It’s no secret that being a great manager and leader determine how your team enjoy their work and how well the company performs. Google for example, has significantly invested in research to prove that great managers must also be great leaders and that's primarily responsible for Google's growth and success.
From their research, Google high-performing managers saw less turnover on their teams than others managers and retention was related more strongly to the manager’s quality than to their seniority, performance, tenure, or promotions. Their research also showed a tight connection between a managers’ quality and their team happiness; for example employees with high-scoring managers consistently reported higher satisfaction in multiple areas, including innovation, work-life balance, and career development.
The company identified 8 behaviors in its best managers, and this proved to be a significant catalyst that allowed Google to become one of the most valuable brands in the world.
1. Be a good coach
Provide specific constructive feedback, balancing the negative and the positive.
Have regular one-on-ones, presenting solutions to problems tailored to your employees’ specific strengths.
2. Empower your team and don’t micromanage
Balance giving freedom to your employees, while still being available for advice. Make “stretch” assignments to help the team tackle big problems.
3. Express interest in team members’ success and personal well-being
Get to know your employees as people, with lives outside of work.
Make new members of your team feel welcome and help ease their transition.
4. Don’t be a sissy: Be productive and results-oriented
Focus on what employees want the team to achieve and how they can help solve it.
Help the team prioritize work and use seniority to remove roadblocks.
5. Be an excellent communicator and listen to your team
Communication is two-way: you both listen and share information.
Hold all-hands meetings and be straightforward about the messages and goals of the team. Help the team connect the dots.
Encourage open dialogue and listen to the issue and concerns of your employees.
6. Help your employees with career development.
Show interest in your team member’s success. Their career aspirations are central to any discussion about their long-term welfare.
7. Have a clear vision and strategy for the team
Even in the midst of turmoil, keep the team focused on goals and strategy.
Involve the team in setting and evolving the team’s vision and making progress toward it.
8. Have essential technical skills so you can help advise the team
Roll up your sleeves and conduct work side by side with the team, when needed.
Understand the specific challenges of the work.
One of the reasons why this research was so compelling is the fact that Google did an incredible job to produce superb management and superb leadership. According to Kotter organizations need managers to make their complex organizations reliable and efficient, but they also need great leadership to take the organization into the future, to empowerment, to produce change etc.
There are very, very few organizations today that have sufficient leadership and as a result, many organizations today are over-managed and under-led which make them increasingly vulnerable in this fast-moving world. These 8 behaviors can be beneficial to you and your organization as well, after all, Google did go from being a made-up word to a household name in just a few years. People and companies now look to Google as an example, not only in innovation but also its approach to management and leadership.