Jamie Dimon Says Top-Performing Teams Operate Like Navy SEALs Rather Than Sprawling ‘Flat’ Corporations

(SeaPRwire) –  
Corporate America has entered the age of the “megamanager.” For years, companies have been increasing the number of employees reporting to each supervisor, aiming to reduce management overhead and accelerate decision-making processes.

However, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is bucking this trend. In his annual letter to shareholders released Monday, the veteran executive used military analogies to highlight the benefits of agility and individual accountability within small teams. “The teams needed to tackle [specific problems] should be small and authorized with the decision-making ability to move and act like Navy SEALs or the Army’s Delta Force,” he wrote. “This is trench warfare; it’s about fighting for every inch, moving quickly and getting things done.”

Dimon’s comparison to special forces is grounded in reality: SEAL teams, for instance, typically operate in squads of eight or fewer. In a business context, Dimon argues that smaller groups ensure every member feels a personal sense of responsibility for the results.

He noted that in oversized teams, accountability often becomes diluted: “Very often when a management team wants to accomplish something new… everyone on the team says, ‘We’ll get it done,’ meaning they will add it to the long list of tasks already on their plate. But when efforts are 1% of a lot of people’s jobs, it will never get done.”

Smaller teams with more focused agendas are better equipped to dedicate their full attention to a mission, he explained: “You need a team 100% dedicated to the mission—and everyone else supports them.”

By advocating for smaller teams, Dimon stands in contrast to the “ultra-flat” management structures favored by companies like Meta, where CEO Mark Zuckerberg has pushed for increased efficiency in the age of AI. Meta has reduced its headcount this year and, in some departments, implemented ratios of 50 employees per manager—a structure that far exceeds standard organizational span-of-control benchmarks.

While the goal of removing management layers is to streamline decision-making and innovation by shortening the distance between leadership and the front lines, these models carry risks. Junior staff may be neglected, employees may lack clear direction, managers face burnout, and, as Dimon suggests, accountability can suffer.

Despite these concerns, Gallup reports that U.S. firms continue to flatten their hierarchies. The average manager’s span of control rose from 10.9 direct reports in 2024 to 12.1 in 2025, meaning teams are now nearly 50% larger than they were when Gallup began tracking this data in 2013.

Flat structures are often unsustainable, as employees naturally seek more guidance. “What happens in most organizations is eventually either a formal or an informal structure appears sort of underneath direct reports,” André Spicer, executive dean of Bayes Business School in London and a professor of organizational behavior, previously noted.

Management experts generally agree that an ideal team consists of roughly seven people. Former Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos famously popularized this with his “two-pizza rule,” suggesting that if a team cannot be fed by two pizzas, it has become too large.

While that concept may seem dated, the underlying principle remains relevant. Dimon has arrived at a similar conclusion regarding team size, though he chose to frame his argument through the lens of military strategy.