Leadership Reflection

I must admit, it's a bit strange seeing your old fearless leader now spearheading the newest 'technology media darling.'

When Sheryl Sandberg left her VP position in OSO (Online Sales and Operations) at Google to be the COO of Facebook, my heart sank a bit. By that point, I'd been at Google for over 2 years and she was pretty much all I knew in terms of head leadership. When you see your head in command leave, it's a bit disheartening.

One thing I will say is that Sheryl is inspirational and an amazing speaker. When she's on stage, you listen. Not only do you listen, but you absorb. I miss seeing her around the office. I practically saw her every day because she sat on my floor. It's weird to pass by her office and see it empty.

The good news is that I love her 'replacement.' David Fischer isn't no much of a replacement for her as a continuation of a good thing. What I really love about David is the fact he worked his way up and earned every promotion. Not only that, he knows the business and its workers for that reason. I remember the day he shadowed me working on the phone with advertisers. I was nervous as hell, but I remember thinking, when do you ever have a director get to shadow your work? I won't ever forget that personal time. You can see David in action in this YouTube video.

I realize how important leadership is, especially is a large-ish organization. Not only are they strategic thinkers and executers, they have to inspire you to work your best for the interest of the company (and it's users/stakeholders).

I've always had a dream of becoming a leader in highly visible company. I do want to work in people management one day and have carved out a path to hopefully get me there.