How Google know if you are a worthy leader who can build a successful team
We hear quotes about leaders time and time again. Ones such as “People don’t leave their company they leave their leader.” or “Poor performing employees are the result of a poor performing leader.” So we’re left wondering how do you know whether you are a good leader. How do you build a successful team? How do you know if you’re the one driving your employees away? What does it take to be a good leader?
Google’s criteria
Google would like to know the answer to these questions too which is why they have spent a lot of time trying to figure it out. They built a questionnaire based on common traits of their best managers. Employees were asked to answer on a rating scale of 1 to 5. See the questions below:
My manager gives me actionable feedback that helps me improve my performance.
They do not “micromanage” (get involved in details that should be handled at other levels).
My manager shows consideration for me as a person.
The actions of my manager show that he/she values the perspective I bring to the team, even if it is different from his/her own.
They keep the team focused on our priority results/deliverables.
My manager regularly shares relevant information from his/her manager and senior leaders.
They have had a meaningful discussion with me about career development in the past six months.
My manager communicates clear goals for our team.
They have the technical expertise (e.g., coding in Tech, selling in Global Business, accounting in Finance) required to effectively manage me.
I would recommend my manager to other Googlers.
I am satisfied with my manager’s overall performance as a manager.
What are the key messages from this?
Don’t be a narcissist
As a manager, never ever think that you are above or better than anyone just because you have been doing the job for longer. If you have this mindset you will firstly upset and annoy a lot of your staff. Secondly, you will miss out on unique and innovative suggestions from those who may look at things from a different angle than you do. If you are only interested in your own thoughts and opinions then you will find it hard to achieve success.
Don’t be too wishy-washy
Of course, you shouldn’t micromanage and you should let your employees get on with their tasks. But you shouldn’t lose sight of what you want to get out of their hard work. ALWAYS focus on the end goal, and always make your end goals clear to your employees. What good is a manager if they don’t know what direction they want their employees to head in. That’s like having a captain of a ship without any navigation tools. Useless!
Don’t forget that your employees are humans
It can be easy to get caught up in targets and how much work your team are churning out. But don’t ever forget that that work has to come from a human just like yourself. Think about how they are feeling if they’ve been on a 10-hour shift, and why they might snap at you. Or perhaps they made a mistake in the afternoon after a customer was horrifically rude to them. We know these things shouldn’t affect our performance but they do so always be considerate and just don’t be an a**hole.
Take a genuine interest in their future
Let your employees know that you care about their career and how they can move forward. If you don’t your employees can be left feeling bored, stagnant and trapped. This leads to them looking for other roles. Make sure you do regular performance reviews with them and set clear goals in place about how they can achieve the next level or position in their role.
Be honest, upfront and helpful
A good leader likes to keep their team in the know. You shouldn’t go off to secret leaders meetings and keep your team in the dark about what is going on. You should always be helpful and no matter what information you offload onto employees you should always ensure that you support them. Always be honest about your team members performance and give feedback whether it is bad or good, the key here is that you always make sure it’s constructive. For example, don’t just say “you aren’t serving customers very well you need to improve.” Tell them how they can change and what they can do to improve.
Follow these tips and you should be able to build a successful team that put your competitors to shame. If you are looking for a tool which can help you engage, motivate and build confidence in your employees. Discover Oplift, the performance support platform which makes it quick and easy to keep your employees motivated and happy at work. Reduce employee turnover and improve customer service and operations. Get in touch here.
