Google People Management Essentials Specialization

This course distills insights from Google's research on management excellence into practical lessons, helping you become a more confident and effective leader.

The content is built around Google's Manager Responsibilities (Deliver Results, Develop People, Build Community) and integrates foundational research on successful teams conducted by Google.

The course includes four courses:

Course 1: Create a High-Performing Team

Course 2: Set and Achieve Team Goals

Course 3: Support Individual Growth and Development

Course 4: Grow as a Manager

You’ll complete hands-on activities to develop key people management skills you can apply right away, and gain the practical skills and confidence needed to apply AI tools to your daily work, enhancing your effectiveness as a modern manager.

The course was designed by The Google School for Leaders, Google’s center of excellence for manager and leadership development, and part of Google People Operations. The content informed by decades worth of Google’s internal research on management and high performing teams.

Google People Management Essentials distills the best of Google's knowledge about great management into an actionable course. This course reflects Google’s data-driven approach as it is built on a foundation of nearly 20 years of research and millions of data points. The curriculum covers the same core people management skills and responsibilities that Google managers learn, offering you insights directly from the source. You'll learn from Google leaders who have extensive experience managing people and teams, ensuring you receive practical guidance and insights.

Google People Management Essentials includes the Center for Creative Leadership’s Situation – Behavior – Impact (SBI)™ model as a framework for providing feedback. The SBI model is a simple way for managers to structure feedback conversations to capture and clarify the Situation, describe the specific Behaviors, and explain the Impact that the person’s behavior had. Managers report this model as being incredibly helpful in providing feedback.

Google People Management Essentials distills the best of Google's knowledge about great management into an actionable course. This course reflects Google’s data-driven approach as it is built on a foundation of nearly 20 years of research and millions of data points. The curriculum covers the same core people management skills and responsibilities that Google managers learn, offering you insights directly from the source. You'll learn from Google leaders who have extensive experience managing people and teams, ensuring you receive practical guidance and insights.

The content features readings and interviews with leaders at Google that discuss the ways in which AI tools can help managers in their day-to-day work. You will learn how to use AI to enhance your management skills and gain access to AI prompts to help you with management tasks like setting goals and running effective check-ins. One example is using AI to set goals using the SMART goal framework.

Through our extensive research on people management, we identified the top skills needed to be a successful people manager, including how to foster open communication and a culture of learning, set clear goals and expectations, and coach and give feedback effectively.

In the U.S. and Canada, Coursera charges $49 per month after the initial 7-day free trial period. Prices may vary in other countries. When you purchase the program, you’ll have access to all course materials, including videos, activities, readings, and graded assessments. After you complete the program, you’ll earn a certificate from Google to share with your network and potential employers.

If you are interested in financial assistance for Google People Management Essentials, you may be eligible for financial aid via Coursera through the course page. Recipients of financial aid have full access to course content and assignments required to earn a certificate. To apply, go to the specialization or course page on Coursera, scroll down to the “more questions” pane and click on “learn more”. 

The course is self-paced and takes about 8 hours to complete.

This course does not have any prerequisites, and you don’t need any management experience to get started. 

After you complete the course, you’ll earn a certificate from Google to share with your network and potential employers.

Google People Management Essentials gives you the practical, job-ready skills required to succeed in roles with people management responsibilities. This course is designed to equip you with the essential attributes of effective managers, whether you are an aspiring individual contributor or a current manager seeking to sharpen your abilities. Upon completion, you’ll earn a professional certificate from Google and be ready to apply your new management skills across any industry.

This course is completely online, so there’s no need to show up to a classroom in person. You can access your lectures, readings and assignments anytime and anywhere via the web or your mobile device.

Yes! To get started, click the course card that interests you and enroll. You can enroll and complete the course to earn a shareable certificate. When you subscribe to a course that is part of a Specialization, you’re automatically subscribed to the full Specialization. Visit your learner dashboard to track your progress.

Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

No, you cannot take this course for free. When you enroll in the course, you get access to all of the courses in the Specialization, and you earn a certificate when you complete the work. If you cannot afford the fee, you can apply for financial aid.