I agree with Mark Oakes caution. I ran a very horizontal worldwide consulting firm, with 15 direct reports to avoid the setting up of more layers.  We were in the 100 best companies in America to work for, we were a partnership in structure, we were highly collaborative, and I had an enormous consensus from everyone, including the most recent hire, for what we were trying to achieve.
I was not lonely in the sense that I always had many people to talk with, get their thoughts, or reactions to possible alternative tactical or strategical decisions, with everyone being open about what they thought. But it was lonely for me in the sense that I knew what each person wanted and knew I was always disappointing or disagreeing with people. (Of course, they expected me to make some of these decisions and I knew I was doing my job to do so, but I would have been personally healthier by being more oblivious to these feelings.) Some traits that everyone liked about me (being so inclusive and listening well to their ideas) naturally come along with caring what they feel and say, which made it feel lonely when we made decisions.