[henry2023]

I think it's all about incentives. If you want fewer managers in your organization you disincentivize the manager position. Even more, if you're a manager and see all of the PMs/ICs get promoted.

[reverius42]

If you want fewer managers in your organization (as a fraction of total employees), have each manager manage more direct reports. Incentives on their own don't create or reduce headcount, it has to be policy.

[Hasz]

Show me the incentives, and I’ll show you the results.

Policy is set by the same people you want to govern. The incentive from the top needs to be on ICs or on manager efficiency if you want less managers.