In the startup world, many women have worked their way up and become some of the most powerful people in the world.
Now, as we consider one of the biggest names in the startup circuit, we come across Sheryl Sandberg. Well, as per Fortune, she is one of the Most Powerful Women and is an inspiration for everyone!
Life Story:— Some people, like Sheryl, have successfully transitioned from Washington to Wall Street or Silicon Valley. Well, others have achieved fame beyond their professional roles as executives. Sandberg, a senior at the Treasury Department, has done both. Therefore, she is more like a combined package of hard work and fame.
Sheryl Sandberg has been the Chief Operating Officer of Facebook since 2008 and was elected to the company’s Board of Directors in 2012. Before that, she was Google’s Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations. And has also served as the chief of staff for the US Secretary of the Treasury.
Success Story:— Sheryl Sandberg’s first book, “Lean In,” was a huge success. It has sold over a million copies since its release and is on the bestseller list.
When Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In came out, it started a worldwide movement that brought feminism back into the mainstream. She is on a first-name basis with the CEOs and celebrities like Oprah, Bono, and Michel Bloomberg.
Senators, senior White House officials, and prime ministers often report to her. While she is a personality that anyone could wish to have on their team, she chose to be number 2 at a company where the chances of becoming the boss are nearly zero. She wrote another book, Option B, about how she dealt with loss after her husband died unexpectedly.
Education:— Sheryl Sandberg’s educational resume is nothing short of brilliant. Raised in North Miami Beach, she was excellent in academics. She went to Harvard College and had an AB in economics.
She is also the recipient of the John H. Williams Prize for being a top graduating student in economics. Later, she went to Harvard Business School and got her MBA with the highest grade in 1995.
Role at Facebook: Sandberg has a hefty portfolio. Apart from that, she has a fluid and trusting relationship with Mark Zuckerberg. Sandberg does all the things Mark hates to do, and hence, Mark can focus on what he likes: engineering. Due to her efforts, he has given her space to be the company’s public face in many areas.
According to Mark, Lean In has done more for Facebook’s advancement than for itself. As a result, Mark is a celebrity in his own right and the anti-hero of an Oscar-winning Hollywood movie. Sandberg is not only the world’s most popular COO; she is also a rockstar in business, politics, and popular culture!
Some people find Sandberg so interesting that they think she should be a model because of how she looks. It is not just about outsiders who wish they could replicate her success; inside Facebook, people can’t get enough of her. She manages to do every sort of work very efficiently and with grace.
Her days comprise a flurry of meetings that she runs with the help of a notebook. She keeps a list of discussion points and action items in the notebook. Sheryl Sandberg’s office is located in Menlo Park.
As a Leader: Presently, Sandberg has set her sights on the problem of mobile advertising. Sandberg has been in charge of Facebook’s business side since Mark moved his engineers to work on mobile apps instead of the website.
She has been trying to make ad formats easier to understand, and she has held biweekly meetings with ad and product executives to find a balance between what consumers want and what marketers want. She tells stories about conversations she had with the top executives of many different agencies to show what the situation calls for.
The result of Sandberg’s efforts speaks for itself. In recent years, the shares, which plummeted following Facebook’s botched IPO in May 2012, have increased by 140% to around $50. Mobile advertisements accounted for 41% of Facebook’s $1.6 billion in ad revenue in the latest quarter.
Mark Zuckerberg, who runs the company, thought that most of Facebook’s business would come from mobile advertising. Therefore, Sandberg has been nicely rewarded for her contributions. She earned around $26 million in cash and stock in 2012.
Sandberg’s Facebook shares and alternatives are about $704 million! She also has an additional $277 million in unvested stocks and options.
Sheryl Sandberg is a transformational leader because she celebrates the successes of her employees and pushes people to do better work.
Entrepreneur:— A few years ago, Facebook was involved in a difficult business partnership with PayPal. Therefore, whenever the teams were in a brawl, Sandberg would personally reach out to John Donahoe, the CEO of eBay, which owns PayPal.
The high-level involvement had removed the differences over time. This resulted in eBay spending far more on Facebook ads. While some Facebook executives say Sandberg has taken advantage of every opportunity to contribute, others say that Lean In was distracting and took much of her time. But, according to them, it was only for a brief period.
The book has turned Sandberg into an international sensation. It has helped with the recruitment and retention of women engineers and executives.
Women executives also lead global sales, public policy, mobile engineering, European operations, and many other important groups. However, only one of Sandberg’s five direct reports is female; except for Sandberg, all of Mark’s six direct reports are male. It seems that women still need to draw inspiration from Sandberg!
According to some Facebook executives, even though Sandberg can’t be cloned, she can be emulated. Presently, Facebook is a young and growing company, and she has vowed to stay with the team until the company’s next phase. The book, Lean In, has heightened expectations about Sandberg’s post-Facebook life.
As an Inspiration:—- It goes without saying that Sandberg is an inspiration to everyone. As a result, her entrepreneurial efforts have fueled the company’s growth. As a result, Facebook is the largest social media platform in the world. She has risen through the ranks and is one of the reasons why Facebook is still a big name in the startup circuit. Under Sandberg, the team has worked efficiently and continues to do so!
The Sheryl Sandberg story still has a long way to go. The Sheryl Sandberg Foundation, also known as the Sheryl Sandberg and Dave Goldberg Family Foundation, seeks to create a more equitable and resilient world. With the help of two key initiatives, LeanIn.Org and OptionB.Org, they unite people to support each other.
Courtesy: Startup Talky