Collaboration over competition: Lifting others up to innovate

What does it mean to lead from behind?

I’ve explored this question over the two decades of my career. After working as a developer, I became a manager and discovered my passion for growing people. As I moved companies and built teams, I’ve learned that empowerment extends well beyond helping your team succeed (though that’s important).

To me, leading from behind means celebrating collaboration over competition. It’s about unlocking people’s potential, helping customers and driving innovation. I saw that Google values collaboration from my first interview, when the recruiter set me up to do my best. Now, I have the opportunity to lift up others every day, and I’m a stronger leader because of it. 

Google’s culture enables me to lead authentically

Psychological safety is a defining quality of the culture at Google. Leaders encourage Googlers to speak their minds, challenge the status quo and even admit mistakes — all without judgment. This trusting environment makes Googlers feel safe to share ideas and take risks, opening up opportunities to collaborate. We’re eager to help one another find ways to grow and innovate in unexpected and surprising ways.

Embracing this culture as a leader helps me drive the best results for my team. The scale at Google is huge — touching billions of lives — which means we need everyone’s best ideas to make a positive impact. For instance, when the YouTube Creator Engineering team launches a new feature, we’re responsible for ensuring the experience doesn’t interrupt people’s day-to-day lives. Hearing my team members’ doubts or concerns helps me know how to support them and reach our goals: building amazing products. 

“We build diverse teams with wide-ranging perspectives because we want to hear from them."

Leading with trust helps my team grow

When guiding my team, I focus on three areas: trust, empathy and honesty. Googlers are incredibly talented, and I trust that they can do great work. I also cultivate empathy between our team and customers, because we build better solutions when we understand their problems. Finally, my mentors were always transparent with me, and I want to show my team the same care. I find that believing in people is the best way to help them grow.

I also use a few strategies: 

• Bottom-up brainstorms: Inviting people into strategy building makes them feel invested in its success. Engineers often come up with unexpected solutions because they’re closest to the customer — and I’m always there to help course correct.
• Career growth meetings: I meet with team members, interns and new grads one-on-one to discuss their career aspirations. During this time, we don’t talk about tactical projects and focus on what they need to reach their goals. 
• Being open to change: When people want to try a new role, team, product or location, I will set up conversations with other Googlers and recommend openings I see. I’m not losing someone from my team, I’m helping build their career.

“Trust is necessary to achieve great things.”

AI innovation empowers YouTube creators to build community

Making a positive difference in people’s lives inspires our team’s technical work. As an Engineering Manager on the YouTube Creator Engineering team in Bangalore, I’m focused on helping creators succeed on their channels. Our team builds products that save creators time and help them engage with their community. When creators feel supported, they’re able to focus on their work and unlock new levels of creativity — and their audience on YouTube directly benefits. 

Currently, we’re exploring ways to respond to creators more quickly. We’re building features for YouTube Studio — where creators manage their channels — to be there for creators when they need us most. As we build, we seek out first-hand feedback to understand how creators use the product and then test our solutions to ensure the emerging technologies we build are safe for people. Responsible tech is part of enabling creators to reach new heights.

“AI is helping creators succeed and find peace of mind on YouTube.”

When I first interviewed with Google, I wondered, “Am I really qualified to work here?” It goes to show: you need to believe in yourself first. I see women who don’t apply for open roles because they don’t fulfill every line of the job description. I encourage you to go for it — you never know whose life you might touch by showing up and caring. 

Join us

We are looking for people to join the YouTube team. Explore our opportunities here!