‘Grow thick skin’: 6 leadership lessons from Google manager who spent 20 years building the company

Shankar Murali, an Engineering Analyst Manager, marks 20 years at Google. On this occasion, he shared his journey in a reflective LinkedIn post. Shankar joined Google India during its early, modest beginnings. The office lacked a cafeteria, and teams were genuinely small then.

He worked on Checkout, an early payments pilot with a code name. Shankar recalls whiteboarding sessions, designing risk and merchant review models. TGIF meetings then felt intimate, with leads discussing ideas openly. Employees could ask leadership virtually anything during those sessions.

Shankar later worked through a major licensing expansion effort. This included establishing Google Payments in all 50 US states. He then joined a team based in Dublin, Ireland.

There, he handled UK payment licenses and FSA reporting. He helped transform manual compliance work into scalable systems.

He built and trained teams throughout this expansion phase. Shankar learned that releasing built systems creates space for growth. This lesson prepared him for his next significant challenge.

That challenge involved Ad policy enforcement, spun off from Webspam. Shankar worked with early SVM models and extended engineering hours. He led counterfeit operations, laying the groundwork for broader enforcement efforts.

He then moved through account security pilots and policy development. This occurred while Google grew and learned rapidly.

Eventually, payments called him back into a new role. Today, Shankar solves complex problems for Cloud and Workspace teams.

6 leadership lessons

• Leadership is listening
• Stay curious
• Lead by example
• Care for your people
• Grow thick skin
• Love the change

Reflecting on two decades, Shankar Murali shared several key leadership lessons. He said true leadership means listening rather than immediately solving problems. Talking through issues often helps people solve them independently, he noted.

According to Shankar, staying curious and sharing knowledge continuously throughout careers. He believes shared knowledge is the only kind that scales. He also believes in leading by example while pushing teams toward growth. Shankar also focused on deep care for people and their struggles.

“Grow thick skin. Perspectives differ. Agree to disagree, but with respect. Respect is not optional. Love the change. Every single year, something changed — products, problems, leadership styles. The people who thrived welcomed it,” he wrote.

“I do not know exactly what the next chapter holds, but I know my curiosity and my habit of doing something different will only get sharper,” he added.

Social media reaction

“Many many congrats, Shankar, for your dedication to fighting the good fight. You did it with a sense of joy and brought joy to everyone around you,” replied one LinkedIn user.

“What an amazing run, Shankar. Your institutional knowledge is priceless. You've been a great mentor, colleague and friend to all who work with you. Wish you 20 more wonderful years, wherever you choose to spend them,” commented another user.

Another user posted, “This is quite an accomplishment, Shankar! I look back on those Checkout days so very fondly. Not just because I learned a lot but because I realised I didn't know so much! ... And of course, the folks like you along the way. Congratulations.”