The 8 behaviors of successful managers

Google is well known for making leaps and bounds in advancing the science of employee and leader development. That’s why most talent management professionals were left understandably disappointed when Google’s People Analytics department released their “Eight Good Behaviors” of managers. Here they are, ranked in order of importance:

1. Be a good coach.
2. Empower your team and don’t micromanage.
3. Express interest in team members’ success and personal well-being.
4. Don’t be a sissy: Be productive and results-oriented.
5. Be a good communicator and listen to your team.
6. Help your employees with career development.
7. Have a clear vision and strategy for the team.
8. Have key technical skills so you can help advise the team.

Surprised? We weren’t either. These skills have been sought after by Fortune 500 companies and taught in world-class talent development programs for years. In fact, most 360° evaluation tools assess these skills directly.  But if we know these skills are important to managerial success and can be developed, why are they so elusive? Put simply, managers prioritize other good – yet less impactful – management behaviors over these high-leverage behaviors.

Using results from over 1,000 Insight 360™ surveys (CMA’s online-based 360° tool), I ranked all 40 Effective Behaviors (e.g., “Coaches employees on how to improve performance”) and all 40 Potential Derailers (e.g., “Micromanages employees”) according to their frequency. Then, I identified which of the Insight 360™ items matched to Google’s Eight Good Behaviors (note: unsurprisingly, all of the Eight Good Behaviors were represented in the Insight 360™). Here is what I found:

• • Only one of Google’s Eight Good Behaviors was ranked in the top half of Effective Behaviors. Managers spend significantly more time being respectful and friendly than providing development opportunities or driving a sense of urgency around business needs.
• • Two of Google’s Eight Good Behaviors were classified as Potential Derailers – micromanaging and providing advice after delegation. According to my results, leaders performed both of these behaviors more frequently than most other Potential Derailers, suggesting they are not prioritizing the more effective management behaviors.

As a manager, where are you spending most of your time? Could you benefit from taking a step back and identifying how you prioritize your management behavior? Please share with us on our LinkedIn page.

Written by: Liam Ryan, M.S.