Could not be MORE proud to work at LinkedIn: the result of a roller coaster of emotions this week after the “Microsoft News”

This past Monday morning, I was in such a haze. I was literally so out of it because not only was I in the midst of fighting this awful flu-type bug going around and I could not seem to stop coughing…but, we had just heard the horrific and beyond awful news about Orlando. I felt sick in so many ways. And then, as I was getting out of bed, my phone started going crazy receiving texts and emails all saying “Congratulations on Microsoft buying LinkedIn!”. What?!? WHAT?!? The “congrats” felt really funny to me. Congrats?!? My beloved LinkedIn was going to be no longer? I felt even more sick to my stomach.

Those of you who know me know that I absolutely LOVE LinkedIn – am pretty much obsessed – and that I feel so honored to have my job on the Employee Experience team. I am so proud of LinkedIn and our culture - I could literally dress from head to toe in LinkedIn gear (and I sometimes do!). I’ve been at LinkedIn for just over five years and it’s been the best professional experience of my life. And now that was going away? I felt such a loss. What was I going to do? I immediately thought about how this would impact me – do I still get to plan LinkedIn Speaker Series events since we’d now be a part of Microsoft? Would the LinkedIn Alumni Network that I’ve worked to build just disappear and not make sense to do anymore? Would LinkedIn’s culture still continue? I REALLY struggled the first couple of days and honestly had the thought, “Well, it’s been a good run…maybe it’s time for me to go do something else.”

But!  What I have experienced this past week has not only put my mind at ease….I’m now even *more* excited to be a part of LinkedIn than I was pre-Microsoft news (who thought that could be possible?). And I’m not just saying that to go along with it and pretend. I feel it so authentically - it’s like I’ve gotten a renewed sense of purpose and pride in LinkedIn.

So how did that happen in the course of a week, you say?  Well it’s all thanks to our incredible Corporate Communications and Executive team. I am so appreciative of the thought and effort that went into communicating this news to everyone – all of the emails, the meetings… all of the transparency.  Everything was so well thought out and so well executed.

Here is the evolution of what I went through this past week…

MONDAY = NOT A HAPPY CAMPER

First, we received a thoughtful (and quite lengthy!) email from Jeff to the whole company.
What I was thinking: Wow, I can’t even read this whole thing right now. I’m in shock. What? I don’t want to work for Microsoft. I want to work for LinkedIn. I love LinkedIn. What happened?

Then, at 10:30AM, we had a special All Hands to discuss the announcement.
What I was thinking: Still in shock….listening to everything being said and trying to absorb it all. Biggest things that stuck out for me were that 1) LinkedIn will remain INDEPENDENT from Microsoft. They value us for us and for our special culture and they want it to stay that way. Okay, that sounds good – but do I really believe it? 2) Appreciated hearing from Jeff, Reid and Satya. I hear some good things they are saying, but man….I still feel really weird about this.

TUESDAY = WARMING UP….BUT VERRY LUKE WARM

Next, we had a team breakfast organized by our VP of Benefits and Employee Experience, Nina McQueen for the larger team.
What I was thinking: Glad to have a chance to talk about this as a team, but I’m still very skeptical. Nina shares her experiences with Microsoft and the acquisition. She reinforces and builds off of everything Jeff was saying about how we will remain independent and how she is genuinely excited for the opportunity. Team members share their thoughts – so great to have an open forum with everyone. We have such a great team! Even though this was all great, I have to admit…I still wasn’t fully sold. I wanted to be. But in my gut, I still wasn’t.

WEDNESDAY = WHOA. INCREDIBLY EMOTIONAL DAY…I TRULY FEEL LIKE I AM A PART OF THE LINKEDIN FAMILY

We have another All Hands. This time it’s for the Global Talent Organization hosted by our CHRO, Pat Wadors.
What I was thinking: Pat reiterates messages I’ve been hearing over the past couple days from Jeff, Reid, Nina, etc. It all starts to really hit home. Pat is such an inspiring, authentic leader and everything she said started to truly resonate with me. This acquisition is such a gift to LinkedIn. We are able to remain independent – and now we have the resources, the technology, the learnings, etc. of an incredibly successful company behind us, betting on us, wanting us to truly scale. And this acquisition gives us the ability to achieve our vision to provide economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce in a way we wouldn’t have been able to do before. SO. INSPIRING.

And then – again….yes, ANOTHER All Hands. It was our regular bi-weekly Company All Hands – but we spent over half of the time with our entire Executive Team in front ready to answer any question.
What I was thinking: Well, I can’t talk about everything that happened at the All Hands because at LinkedIn, “what happens at the All Hands, stays at the All Hands” – but I can tell you it was an incredibly emotional meeting for me. Seeing all of the execs on stage, listening to all of the answers, it really struck me…..I am so proud of our leadership team. Not only do I truly LIKE all of them….but I truly trust them. I know it sounds hokey, but I got incredibly choked up several times during this meeting with some of the exchanges between the execs and the employees. We have a very special culture – we have amazing people – and I’m SO excited that we get this incredible opportunity to do even more now with this amazing Microsoft acquisition. Now I’m not alllll Pollyanna about it – I know there will be challenges and I’m sure there will be some changes coming in the next year or so – but for now, I’m incredibly hopeful and can’t wait to be a part of LinkedIn’s future!

The rest of this week has been amazing. I just took part in LinkedIn’s Play InDay and saw hundreds of LinkedIn employees having fun together and embracing our special culture.

As I said at the beginning, I could not be MORE proud to be a part of this amazing company. And a HUGE thank you to everyone who worked so hard on this deal, this announcement, and making sure employees had the resources available to get their questions answered. Jeff, Reid, Pat, Nina, Jackie, Shannon – thank you so much.

I will now write back to everyone who texted or emailed me “Congrats!” and say a heartfelt, “Thank you! I could not be more excited!”

#LinkedInLife #iheartmyjob