A Two-Decade Journey
Shankar Murali, an Engineering Analyst Manager in Google's Trust & Safety Payments division, recently marked an impressive 20-year anniversary with the tech giant. His career began in the early days of Google India, long before its sprawling campuses
became iconic. He recalls a time of small teams, no cafeterias, and intimate TGIF meetings where employees could ask leaders anything. Over two decades, Murali has been at the forefront of critical initiatives, from designing Google's first payment risk models to leading counterfeit operations and scaling compliance systems in Dublin. Today, he focuses on protecting vital products like Google Cloud and Workspace from fraud and abuse. This extensive journey across different domains and continents has shaped his unique perspective on what makes a leader truly effective.
The Power of a Puzzle
Central to Murali's leadership philosophy is a lesson he learned early in his career. When he would approach his own managers with a problem, he was often met with silence. “Whenever I went to my leads with a problem, they would just listen. It puzzled me, why no solutions?” he wrote in a recent LinkedIn post. Over time, he realized the wisdom in their approach. By simply talking through the challenge, he would often arrive at the solution himself. This experience taught him that leadership isn't about having all the answers. Instead, it's about creating the space for your team to think, process, and discover the answers on their own. “The best leaders knew that and gave me the room. I try to give my team the same,” he stated.
Listening as Active Strategy
For Murali, listening is not a passive act of waiting to speak. It is an active strategy for empowerment and growth. In a fast-paced environment like Google, the instinct is often to rush toward a solution. However, Murali argues that a leader’s first response should be to create an environment where employees can work through challenges themselves. This method achieves two critical goals. First, it builds an individual's problem-solving skills and confidence. Second, it often leads to more innovative and robust solutions, as they come from the people closest to the problem. This approach fosters a culture of ownership and intellectual curiosity rather than a top-down dependency on management for all the answers.
More Than Just Listening
While listening is the foundation, Murali’s playbook is built on a set of interconnected principles. He stresses the importance of empathy, reminding leaders that everyone is dealing with unseen challenges. He advocates for leading by example, noting, “I have pushed my teams to push their limits, but never from behind.” Another key lesson is the need for resilience, or to “grow thick skin.” He acknowledges that disagreements are inevitable in any organization, but insists that they must be handled with respect. Finally, he champions the idea of embracing change. Having witnessed Google’s constant evolution, he observed that the people who thrived were the ones who welcomed it.
The Ripple Effect on Culture
A leader who prioritizes listening can transform an entire team's culture. It shifts the dynamic from hierarchical to collaborative. When employees feel heard, they feel valued. This builds trust, encourages psychological safety, and makes it more likely that people will share nascent ideas or raise potential red flags before they become major issues. By assuming good intent and giving his team the space to think, Murali's approach demonstrates a deep respect for his colleagues' capabilities. This builds not just a more effective team, but a more humane and resilient one, capable of navigating the constant flux of the tech industry.
