Ways in Which Brin, Page and Schmidt Are Leaders at Google - Case Study Example

Running header: Case studies Student’s name: Instructor’s name: Subject code: Date of submission Google Case Study Answers 1. Ways in which Sergey Brin, Larry Page and Eric Schmidt are managers a) Leadership One of the ways that Brin, Page and Schmidt can be said to be managers is seen in their leadership. Good managers are characterized by their ability to lead the employees they are managing. In this regard, the three are able to give the employees under their docket emotional stability and enthusiasm while motivating them. They are seen to display emotional stability by remaining energetic and engaged while not allowing challenges, mistakes and failures to affect their operations. Page is president for products and is recognized as the company’s thought leader and he also gets involved in projects in ensuring things get done. Brin on the other hand is the president of technology assuming responsibility for advertising initiatives which is the money making part of Google while Schmidt acts as the company’s CEO and board chairman (Schmidt and Rosenberg, 2014). Their leadership is also seen in that they allow employees take control of their time in Google thus encouraging innovation and creativity b) Communication As managers, the three communicate well with each other, the employees and the outside world. In this regard, they are able to decide what is good for the company to be communicated to outsiders and what is not to be revealed to outsiders for the benefit of the company hence painting the picture of Google as it is today. Schmidt’s role is to communicate to outsiders including the media and the stock market. However, the three have generally created an environment where Google is not transparent to outsiders. However, being selective as far as communication is concerned serves to confuse the competition. c) Planning As managers, the three are very organized and always know what needs to be done and when it ought to be done. The goals of Google are at their fingertips including what the employees need to do in a bid to achieve these goals. As the management, they are in charge of setting the company’s overall agenda while giving the direction on the day to day company operations. This actually is the role of Schmidt. On the other hand, Brin and Page decide what is best for the company. They have planned on how to get the best from their employees by allowing them freedom and autonomy while recruiting the best to work for the company. d) Problem solving The three have problem solving skills which is a characteristic of managers. Google is a big organization and issues are likely to arise between managers and employees, the outsiders or even among the managers themselves. However, the three have kept the organization going despite this owing to their ability to solve problems that arise at all levels of the organization. This is why Google has been making friends rather than enemies. e) Technology Literate Page, Brin and Schmidt are all technology literate which is an essential characteristic of a manager. In other words, they are aware of the broader technological landscape governing their company. Google being a technology company, their being technology literate has made the company what it is today. Both Page and Brin are graduates of Stanford University while Schmidt had vast managerial knowledge necessary for managing Google having worked in other companies previously. 2. Ways in which Brin, Page and Schmidt are leaders a) Interpersonal skills Page, Brin and Schmidt’s leadership is seen in their interpersonal skills. In other words, the three leaders are portrayed as comfortable in relating to one another as well as to the people they employ at Google. Though each of them has distinct roles to play in Google, they are seen to corporate in steering Google forward. In addition, they also relate very well with the employees allowing them independence on how they spend their time and making them feel recognized as part of Google. Brin and Page do not see themselves as infallible seers with a divine right to dictate Google’s next strategy and the one after that. Instead, they have created a Darwinian environment in which every idea must compete on its merits, not on the grandeur of its sponsor’s title. b) Communication skills It is not enough that Google has a strong mission, vision and goals as well as a solid budget. The excellent communication skills portrayed by the three leaders contribute a lot in making Google what it is today. As stated above, the three strategically decide what is to be communicated and what is not for the benefit of Google. c) Motivational skills Page, Brin and Schmidt motivational skills portray them as effective organizational leaders. It by motivating the employees that they in turn have become committed and loyal to the organization hence leading to the organizational success that Google has witnessed (Brandt, 2011). For instance, the company through their leadership has generous reward and award programs aimed at ensuring employees loyalty by not launching their own entrepreneurial ventures. Furthermore, employees are motivated to be creative and innovative with them being given free hand on how they manage their time with 20% of their time devoted to off budget projects and 10% devoted to far-out ideas. Furthermore, every idea is given a chance to compete on its merit regardless of who came up with it thus further motivating the employees. d) Values and organizational consciousness The three displays high level of organizational consciousness and have set up values that the organization strictly adheres to hence ensuring organizational success. For instance, they value employee autonomy and ideas and hence every idea at Google is valued. Furthermore, they know what exactly the organization needs for success. For example, only class A- students are recruited at Google. On the other hand, not every information is given to outsiders. e) Creativity skills Their creativity is seen in the way they run the organization and the structures they have put in place to allow for employee creativity. In fact, encouraging creativity and innovation is the company’s hallmark and it has implemented many policies, procedures and processes aimed at fostering innovation and creativity. 