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Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang skips one-on-ones with his dozens of direct reports in favor of team meetings because he wants everyone operating with the same information and solving problems together out in the open, according to a recent episode of the Lex Fridman Podcast<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Huang\u2019s leadership structure is intentionally extreme by traditional standards. Instead of five to seven senior reports, he has around 60 leaders reporting directly to him. That design flattens out Nvidia\u2019s organizational chart by removing multiple layers of middle management that would otherwise sit between Huang and key decision-makers. In other words, he says, the structure strips out layers of hierarchy that can slow decisions down.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have one-on-ones with them because it\u2019s impossible,\u201d Huang said on the podcast. \u201cWe present a problem, and all of us attack it.\u201d<\/p>\n His direct reports range from memory experts to designers. \u00a0The team tackles problems together in an example of \u201cextreme co-design,\u201d where all team members contribute simultaneously, Huang explained. \u201cThe company is doing extreme co-design all the time,\u201d Huang said.\u00a0<\/p>\n In these collaborative meetings, whoever wants to tune out can step away, Huang said. However, if there\u2019s something mentioned in the meeting that they can contribute to, Huang will call them out.\u00a0<\/p>\n Huang has served<\/a> as CEO of Nvidia since its inception in 1993. The AI chipmaker is currently the most valuable company in the world, with a market value of $4.2 trillion<\/a> at the time of writing.\u00a0<\/p>\n The CEO has previously spoken about the toll that leading Nvidia has had on his mental state. In an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience<\/a> podcast, which aired in December, Huang said he has described Nvidia as being \u201c30 days from going out of business\u201d for over three decades and that his feeling of insecurity \u201cdoesn\u2019t leave,\u201d despite Nvidia\u2019s astronomical market value.\u00a0<\/p>\n The 63-year-old CEO said that he works \u201cevery moment\u201d he is awake, seven days a week, and doesn\u2019t take days off on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. It\u2019s unclear whether he has the same expectation of his employees, though he noted that his two children, who also work for Nvidia, work seven days a week as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s exhausting,\u201d Huang said. \u201cAlways in a state of anxiety.\u201d<\/p>\n Huang isn\u2019t the only one with more direct reports than usual. Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky mentioned in August on an episode of the Social Radars<\/a> podcast that he oversees the hiring, firing, management and promotion of 40 to 50 employees, all of whom are his direct reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n Chesky called the process of managing up to 50 people \u201ca lot of work,\u201d but \u201cnecessary.\u201d His management approach is to create relationships with as many individuals within Airbnb as possible.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang skips one-on-ones with his dozens of direct reports in favor of team meetings because he wants everyone operating with the same information and solving problems together out in the open, according to a recent episode of the Lex Fridman Podcast<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n Huang\u2019s leadership structure is intentionally extreme by traditional standards. Instead of five to seven senior reports, he has around 60 leaders reporting directly to him. That design flattens out Nvidia\u2019s organizational chart by removing multiple layers of middle management that would otherwise sit between Huang and key decision-makers. In other words, he says, the structure strips out layers of hierarchy that can slow decisions down.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t have one-on-ones with them because it\u2019s impossible,\u201d Huang said on the podcast. \u201cWe present a problem, and all of us attack it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\nHuang\u2019s work ethic<\/h2>\n
Other CEOs who manage dozens of direct reports<\/h2>\n
Key Takeaways<\/h2>\n
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