What skills should a modern-day manager have? We often see talented employees who, when promoted to a manager, end up being useless managers because they don’t know what skills they should have or develop.
These issues have become common problems in many organizations and in many industries.
The head is a very important position for the organization.
If you don’t have it, it’s not good. But if you do have it and it’s not good, it can cause damage to the organization.
So what can an organization do to have a great boss and the right boss?
“Who is the right boss? And what skills do modern-day organizations need?”
As Google wants to take the training and development of their executives seriously, they have invested in in-depth research with 10,000 of their executives and above, observing their behaviors, work processes, performance appraisals, and promotions, etc., to find out what skills or abilities Google should add to its Management Training curriculum or the skills of modern leaders.
From the research and study, it was found that there are 6 important issues and these are 6 issues that Google has included in the development plan for employees at the managerial level and above, as follows:
1. Mindset and Values :
Based on research by Dr. Carol Dweck, a professor of Psychology at Stanford University, that Growth Mindset is an important skill for people and especially leaders in this era, Google is pushing all employees at the supervisory level to seriously develop Growth Mindset because they believe that having a Growth Mindset will make employees at the supervisory level more enthusiastic to work on challenging tasks, dare to try new things, and will also help produce better results.
Google also encourages executives to bring their own values that align with the organization’s values to their work. This will make executives work in the same direction as the organization.
2. Emotional Intelligence (EI) :
According to research by Daniel Goleman and Richard Boyatzis, Emotional Intelligence is a skill that modern leaders must have, enabling people to recognize and understand the emotional states of themselves and others very well. As a result, we can choose appropriate behaviors and manage relationships with others effectively.
Google believes that managers who have emotional intelligence skills will be able to communicate well with others and help them make good decisions. Because managers need to communicate and make decisions frequently, Google prioritizes managers’ skills in this area.
3. Manager Transition :
This may not seem like a particularly important skill, but Google is highlighting it as a critical skill for modern leaders.
Because during the probation period or the transfer period, Google wants to encourage new managers not to be afraid or worry about the problems that arise during this period.
Every new manager is free to share their problems, share obstacles, or ask for help from their manager or teammates.
Because Google believes that doing this will allow new managers to receive true support from all parties and be able to become effective and efficient managers more easily and quickly.
4. About Coaching:
Coaching is another skill that Google sees as an important skill for a leader to have. Google has defined what it means to be a Good Coach as follows:
Feedback must be given at the right time and in a specific manner. Even though sometimes the feedback may be harsh, it must be given in a way that stimulates or motivates the thinking of improvement and change.
Adapt the communication style to suit each individual when meeting or talking one-on-one.
Practice listening skills by listening with sincerity, with an open mind and paying attention to what people say to find out their true meaning and inner needs.
Be aware of your own thoughts and attitudes, and your perspectives on others.
Ask open-ended questions to explore the resourcefulness and capabilities of your team.
5. About Feedback :
Because words from a boss can easily create or destroy relationships with subordinates, giving feedback is something that Google sees as a skill that modern bosses must have.
Google believes that good feedback must be able to balance both good and bad aspects and must have elements that allow employees to see the positive side or an opportunity for them to improve or change themselves.
6. Decision Making :
Decision making is another important and necessary skill for a manager. To make every decision of a manager be effective, Google has set a method by asking questions to help with decision making as follows:
What is the problem we are trying to solve? Does everyone on our team see it the same way?
Why is this important? And how does it relate to the team’s and the organization’s goals?
Who decides on this?
What is the decision-making process for this matter?
When should a decision be made on this matter? And who should be involved?
Google also encourages its executives to test their ideas and solutions by asking for feedback from their managers or peers. This can make problem-solving more efficient and produce better results.
It can be seen that all the skills that Google mentioned are skills that modern leaders really need to have.
In fact, we don’t need to wait to learn when we become a leader (because we might have to wait a long time).
If you don’t want to wait, but want to be successful, advance, and grow quickly in your current career or profession.
We can learn and practice these skills now so that we don’t waste time and may even be able to promote faster than before.
Because every minute is valuable, those who are more prepared will get that good opportunity.
More information :
For more articles about Growth Mindset, please visit:
9 Ways to Build and Develop a Growth Mindset for Working People