3. The nature of followership that Brin, Page and Schmidt have sought to develop at Google Brin, Page and Schmidt have sought to develop effective followership at Google.in other words, they want to develop employees (followers) who are active, responsible and autonomous in their behavior and critical in their thinking without being disrespectful or insubordinate. This is seen in the way they treat their employees. This is seen in the fact that Google essentially lets engineers run the show. Every Google employee divides their work time into three parts with 70% being devoted to Google’s core business of search and advertising, 20% targeted to off-budget projects related to core businesses and 10% to the pursuit of far-out ideas (Nelson etal, 2012). In addition, Brin and Page do not see themselves as responsible for dictating Google’s strategies but every idea has to compete on its merit regardless of who originates it. In other words, they encourage autonomy but with responsibility though employees have to stick to corporate values and principles. This ensures that the employees remain active and committed to the company’s mission and vision. This would ensure that the employees practice self-management as seen in time management and self-responsibility for individual projects. This ensures that the organization attains total commitment of the employees without necessarily having to micromanage them. 4. The leadership orientations of Google’s triumvirate From the leadership grid and its underlying leader behaviors of initiating structure and consideration, the leadership orientations of Google’s triumvirate is that of team manager. As can be deduced from the case study, Google’s triumvirate is not just concerned about production but it is also concerned about the welfare of the employees. They have structured their leadership style such that they give the best to the employees by rewarding them well and ensuring that their welfare is well taken care of but at the same time encourage innovation and creativity from the employees who are largely autonomous and self-responsible. Furthermore, the triumvirate is also involved directly in management and hence production. . The triumvirate contributes and is committed to the organization’s course. They motivate the employees and are motivated as well (Mathew, 2016). They allow the employees to be autonomous believing that trust, respect; commitment as well as empowering their employees is the essential ingredients in fostering team environment at Google. This results in high level of employee satisfaction at Google as well as efficient productivity. As stated above, Page and Brin do not present themselves as the only people who matter at Google but every idea no matter where it originates matters at Google and is tested based on merit. This in itself motivates employees as they participate in production. On the other hand, encouraging creativity and innovation is Google’s hallmark and the company has put in place many policies, procedures and processes that foster creativity and innovation. Ideas are shared and there is transparency for insiders. The end result is a team that achieves great results for Google with everyone feeling part of Google and its achievements. In other words, their leadership is highly effective in ensuring both high levels of employee satisfaction and quality and quantity production as well. 5. The leadership off Brin, Page and Schmidt The leadership of Brin, Page and Schmidt could be best described as transformational leadership. This is based on the fact that they value their employees and make them feel part of Google and that each of their ideas matter. They influence the employees to own the vision of the company and actually get committed to achieve it. The transformational leadership by the three is what has transformed Google into what it is today and is portrayed in how they manage the company as explained below; i) The three strive to engender trust, admiration and loyalty as well as respect among the followers. This is seen in the way they influence the followers to own the company’s vision while leading by example and sharing risks. In other words, while employees are autonomous and self-responsible, they are also allowed to share risks with the management by their ideas being considered in crafting the organizational strategy. ii) The three ensure inspirational motivation of followers by ensuring their role in fulfilling the organization’s vision while setting high standards for them to obtain organizational objectives (Rita, 2011). They are encouraged to be creative while they are allowed to manage their time and own projects hence feeling part and parcel of the company and its vision. iii) By allowing the followers a kind of autonomous environment, the managers practice intellectual stimulation. As stated above, the company provides an environment where everyone is encouraged to be creative and innovative. Furthermore, ideas are welcomed and shared and even implemented on merit but without fear of punishment or ridicule. iv) The three treat their followers as a whole individual rather than employees while individual talents and level of knowledge is highly appreciated. This is why employees are given autonomy on how they spend their time while their ideas and projects are highly valued. References: Nelson, D.L., Quick, J.C., Wright, S., & Adams, C. (2012). ORGB. South Melbourne, Cengage Learning Australia. Schmidt, E., & Rosenberg, J. (2014). How Google works, New York, Grand Central Publishing. Rita, M. (2011). Business management and leadership, New York, Mc GrawHill. Mathew, J.M. (2016). Distributed leadership at Google: Lessons from the billion dollar brand, retrieved from; http://iveybusinessjournal.com/publication/distributed-leadership-at-google-lessons- from-the-billion-dollar-brand/ Brandt, R. (2011). The Google guys. New York, Penguin USA. Read More