Long careers often leave people with stories worth telling. But when an employee spends two decades at one of the world’s biggest technology companies, the biggest takeaways are not always about promotions or projects. Sometimes, they are about the simple lessons that change the way people work, lead teams, and deal with challenges. That is what an Indian-origin Google executive recently shared as he marked 20 years at the company. In a LinkedIn post, he looked back at the experiences that shaped him and the six lessons he believes have mattered the most throughout his career.
Google journey began in India
Shankar Murali, who is currently an Engineering Analyst Manager in Google’s Trust & Safety Payments division in California, recently completed 20 years at Google.“This month I complete twenty years at Google,” he wrote while reflecting on the milestone.Murali recalled joining Google India when the company was still in its early phase in the country.“I joined Google India when we did not have big offices. A small team, no cafeterias, and a pilot with a code name – Google was entering payments with Checkout.”He said he worked on Google’s first risk, merchant review and order review models alongside engineering teams. He also remembered the company’s early “TGIF” meetings, where employees could openly interact with senior leaders and ask questions.
His career took him across different teams
Over the years, Murali worked on Google’s payments licensing efforts in the US before moving to Dublin, where he helped build scalable compliance systems for UK payments licences and financial reporting.He later led Google’s counterfeit operations team during the company’s early Ads policy enforcement work. He also contributed to account security pilots and policy development before returning to the payments business.Today, he works on payments-related challenges for Google Cloud and Workspace.
Six career lessons from 20 years at Google
Leadership begins with listeningMurali said one of the biggest lessons he learnt was that good leaders do not always need to have immediate answers.“Leadership is listening.”Recalling conversations with his managers, he wrote that they often listened instead of offering solutions.“The best leaders knew that and gave me the room. I try to give my team the same.”Stay curiousMurali believes learning should never stop and that sharing knowledge helps everyone grow.“knowledge shared is the only knowledge that scales.”Lead by exampleHe said leaders should never expect their teams to do something they are unwilling to do themselves.“I have always asked my teams to stretch, but never from behind.”Empathy mattersMurali also stressed the importance of understanding people and their unseen struggles.“Everyone is going through something you cannot see. Your pressures are yours – do not make them your team’s. Lead with empathy, assume good intent.”Respect every opinionHe encouraged professionals to remain respectful even when opinions differ.“Grow thick skin. Perspectives differ. Agree to disagree, but with respect. Respect is not optional.”Be open to changeMurali said Google kept changing over the years, from products to leadership styles, and the people who accepted change were the ones who continued to grow.Disclaimer: This article is based on a LinkedIn post shared by the individual. The Times of India has not independently verified the claims or details mentioned in the post.Thumb image: Canva (for representative purposes only)
