Behaviors of Good Managers (based on Google’s research – Project Oxygen)

Several years ago Google wanted to determine whether managers matter and, if so, then what makes a manager great. Their research team first tried to prove that managers actually don’t matter and that the quality of a manager didn’t affect a team’s performance.  This hypothesis was due to a belief held by Larry Page who was the founder at Google he felt that managers are a layer of bureaucracy.

After they did the research, it turned out that managers do matter but especially the good managers – they also identified the 10 behaviors of managers.  These lessons can be easily translated to any other company because all good managers are indeed good coaches who empower their teams and create a good inclusive environment. Good managers are also focused on results and communicate well, set the strategy and vision combined with their good hands-on skills in what they manage, are collaborative across the company and are good decision makers.  Here is the image from Google:

Google manager behaviors 1 Is a good coach 2 Empowers team and does not micromanage 3 Expresses interest/concern for team members’ success and personal well-being 4 Is productive and results-oriented 5 Is a good communicator 6 Helps with career development 7 Has a clear vision/strategy for the team 8 Has important technical skills that help him/her advise the team 9 Collaborates across Google 10 Is a strong decision maker

Sourcehttps://rework.withgoogle.com/guides/managers-identify-what-makes-a-great-manager/steps/learn-about-googles-manager-research/