As only a data-mining giant like Google can do, it began analyzing performance reviews, feedback surveys and nominations for top-manager awards. They correlated phrases, words, praise and complaints.
And came up with the same conclusions everyone else has known for decades.
"In the Google context, we'd always believed that to be a manager, particularly on the engineering side, you need to be as deep or deeper a technical expert than the people who work for you," Mr. Bock says. "Much more important is just making that connection and being accessible."
Managers need to be good at management and have people skills? Who woulda thunk?