Google Leadership

Leadership is an aspect that is required by most companies. An organization cannot do without leadership. However, the forms in which organizations carry out their leadership styles are what differ from the rest of the organizations. As a leader, there are many requirements that need to be met in order for a company to progress. Leaders who show exemplary skills are selected from the few individuals and allowed to lead an organization. Leaders exist in many fields including in business and politics. To achieve excellent results in leadership, ethical considerations also have to be taken into account. In the case study of Google Inc. the focus will be on the leadership style used and the organizational culture of the company.

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The company Google Inc. was established by Sergey Brin and Larry Page as the founders. During its earlier establishment Page and Sergey did not have enough resources, thus, used the money that they had from their pockets. The two have served as leaders of their company since its establishment. Their role as leaders saw the company rise from a simple entity into a more complex organization. Google has grown to be one of the giant companies in the world today. So what makes Google as one of the giant companies?

The leadership at Google serves to provide the employees with direction, plan implementation and motivation. The two founders used the method of Laissez-faire policy to guide their company. This method implied that the top positions had the best leaders. The positions were preserved for the A class individuals and not the B class individuals. The top positions involve thorough recruitment of individuals into the top seats. The leaders exercise authority in the best interests of the employees. The board of governors and the management ensures that protocols are followed. Google targets all the individuals regardless of status and position in the economy. Provided individuals have the required skills and ideas, then they are welcome to apply for empty spots in the company.

The Board at Google passes the instructions down through the executive management group. The leadership at Google is structured in a way that benefits all the employees. In addition, the roles are outlined comprehensively in a manner that ensures the company progresses. Some of the qualities that the leaders of Google use are outlined below;

Empowering the team

Results oriented and Productive

Strategic management of the teams and visionary

Embracing the career development of the employees

Developing technical skills

Google takes time to analyze the leadership qualities that are most important to their culture. Google also has the rule of 70/20/10. Every employee at Google is required to follow this rule. This rule implies that 70% of the work assigned to the employees should be catered for to the management, 20% of the work should be energized on the already existing projects and ideas whereas the 10% is allocated for searching of new ideas. The academic history of Sergey Brin and Larry Page formed the basis of their knowledge and skills in computer science. It is the same skills that the two leaders use in their company. This served as an added advantage to their portfolio.

At Google Inc. there is encouragement of employees. The employees are motivated to come up with new innovations and ideas that will assist the organization to grow further. When the employees present their ideas, the management gives each and everyone time to present them. The management then looks at these ideas and decides the best to implement for the company. The leaders ensure that the working environment is serene for the workers to present quality work. Research shows that working in a safe environment that has security leads to constructive work and productivity. The environment that is offered is hustle-free.

The organization at Google only picks the best individuals from universities such as Harvard, Michigan and Chicago. These individuals are then taken through a test where they showcase their skills and expertise to the board. Some percentage of Googles money is allocated to advertising of the Google products. The company, through its leaders, offers impressive rewards to best performers. The best innovators of the year are awarded for their ideas and innovation. The management ensures that the awards are issued on merit. Besides, individuals compete on a fair ground whereby the ideas are selected based on what the best idea is.

As the company grew from a small entity to a large enterprise, the challenges that came with it were several. For that matter, as leaders, Larry Page and Sergey decided to bring in a new leader on board. They hired Eric Schmidt whom they chose as the new chief executive officer. Schmidt was a professional manager, equipped with good skills to lead the organization into success. It is due to his expertise and skills that Google has grown to a competitive company all over the world. Google has opened branches in over 120 countries worldwide.

The leaders decided to engage the board in reviewing their salaries. As a result, the board decided to cut Googles C.E.Os salary to 1$ per annum. This critical act proved to the investors that the leaders were confident over the success of the company. Many inventors gained confidence and made investments into the company. This move by the two leaders was applauded by many observers. Researchers have now made such recommendations to many upcoming companies.

The other approach used by Google during the launch of its first IPO was the use of the Dutch auction. This event was conducted through the market by determining the initial stock price. Thus, the Dutch auction method helped prevent the insiders from selling the stock quickly for profit. This move helped stabilize the stock and further created stability. Google uses distributed leadership to lead the company whereby individuals are assigned different roles to play. This leadership structure serves as the brimstone to the success of the company. Eric Schmidt used the individual-oriented approach in his leadership and it served the company pretty well.

Bill Campbell was employed by Google to serve as a management coach due to his experience and age. He was 61 at the time he started serving as the new coach manager. His duty was to mediate between the C.E.Os during decision making processes. He also served the role of coaching the VCs. Campbell used objectivity as the mode of mediation between the CEOs. There are certain strategies that Eric Schmidt used as a leader in leading his organization. Some of the strategies that he used include:

Knowing Employees

Rewarding and Promoting employees in new ways

Allowing employees to function outside the company hierarchy

Allowing performance of employees to be reviewed by someone they respected.

In conclusion, the leadership at Google serves as an example for the majority of upcoming companies. Performance depends on how the top management functions. Thus, it is important to note that Google implemented most strategies and approaches required to progress. This was evident through hiring of competent leaders and workers. For any organization to succeed it has to develop a structure vertical. There is need for protocol to be followed when presenting ideas.