COO, Facebook
About The Leader
About The Leader
Sheryl Sandberg is one of the most powerful and influential women in the world, known for her accomplishments working with Facebook, Google, the US Secretary of the Treasury, Facebook and also as a best-selling author
Sheryl Sandberg (28 Aug 1969) is an American technology executive, activist, and author best known as the chief operating officer (COO) of Facebook.
She sits on Facebook's board of directors as its first female member. Previously she was the vice president of global online sales and operations at Google.
Currently ranks fourth on Forbes' list of most powerful women.
Her Purpose
Sandberg is a driving force behind Facebook’s success and has what is takes to thrive in the face of adversity.
Sheryl Sandberg has been the COO of Facebook since 2008 and was elected as its first female Board Director in 2012. Before that, she was the Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google.
Sandberg had been serving as Chief of Staff at the Treasury Department under President Clinton when she decided to go to Google. Despite being advised to go to investment banking, she wanted to work for the tech sector in an operating company and believed it was the right move.
“There is no perfect fit when you’re looking for the next big thing to do. You have to take an opportunity and make it fit for you, rather than the other way round.”
Case for Change
Case for Change
”If you’re offered a seat on a rocket ship, don’t ask what seat. I saw that Facebook mattered with authentic identity and an opportunity for growth. And so at each stage, I cared less about my level than I have about the underlying growth"
Growth Gap
Growth Gap
“ Leadership is about accomplishing more than the science of management says its possible. I go for thinking big, something that can change the world, going for growth. My favorite example is Facebook's vision: connecting the world.”
Investment Portfolio
Investment Portfolio
“It's particularly important in the era in which we live and for me, in the industry in which I work, that it is all about scale. It's all about scale. Having impact is about how you do something that scales: high impact and decreasing marginal costs, beyond the one to one interaction you have as a person."
Her Leadership Qualities
Her Leadership Qualities
Sandberg is a driving force behind Facebook’s success and has what is takes to thrive in the face of adversity.
Focus and Vision
Focus and Vision
When she left Google for Facebook, it had only 550 employees in 2008. But she still thought that it was the correct move. Through her planning and direction, she set up the company for its 2012 IPO and increased its ad revenue by 21% during covid.
Key Actions
Key Actions
Sandberg set up twice-a-week meetings with Zuckerberg for feedback. Her track record in the White House and in Google helped her focus to increase Facebook’s revenue, positioning it as a platform for small business advertising. She gave them a way to quickly and cheaply connect to customers
Leadership Behaviors
Leadership Behaviors
Setting challenging goals
Adaptability and ability to learn
Lesson Learned
Lesson Learned
Believing deeply in something will make leaders focus on the how and not the what. Sandberg’s experience could have landed her any job in the world; nevertheless, her sense of drive and her capabilities made the organization profitable.
Her operational flair preserved Facebook’s mission whilst expanding and opening offices around the world.
Accountability
Accountability
After the Cambridge Analytica scandal in which private data from 87 million FB users was used with the intention of influencing US elections, Sandberg owned the fault and said the company could have done more to make sure data was deleted but did not.
Key Actions
Key Actions
When Sandberg came under close public scrutiny, she stayed silent at first, then owned up to her mistakes, and finally placing a higher priority on user security, privacy and mental health.
Leadership Behaviors
Leadership Behaviors
Learning from mistakes and taking action accordingly
Moving forward
Lesson Learned
Lesson Learned
The unknown will make leaders make mistakes, so they have to face them with the same commitment they used to face the original challenge. Instead of pretending to be perfect or being something she was not, Sandberg faced her shortcomings and failings head on.
Despite being harshly and publicly criticized in the media, people still remember and admire all her accomplishments with Facebook and she continues to work with commitment.
Brave
Brave
As a key figure Facebook, a tech giant, Sandberg established her views regarding workplace inequalities, writing a book on her experience and generating the "Lean In" movement to help women around the world achieve their ambitions, selling over 2 million copies and creating 34,000 Lean In circles in over 157 countries.
Key Actions
Key Actions
Sandberg evoked strong emotions by connecting with people from her experience, writing in ”Lean In” that created a movement that revolved around women in the workplace. In “Option B” she discussed how she tackled her biggest challenges in life, including her husband’s death. This all whilst taking Facebook to the top.
Leadership Behaviors
Leadership Behaviors
Raised her voice, standing for more than herself
Self-aware and a skilled communicator
Lesson Learned
Lesson Learned
Leaders can't do it by themselves; therefore, they have to have a clear understanding of why a goal matters and have strong communication skills to inspire that understanding in others.
Being confident and believing in her self-worth was necessary for Sandberg to achieve her full potential.
Self-awareness helped her know her problems better and at the same time transform people by providing them first-hand inspiration.
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