Do you remember Project Oxygen? It was an initiative by Google's People Innovation Labs to identify the skills needed to create the perfect bosses. With a team of statisticians, Googlers spent a year surveying employees and collecting data. Their findings were clear.
The best managers possessed the following 8 traits:
- Coached and actively supported their employees.
- Empowered their team while avoiding micromanagement.
- Expressed interest in team members as individuals and showed concern for their personal and career success.
- Were productive and results-oriented.
- Communicated effectively and listened.
- Supported their team members' career aspirations.
- Had a clear vision and strategy for their team.
- Possessed the technical skills needed to understand the work and provide guidance.
Google's engineers, driven by data and metrics, were pleased to have quantified the skills necessary to be a manager. But this was only part of the story. In 2002, long before Project Oxygen, Google wanted to eliminate management. They set out to see if a team could survive without being managed. It couldn't. Managers and management in general, are necessary for any successful project and Google has integrated these insights into its training, workflows, and culture over the years. While larger teams require stronger management, many of us manage our own solo projects outside of work. We're building apps with old classmates, contributing to open-source projects online, and seeking advice from older siblings on technical problems. The need to be a leader is everywhere, not just at work.
Leadership doesn't start the day you become a manager. It's an ongoing process of encouraging those around you with your words and ideas. It's learning when to speak up about tech debt, trying solutions that haven't been tried before, and never hesitating to work on a problem others call impossible.
You're a leader in more ways than you might think. Good luck!
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