too many chiefs and not enough indians

phrase

Too many leaders or managers and not enough people doing actual, useful work.

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Meanings

too many chiefs and not enough indians1

nountoo many chiefs and not enough indians pl (plural only)
  1. alternativepluralplural onlyAlternative form of too many chiefs and not enough Indians.

too many chiefs and not enough Indians2

phrase

alternative too many chiefs and not enough indians

  1. Too many leaders or managers and not enough people doing actual, useful work.

    Marks & Spencer's . . . top-heavy management has so much in common with the BBC, too many chiefs and not enough indians.

    2004 April 14, Janet Street-Porter, “Dazed and confused by modern life”, in Independent, UK, retrieved 15 Jul 2017
    1 more example

    [V]eterans attribute a lack of money and the consequent need to rely heavily on volunteers in scheduling and the poor advance work for the candidate's appearances. Some Democratic politicians have described the problem as a case of “too many chiefs and not enough Indians.”

    1970 October 24, Frank Lynn, “Goldberg ‘Kennedy Men’ Give State Party Rare Unity”, in New York Times, retrieved 15 Jul 2017

Translations

French trop de chefs, pas assez d'indiens
  • trop de chefs, pas assez d'indienstoo many leaders or managers and not enough people doing useful work
Polish sami szefowie i nikogo do pracy
  • sami szefowie i nikogo do pracytoo many leaders or managers and not enough people doing useful work
Portuguese muito cacique para pouco índio
  • muito cacique para pouco índiotoo many leaders or managers and not enough people doing useful work
Swedish många hövdingar, men få indianer
  • många hövdingar, men få indianertoo many leaders or managers and not enough people doing useful work
Cite this entry
APA

too many chiefs and not enough indians. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/too%20many%20chiefs%20and%20not%20enough%20indians

MLA

“too many chiefs and not enough indians.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/too%20many%20chiefs%20and%20not%20enough%20indians. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “too many chiefs and not enough indians,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/too%20many%20chiefs%20and%20not%20enough%20indians.

Source: too many chiefs and not enough indians on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.