Funny everyday jokes: The #1 skill Google looks for in leaders, it's not what you'd expect

Thursday, February 19, 2026

The #1 skill Google looks for in leaders, it's not what you'd expect

Hey there,

Let me tell you two stories that changed how I think about coaching.

What Google discovered about its own leaders.

A few years ago, Google ran an internal study called Project Oxygen. They wanted to figure out what made their best managers great.

Being one of the most data-driven companies on the planet, most people — including Google's own executives — assumed the answer would be technical. Coding ability. Engineering brilliance. Analytical thinking.

They were wrong.

The #1 skill wasn't technical at all.

It was coaching.

The ability to ask the right questions instead of giving orders. The ability to listen deeply instead of jumping to solutions. The ability to elevate the performance of the people around them.

Google, the company that literally runs on algorithms, discovered that the most valuable skill in its organization was profoundly human.

The football coach who built Silicon Valley.

His name was Bill Campbell. Most people have never heard of him.

He was a former football coach at Columbia University. He never founded a tech company. He never wrote a line of code. He never launched a product.

And yet, when he passed away in 2016, Silicon Valley came to a standstill.

Tim Cook attended his funeral. So did Jeff Bezos. So did the entire leadership team at Google.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt called Bill "the man who had the most impact across the tech industry."

Why?

Because Bill Campbell became the most sought-after leadership coach in Silicon Valley history.

It was Bill who coached Steve Jobs through Apple's most defining moments.

It was Bill who helped shape Google's leadership from a scrappy startup into one of the most powerful companies on Earth.

All of this, not because Bill was the smartest person in the room.

But because he had a skill that made everyone else in the room smarter. Better. Braver.

That skill was coaching.

Here's why I'm telling you this:

Bill Campbell didn't start as a legendary coach. He started as a football coach at a mid-tier university.

Sandy from Calgary didn't start as a $10,000-a-week coach. She started as someone who felt stuck and didn't know her next move.

Carla from Toronto didn't start as a paid professional coach. She started as a stay-at-home parent who knew she could help people but didn't know how.

None of them had the full picture when they began.

They had the pull, and they followed it.

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Google figured it out. Steve Jobs knew it. Bill Campbell proved it.

The most valuable skill in the room isn't technical. It's human.

Sunday shows you how to master it.

P.S. Bill Campbell's coaching wasn't magic. It was a methodology — listening, questioning, holding people accountable, and helping them see what they couldn't see alone. That's exactly what Ajit teaches. And on Sunday, he's teaching it to you. For free. Register now →