- Leandro Herrero - https://leandroherrero.com -

No list of ‘The best treats of X’ or ‘The 10 habits of Y’ surprises me anymore.

1. These 9 features (below) define a good manager in Google.
2. You have Google as a model company ( do you?). OK, for some things.
3. You are about to send 50 people to That Top Business School to become better managers.
4. Don’t bother, copy and paste the Google list.

Yes, preposterous, but true. Look at these 9 features. Find one that was a true discovery.

  1. They give actionable feedback that helps their employees improve their performance.
  2. They do not micromanage by getting involved in details that should be handled at other levels.
  3. They show consideration for their employees as individuals.
  4. They keep their team focused on its priority results/deliverables.
  5. They regularly share with their team relevant information from their own manager and senior leadership.
  6. They have meaningful discussions about career development with each member of their team at least once every six months.
  7. They communicate clear goals for their team.
  8. They possess the technical expertise required to effectively manage their team.
  9. Their employees would recommend them to their colleagues.

Revealed: the key to good management according to Google, is to have good management practices.

I think it’s very humble of Google to disclose its 9 ‘best management practices’. I have some respect for this ‘Google sharing’.

It tells you that the fundamental and basics of management are perhaps ‘universal’ and that 9 out 10 lists of ‘The best features of’ and ‘the 10 characteristics of’ and ‘The top 10 things that the best of X have when doing Y’, could have been created by a robot. That does not make them less genuine if they come from their realities. Genuine is often plan vanilla.

Now for my revelation to you:

A. The secret of successful companies is that they are well managed
B. Successful companies will attract better managers
C. If you want better management, be a successful company
D. Now, go back to A.

No list surprises me anymore.