After 20 years at Google, US-based Indian executive shares 6 career lessons: ‘Grateful for every bit of it’

An Indian Google executive reflected on two decades at the tech giant, sharing 6 leadership lessons that shaped his career from Google’s early days in India to leading teams in California.Shankar Murali works as an Engineering Analyst Manager in Google’s Trust & Safety Payments division in California. (LinkedIn/Shankar Murali)Taking to LinkedIn, Shankar Murali, who currently works as an Engineering Analyst Manager in Google’s Trust & Safety Payments division in California, shared that this month he completed 20 years at the tech giant. In his post, he looked back at the company’s evolution and the experiences that defined his journey.”This month I complete twenty years at Google,” Murali wrote in the post, recalling that he joined Google India when the company was still in its early days 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 wrote, adding that he worked on designing Google’s first risk, merchant review and order review models while collaborating closely with engineering teams. He also remembered Google’s early “TGIF” meetings, where employees could openly interact with leaders and ask questions.Over the years, Murali shared that he worked on Google’s payments licensing efforts across 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 efforts, worked on account security pilots and policy development, and eventually returned to payments. Today, he shared that he focuses on solving payments-related challenges for Google Cloud and Workspace.Check out the full post here.(Also Read: ‘Google was HIIT pro max experience’: Gurgaon executive reflects on 8-year stint after quitting)6 lessons he learnt at GoogleReflecting on the journey, Murali said one of the biggest leadership lessons he learned was that “leadership is lening.” He recalled being puzzled when his managers would simply len instead of offering solutions whenever he approached them with a problem. Over time, he said that he realised that talking through an issue often helped him arrive at the answer himself. “The best leaders knew that and gave me the room. I try to give my team the same,” he wrote.He also stressed the importance of staying curious throughout one’s career, saying continuous learning and sharing knowledge are essential because “knowledge shared is the only knowledge that scales.” Murali added that leadership also means setting an example, writing that he has always encouraged his teams to push their limits, “but never from behind.”Empathy, he said, is another quality every leader should cultivate. “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,” he wrote.He also urged professionals to develop resilience. “Grow thick skin. Perspectives differ. Agree to disagree, but with respect. Respect is not optional,” he wrote.Murali further reflected on Google’s constant evolution, saying products, problems and leadership styles changed almost every year, and that the people who embraced change were the ones who thrived.Concluding his post, Murali said he does not know exactly what the next chapter of his career will look like, but remains confident that his curiosity and willingness to try something different “will only get sharper.”He also thanked several managers, leaders and colleagues who played a role in his journey across different teams and locations, saying he was grateful for the opportunities, challenges and candid feedback he received over the past 20 years.