The CEO of Google faces strong criticism for his leadership. His answer is pure emotional intelligence

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Google CEO Sundar Pichai was criticized for his leadership style last month in the form of a New York Times article. The report draws on 15 current and former executives who have expressed their dissatisfaction with, among other things, the time Pichai takes to make decisions.

According to the Times, employees expressed frustration that “Google has not reacted quickly to major business and staff movements because it has ruminated on decisions and delayed action.” For example, sources complained that Pichai took a year to fill an important position, even when there were qualified candidates. They also pointed out that Google didn’t buy Shopify as an example of Pichai’s flawed decision-making process.

It’s worth mentioning that if Google (or more specifically, Google’s parent company Alphabet) had attempted to acquire Shopify, it certainly would have attracted even greater antitrust scrutiny than the one the company is already facing. Never mind, it would have put itself in direct competition with Amazon.

The article points out that the company has lost 36 vice presidents in the past year. It looks bad until you dig a little deeper. And, by digging a little deeper, I mean read the next paragraph, which mentions that Google has 400 VPs. It is certainly fair to criticize the leaders at the top of any organization, but it is not really a brain drain.

Also, it’s not as if Google under Pichai has made a series of missteps or fallen behind. It may not have grown as fast as some would like, but it is still one of the most dominant American companies.

With the exception of what appears to be a growing stream of dissatisfaction among some employees, the company itself appears to be running at full speed. That’s not to say that the dissatisfaction itself isn’t a problem, but it’s not a problem with the business model itself. It’s something entirely different, which we’ll come back to in a minute.

Google, meanwhile, is one of the most valuable and profitable companies in the world. It has billions of users who are generally happy with the services it provides, often for free.

I think you could argue that the experience of using Google search has deteriorated as the company continues to add advertising, but that doesn’t change the fact that this is the place. by default where people will answer questions. It is still the most profitable advertising platform ever built.

There is, however, something striking about the whole story for me. Mr. Pichai did not respond to the New York Times article, which contains the standard “The company has refused to make Mr. Pichai, 49, available for comment.” However, she made some employees available for interviews.

I read a few dozen follow-up stories that covered the Times report, and I couldn’t find a single story with a quote from Pichai. I even contacted Google, which had nothing to add.

I don’t want to abuse the silence, but I actually think it’s a powerful lesson for every leader:

First, when you face criticism, you can let it go. It’s smart to resist the urge to respond publicly. In an age when it’s not uncommon for people with a platform to use it to undermine their reviews, there is something to be said if nothing at all.

There is something to be said to allow people to criticize you, even in the New York Times, and pass up the opportunity to respond publicly. This is especially true when there is next to nothing to be gained from going after anything other than appeasing a sore ego – something that doesn’t seem to be the character of the famous Pichai.

Second, when dealing with internal criticism, ask yourself what you can learn. If the critics are right, change. If not, ignore it and keep doing what you think is the right thing for all stakeholders.

Finally, moving slowly and deliberately isn’t necessarily a bad thing. Google is not a ‘go fast and break things’ type of business. It is one of the largest and most influential companies in the world. It affects the daily lives of billions of people, many of whom use its products and services as the primary means of communicating and interacting with the world around them.

Come to think of it, Google is in a perilous time when regulators and lawmakers are targeting its size and business. Having a thoughtful leader who isn’t interested in breaking things is a plus at a time like this. It is also a shining example of emotional intelligence.

The opinions expressed here by the columnists of Inc.com are theirs and not those of Inc.com.

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