There is no ideal group size. There is no clear agreement on the ideal number, as it varies depending on the purpose, situation, and type of work performed. Groups tend to be larger than teams, and size is the span of management. A group that is too small limits ideas and creativity. The workload is not distributed over enough members. On the other hand, a group that is too large tends to be too slow and less innovative, and not everyone gets to participate.

In large groups, freeriding (also called social loafing) is also a problem, as members rely on others to carry their share of the workload. The appropriate leadership style may depend on group size. The larger the size, the more formal or autocratic the leadership needs to be to provide direction. Managers tend to be more informal and participative when they have smaller teams.

Usually, managers have no say in the size of their command groups. However, if you have a large department, you can break this larger group into teams of five to nine. As the chair of a committee, you may be able to select the group size. People are more willing to express their opinions, concerns, and ideas in smaller groups.