In its heyday Google was notoriously anti-management. They stripped managers of their power where they could. Recruitment, performance evaluation and promotions are decided in groups, and compensation is largely determined by fixed rules. Joris Merks-Benjaminsen worked at Google for twelve years, and embraced this principle of Managing Without Power: he became one of Google's highest scoring managers and trained many fellow managers.
When humaneness prevails at the expense of accountability, or if prestige or a focus on performance wins over humaneness and culture, a new balance is needed. Managing Without Power helps you build teams and organizations that combine a high bar for performance with human leadership. If you are a manager starting out, the practical models and exercises will quickly help you get started. If you work in HR, or in a senior leadership position, the book helps create principles, processes and systems that balance performance and humanity. Diversity and inclusion is always the 'default setting'. A team or organization can only perform at its highest level if all people are their best selves and work well as a team.
