Hot companies are like the prettiest girl (or coolest guy) at the dance. They make everyone else feel insecure about their own assets. Fast growing companies like Google, DreamWorks Animation, and NetApp often have an aura of invincibility.

This is particularly true when it comes to management and leadership skills. Who hasn’t assumed that fast growing companies like Google have some magic insight into leading edge management capabilities? If they’re so successful, these companies must have some unimaginably cool management practices. And you, by implication, are a pathetic loser! Right? Not so fast.

Google recently brought all of its data mining muscle to bear to discover what it takes to be a great manager. They even gave the program a cool name — Project Oxygen. So you know the findings are cutting edge. What did Google’s “people analytics” team discover when they studied thousands of hits — top management profiles, performance reviews and feedback survey — that might separate good and bad managers?

Sorry, you may not be cool enough to be let in on these secrets. OK, but don’t tell anyone I told you. Google’s exhaustive analysis of effective management behaviors included these gems:

  • Be a good coach
  • Empower your team
  • Be a good communicator
  • Have a clear vision & strategy

Now you know. Doesn’t it feel great to be part of the in crowd? (See the full list in the New York Times article “Google’s Quest to Build a Better Boss.”) The only surprise is that there are no surprises in what Google found. People, we know what highly effective managers do! The challenge today is HOW do you recruit, develop and retain these effective leaders? What can time-starved senior executives do differently to have a real impact on the quality of their organization’s management talent?

We answer these questions in our new book The Executive Guide to High-Impact Talent Management from McGraw-Hill. Chapters show how to:

  • Assess the real value of current management training initiatives
  • Attack cultural barriers undermining the success of talent programs
  • Create measurements that make a difference in performance improvement
  • Accelerate leadership development

The lesson is that Google may be investing a lot in developing great management talent, but they don’t have any secret insights into what the end results should be. Like most organizations today, they’re struggling to make it happen. Maybe you can have fun at this dance after all.