn, and improve.
A recent study by Hua Jiang and Hongmei Shen (2020), published in the Journal of Public Relations Research, shows that the combination of authentic leadership and transparent communication fosters employee engagement and prevents disconnection in more autonomous teams. Objectives must be clear, priorities must be shared with everyone, and information must flow to prevent the team from fragmenting into disconnected islands.
The temptation to continue following every detail of what happens in a large team can be devastating. Not only for the leader, who risks collapse, but also for the team itself, which may feel excessively monitored or limited in its capacity for initiative.
The step towards autonomous teams involves accepting that not everything will pass through the leader’s hands. And that, far from being a renunciation, can be a liberation. It allows focus on what truly matters: inspiring, setting the course, ensuring the culture remains alive, and being present in key moments.
In the words of Herminia Ibarra, professor of leadership at London Business School, “effective leadership is not about having all the answers, but about knowing how to ask the right questions.” It’s in this terrain that the leader finds their most valuable space: not in giving constant instructions, but in sparking reflections that guide others to make their own decisions.
Perhaps one of the greatest risks of leading large teams is that the group’s identity may be diluted. When there were few of us, everything seemed easier: shared jokes, everyday rituals, quick decisions. As the team grows, it’s easy to fall into bureaucracy or a sense of anonymity.
That is why another of the leader’s fundamental roles is to take care of the common culture. It’s not about imposing a single style, but about constantly reminding everyone of the “why” behind what is being done. The mission, values, and vision become the invisible glue that holds the group together, even when physical distance or size could otherwise disperse it.
Here, small gestures matter as much as grand declarations. Spaces for listening, shared rituals, celebrations of achievements, explicit recognition… All add up to ensure that every person feels that, even as the team grows, they still have their own place within it.
The mission, values, and vision become the invisible glue that holds the group together, even when physical distance or size could otherwise disperse it.
Trends suggest that teams will continue to grow in complexity. With digitalisation and generational diversity, the leaders of the future will be less like bosses and more like facilitators. People able to inspire, to connect talents, to ensure that common values endure, and to accept that autonomy is a driver, not a threat.
In this context, leadership ceases to be a solitary role and becomes a shared practice. Every team member, in some way, leads their own domain. And the art of the leader lies in harmonising those voices without silencing any.
Let’s return to the opening image of the long table. As the team grows, the conversation becomes richer, more complex, more choral. It won’t always be easy. There will be moments of noise, doubt, and the need for adjustment. But there will also be more ideas, more perspectives, more hands ready to build.
The art of leading increasingly large and autonomous teams doesn’t lie in keeping everything under control, but in accepting that true leadership is the kind that multiplies: multiplies trust, multiplies autonomy, multiplies possibilities. And, above all, multiplies shared growth.
Journalist and content manager specialising in sustainability. Trained at the Carlos III University of Madrid, she works at the intersection between the environmental, the human and the organisational from a conscious and committed point of view.
Her texts seek to provide clarity and perspective, integrating a critical, conscious and documented look at the challenges of the present.
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