By Dr. Travis Bradberry, LinkedIn
Originally published by Dr. Travis Bradberry on LinkedIn: 7 Things That Make Great Bosses Unforgettable
Six times Google has topped Fortune magazine’s list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For.
Most people assume that Google tops the list because of their great
benefits and all of the fun and perks that they pack into the
Googleplex. But that’s just part of the equation.
[post_ads]Google knows
that people don’t leave companies; they leave bosses. But unlike most
companies, who wait around hoping for the right bosses to come along,
Google builds each Googler the boss of their dreams.
Their people analytics team starts by researching the qualities that make managers great at Google.
These managers aren’t just high performers, they receive high marks for
their leadership from the people that report to them. They’re the
managers everyone wants to work for.
Next Google built a training
program that teaches every manager how to embrace these qualities. Once
managers complete the program, Google measures their behavior to ensure
that they’re making improvements and morphing into managers that
Googlers want to work for.
Google is building bosses that are so
good, they’re unforgettable. And why do they do it? In the words of
Laszlo Bock, Google’s SVP of People Operations, “Our best managers have
teams that perform better, are retained better, are happier — they do
everything better.”
Indeed they do. Unforgettable bosses change us
for the better. They see more in us than we see in ourselves, and they
help us learn to see it too. They dream big and show us all the great
things we can accomplish.
When I ask audiences to describe the
best and worst boss they have ever worked for, people inevitably ignore
innate characteristics (intelligence, extraversion, attractiveness, and
so on) and instead focus on qualities that are completely under the
boss’s control, such as passion, insight, and honesty.
Google’s
program isn’t the only way to become a boss people want to work for. Any
of us can study the unique qualities of unforgettable bosses to learn
valuable skills and inspire people.
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Great bosses are passionate, first and foremost. Few
things are more demotivating than a boss who is bored with his or her
life and job. If the boss doesn’t care, why should anybody else?
Unforgettable bosses are passionate about what they do. They believe in
what they’re trying to accomplish, and they have fun doing it. This
makes everyone else want to join the ride.
They sacrifice themselves for their people. Some
bosses will throw their people under the bus without a second thought;
great bosses pull their people from the bus’s path before they’re in
danger. They coach, and they move obstacles out of the way, even if
their people put those obstacles there in the first place. Sometimes,
they clean up messes their people never even knew they made. And, if
they can’t stop the bus, they’ll jump out in front of it and take the
hit themselves.
Great bosses play chess not checkers. Think
about the difference. In checkers, all the pieces are basically the
same. That’s a poor model for leadership because nobody wants to feel
like a faceless cog in the proverbial wheel. In chess, on the other
hand, each piece has a unique role, unique abilities, and unique
limitations. Unforgettable bosses are like great chess masters. They
recognize what’s unique about each member of their team. They know their
strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes, and they use these insights
to draw the very best from each individual.
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They are who they are, all the time. They
don’t lie to cover up their mistakes, and they don’t make false
promises. Their people don’t have to exert energy trying to figure out
their motives or predicting what they’re going to do next. Equally as
important, they don’t hide things they have the freedom to disclose.
Instead of hoarding information and being secretive to boost their own
power, they share information and knowledge generously.
A great boss is a port in a storm. They
don’t get rattled, even when everything is going haywire. Under immense
pressure, they act like Eugene Kranz, flight director for the Apollo 13
mission. In the moments after the explosion, when death looked certain
and panic seemed like the only option, Kranz kept his cool, saying,
“Okay, now, let’s everybody keep cool. Let’s solve the problem, but
let’s not make it any worse by guessing.” In those initial moments, he
had no idea how they were going to get the astronauts home, but, as he
later explained, “you do not pass uncertainty down to your team
members.” People who’ve worked for an unforgettable boss often look back
later and marvel at their coolness under pressure. That’s why, 45 years
after Apollo 13, people are still talking about Eugene Kranz and his
leadership during that crisis.
Unforgettable bosses are human,
and they aren’t afraid to show it. They’re personable and easy to
relate to. They’re warm. They realize that people have emotions, and
they aren’t afraid to express their own. They relate to their people as a
person first and a boss second. On the other hand, they know how to
keep their emotions in check when the situation calls for it.
Their work is truly a team effort,
and their people feel accomplished when group goals are met. Since
these bosses don’t believe they are above anyone or anything, they
openly address their mistakes so that everyone can learn from them.
Their modesty sets a tone of humility and strength that everyone else
follows.
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Bringing It All Together
For
many unforgettable bosses at Google and elsewhere, things clicked once
they stopped thinking about what their people could do for them and
started thinking about what they could do to help their people succeed.
Inspire.
Teach. Protect. Remove obstacles. Be human. If you cultivate these
characteristics, you’ll become the unforgettable boss that your people
will remember for the rest of their careers.
Please share your thoughts in the comments section on LinkedIn, as I learn just as much from you as you do from me.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Dr. Travis Bradberry is the award-winning co-author of the #1 bestselling book, Emotional Intelligence 2.0, and the cofounder of TalentSmart, the world's leading provider of emotional intelligence tests and training,
serving more than 75% of Fortune 500 companies. His bestselling books
have been translated into 25 languages and are available in more than
150 countries. Dr. Bradberry has written for, or been covered by, Newsweek, TIME, BusinessWeek, Fortune, Forbes, Fast Company, Inc., USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and The Harvard Business Review.
If you'd like to learn how to increase your emotional intelligence (EQ), consider taking the online Emotional Intelligence Appraisal® test that's included with the Emotional Intelligence 2.0 book. Your test results will pinpoint which of the book's 66 emotional intelligence strategies will increase your EQ the most.
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