---
title: "What's the Difference Between Having 5 Subordinates and 50?"
description: "In the cold winter wind, two sleepy hedgehogs want to huddle together for warmth, but their quills make it uncomfortable. After much adjustment, they find a suitable distance to keep warm without pricking each other. This story raises the question: what should be the distance between managers and subordinates in management practice? The hedgehog theory provides the answer, but the optimal distance varies depending on the number of subordinates."
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published: "2015-11-05"
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# What's the Difference Between Having 5 Subordinates and 50?

> In the cold winter wind, two sleepy hedgehogs want to huddle together for warmth, but their quills make it uncomfortable. After much adjustment, they find a suitable distance to keep warm without pricking each other. This story raises the question: what should be the distance between managers and subordinates in management practice? The hedgehog theory provides the answer, but the optimal distance varies depending on the number of subordinates.

In the cold winter wind, two sleepy hedgehogs want to huddle together for warmth and rest. Unfortunately, both have quills, and no matter how they adjust their sleeping positions, they can't sleep comfortably. So they separate a certain distance. But then they can't stand the cold, so they come together again. After several attempts, the two hedgehogs finally find a suitable distance through their own efforts, where they can keep each other warm without pricking each other, and so they sleep comfortably.

This story inevitably makes us think: in management practice, what should be the distance between managers and the managed? Undoubtedly, the hedgehog theory gives us the most fitting answer.

Psychological research shows that to do their work well, managers should maintain a relatively close relationship with their subordinates. This makes it easier to win their respect, and subordinates are more willing to consider things from a management perspective, think for the manager, and do their best to get things done. At the same time, however, it's necessary to maintain an appropriate distance, especially psychological distance. This preserves a sense of mystery in management and reduces random speculation between managers and subordinates, or among subordinates, avoiding unnecessary conflicts. But the following situations should be treated differently.

## **When You Have Only One Subordinate**

In many small and medium-sized enterprises, departments often have very few staff. Most commonly, a manager leads a single "soldier." In such cases, the distance between the two is very close, with a sense of symbiosis or dependence on each other. Management is usually simple at this point, and there's no need to use overly complex management techniques or methods. Most of the time, the manager just gives orders and the subordinate follows them, but performance results are usually not very good, though still acceptable.

Because the employee and manager are so close, the manager often feels embarrassed to urge or supervise the subordinate's work after assigning tasks, and even if they occasionally say something mild, it's ignored due to the close relationship. So in this situation, the most important thing to pay attention to is psychological distance. In work, you shouldn't often bring in daily emotions, and you shouldn't share too much personal privacy. Although this is good for building rapport, because of the excessive closeness and lack of competitive pressure, if management is also improper, it can lead to work delays, slackness, poor performance, and other negative phenomena.

## **When You Have Several Subordinates**

The situation is usually more complex. If your subordinates are in the same office as you, meaning they work together with you, then your subordinates will typically split into several small circles of influence. The center of these circles is the person favored by you. Of course, there may also be a small camp formed by the most difficult-to-manage people. At this time, the most important task in management is to balance your relationship and distance with each camp, rather than just focusing on your relationship with individuals.

Usually, you need to pay attention to whether daily work arrangements are reasonable, whether performance appraisals are fair, and the distance between each favored person. But unless there are special circumstances, managers should try to maintain a balance of power among the various camps, to avoid any camp becoming too powerful and causing management difficulties. Also, since everyone works together daily, managers should also pay attention to the intimacy and frequency of communication with subordinates, but formal communication or work assignments don't need to be avoided, to prevent misunderstandings or unnecessary speculation.

If your subordinates are not often with you, such as managing sales staff, this becomes even more complex. In reality, you won't have much grasp of your employees' work situation and thoughts. Their feelings toward you and the distance they keep can be elusive. They often change greatly, but they basically maintain respect. They might suddenly become closer because of an unintentional chat with you. They might also lose confidence in you and the company at the same time because of a sales failure. Yesterday they were brothers forever, and today they leave you.

So in this situation, the most important thing for managers is to maintain a relatively close psychological distance with subordinates while ensuring standardized management. Only by grasping subordinates' psychology can you reasonably use management models and achieve better management performance.

## **When You Have Dozens of Subordinates or More**

At this point, managers are mostly playing the role that their position requires, rather than being themselves. Many of the manager's actions need to maintain their own image and status. The distance with employees should also be appropriate, perhaps even slightly farther, which is more conducive to demonstrating authority. But after work, you can get closer to employees and be approachable, so that employees will show more respect and awe in work. However, you must not get too close, as this can easily expose personal shortcomings, affecting subordinates' admiration for the manager, or even causing disappointment.

In fact, there is no fixed rule for management. The relationship between management and employees is like flowers in a mirror or the moon in water, and it can vary in distance depending on the manager's gender and other factors. But the hedgehog theory gives us a meaningful reminder: no matter the distance, as long as it's comfortable and warm, that's fine.

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