How Google Sold Its Engineers on Management

Reprint: R1312D High-performing knowledge workers often question whether managers actually contribute much, especially in a technical environment. Until recently, that was the case at Google, a company filled with self-starters who viewed management as more destructive than beneficial and as a distraction from “real work.” But when Google’s people analytics team examined the value of managers, applying the same rigorous research methods the company uses in its operations, it proved the skeptics wrong. Mining data from employee surveys, performance reviews, and double-blind interviews, the team verified that managers indeed had a positive impact. It also pinpointed exactly how, identifying the eight key behaviors of great Google managers. In this article, Harvard Business School professor Garvin describes how Google has incorporated the detailed findings from the research into highly specific, concrete guidelines; classes; and feedback reports that help managers hone their essential skills. Because these tools were built from the ground up, using the staff’s own input, they’ve been embraced by Google employees. Managers say that they’ve found their training to be invaluable, and managers’ ratings from direct reports have steadily risen across the company.

Source: https://hbr.org/2013/12/how-google-sold-its-engineers-on-management. 8 Sync News only summarizes and links out; content copyright belongs to the authors and original sources.