Google's research has found that often effective managers focus on empowering their teams to deliver concrete results. They combine a focus on urgency with an understanding of what results will have the most impact. One of the most critical roles that a manager can play is to anticipate roadblocks and help remove them for their team members.

Having the technical skills to work alongside the team helps managers act as credible advisors by showing they have deep expertise in their field. It can help them keep their skills current and sends an important message: the manager is not just the leader but a participant on the team.

The most effective managers realize that they work for their teams and not the other way around. One Googler described his manager, “She empowers everyone to do what they need to do to deliver successful products, but at the same time is unbelievably technical and when called on can help teams solve problems.”