What does Google mean by leadership? It has little to do with people management and 'herding the cats'. And surprisingly, it's often those on the lower rungs of the ladder that have the opportunity to exhibit leadership. In today's conversation, I talk with Geoff Mendal, a former engineer at Google about their expectations around leadership, the interview process, and much more. Geoff has interviewed hundreds of SWE/SRE/SA/RE/QA/PM candidates during his nearly 11-year tenure at Google, 5 years at Microsoft, and senior leadership role at Pandora.

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Show notes and Highlights:

[6:00] Why Leadership is conflated, leadership as a verb, and what Google actually means by "leadership"
[8:30] The reason Google needs people to speak up and the role of risk
[10:00] How interviewers will change a candidate on leadership ability, even in a coding or system design screening
[12:38] The importance of building a coalition around ideas (selling and influencing ideas that are risky, piloting it) and other examples of leadership

[14:10] How leadership was different in a smaller startup like Pandora vs. how Google runs it
[20:20] Red flags in candidates who are interviewing at Google and what to watch out for
[23:00] Examples of tough interview questions asked in the Leadership interview
[27:50] Geoff's story when he interviewed at Google

[31:00] Leadership interview questions for product managers interviewing a Google
[32:30] Geoff's #1 question about leadership that you should be able to answer
[38:20] How to answer tough questions even when you DON'T have the honest experience using EQ and self-awareness
[41:00] Showing vulnerability in the interview

[42:50] Questions around competing priorities / Geoff's approach to interviewing prep
[43:20] Preparing great questions, a definition of a great question (something specific and valuable) vs. a lame question (what keeps you up at night?) -- leadership
[47:00] The # of questions you need to prepare for each question since you are scored on the quality and number of your questions
[49:47] The misconception around leadership, the surprising relationship between leadership and seniority, and why being lower on the rung gives you more opportunity to exhibit leadership

[51:30] Every interviewer has their own style and what kind of discussion you can expect to have
[56:00] The signs of someone being defensive vs. standing their ground and being assertive
[57:30] Geoff's approach to coaching and mentoring people for job interviews and their careers

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Questions, comments, and feedback?

Drop me an email at misha@carrus.io!

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