How to be a good manager?

Why is it so that some teams, even managed by high-skilled professionals, fail to show good results, whereas with other managers the employees are more motivated and efficient? Google search engine has an answer to this question too.

The specialists from Google statistics department were tasked to find out, what particular features make this or that executive a good manager.

Google’s statisticians were conducting the research, codenamed Oxygen, for two years. Thousands of Google employees, clients and individuals related to the company’s management, were interviewed as part of the research.

A 400-page research came as a real surprise for those, who expected Google to make some traditional revolutionary discoveries.

Everything turned out to be more trivial. It was revealed that the staff values not merely the professional managers, but rather the well-balanced chiefs, who could find time for the face-to-face meetings with their employees, who directly help them solve the problems, who ask questions and don’t force on the answers, who are interested in their employees’ lives and contribute to their career development.

Having processes and analysed the research findings, Google’s specialists have outlined 8 key rules that a manager should follow and that are as vital as the oxygen.

 Be a good coach:

• Your tasks should be clear and comprehensible. Be specific and constructive in your assessment.
   
• Always keep balance between criticism and praise. Mind that both of them are necessary. If you can only criticize, you are not a good manager. 

• Regularly hold face-to-face meetings with your employees. Give them tasks and specific assignments with their strengths in mind. A good manager must be aware of the strengths and weaknesses of each employee. A good manager always focuses on the strong sides, so as to sideline the employee’s weaknesses.

 Empower and don’t micromanage

• Give your employees maximum freedom. Let the men alone, let them do their job.  Do not burden them with bureaucracy and restrictions. 

• Be available to your employees, so that they could any time turn to you for an advice.

• Provide your employees with development opportunities-entrust them to deal with serious problems. A manager, who makes all decisions single-handedly, is a bad manager.

 Be interested in your employees’ success and personal well-being

• Show interest in your employees’ life, how do they live and what are their interests beyond the job.

• Pay attention to new employees and help them adapt to a new environment

 Be a good communicator and listen to your team

• Focus on the collective result that your employees seek to achieve and on how they can do that 

• Help them set the priorities and use your power to eliminate any possible obstacles

• As far as the result is concerned, don’t be ‘nice’, be demanding.

 Help your employees with career development

• If your employees are not developing, that’s not only their problem. Ask yourself, what you are doing wrong.

Never forget the company’s strategy: always remember, ‘where your ship sails’

• Have a clear-cut plan. Don’t forget about your main objectives and strategies even in the most difficult situation.

• Get your employees involved in the process of elaboration of the company’s objectives and strategies. 

Have key professional skills and be always ready to advise your team in a competent manner

• Whenever necessary, roll up your sleeves and get down to work as a regular employee.
   
• Be able to identify the reasons that hamper the work, what prevents it from being done, what are the challenges in each particular work.

Published: 15.07.2016