The second Google rule for good leader behaviour is:

Empower your team and don’t micromanage

Holding employees accountable to their assigned tasks without micromanaging is a classic workplace dilemma that can be difficult to navigate.

Just telling an employee what to do is not empowerment because it doesn’t allow him to use his own creativity. In fact, many times delegation can be construed as micro managing simply because the employee feels offended that he is given directions that are too specific.

Making people responsible for their tasks will stimulate them to succeed, so be sure to set goals and deadlines for your employees. The goals should be reasonable, though they might be a bit difficult to achieve; as a result, the employee will have to stretch, which will result in increased confidence and, ideally, a heightened sense of empowerment.

Don’t make the goals excessive; that can lead to frustration, poor productivity, and an erosion of the sense of empowerment. The intelligent manager takes a person’s abilities into account and doesn’t overburden them. On the other hand, a little encouragement can result in a significant increase in productivity; and to some extent, increased productivity and empowerment feed off each other.
Give team members the freedom to make decisions, as well as make mistakes. You might encounter some initial hiccups, but in the long run, offering autonomy will help your employees build their problem-solving and leadership skills.

Summing-up: For Google, empower your team and don’t micromanage means to balance giving freedom to your employees while still being available for advice, and to make “stretch” assignments to help them tackle big problems.