Leading in an Internet Company

Hi Everyone,

Be pragmatic, care about not just 'where you lead' but 'how you lead'.        

Please indulge me at the start for shamelessly plugging eBay Inc. If you ever have the opportunity of working for eBay, jump on it, enjoy it, make a difference and think about all those people across the world that are Sellers and Buyers and how as a Company eBay makes a difference for them and the role you can play in that.

After 20+ years working with eBay in various capacities, this chapter of my book is ending. As I enter my final month at eBay, I wanted to take this opportunity of sharing what I saw as some of the learnings that helped me and others be successful in this wonderfully vibrant sector.

The first aspect to share has been how I looked at the opportunities that came my way.?It was always important to me and still is to have a stewardship mindset, this meant any decision I made, big or small, I could ask myself ‘will this make the Organisation better for the next generation to lead, enjoy and carry forward’, also it implied a shared sense of responsibility, it wasn’t about ‘me’ or ‘you’ so much, but rather ‘we’ and what we can do together to make a difference and help to try and create a legacy.

So now to my learnings.

Who you work ‘for’ and ‘with’ matters.

Who you work with is the most essential element. I’ve been very fortunate, I’ve had the chance of working with an exceptionally capable and amazing team, you can’t beat a real connection, the comradery, fun, having each other’s back, knowing each other deeply, knowing the things that?inspires each of us, our styles, needs and wants, aspirations, learning styles, communication styles, decision making approaches just to name a few - the saying that the sum total is greater than the individual parts, is so true and for the record, I would’nt blink an eyelid to have the fortune of working with this gang again.?Thanks to Gabrielle Verma , Katie-Skye McLeod , Jenny Tan , Eun Ock Kim , Hark Kah Tan , Fumi Sugo, Sam Sun , Sajjad Parmar and Eileen Ng , as well as my other team members over the years, Joanne Cleary , Rich Atkinson, PhD , Sofia M. , YeeFong Ng , Rita Li , Sue Kim and Rachelle Ferrar . Let alone my peers and colleagues at a global level, which to be frank are too many to name.

Be Authentic.

Authenticity - hard or easy, say what you’re going to do and do it, consistency is critical, ups or downs, a leader needs to be a rock, there has been plenty of times I’ve stressed or been anxious about a situation or decision, or gotten the decision wrong or maybe hadn’t understood the full situation, you know at the end of the day, we are all human, absorb that, decide on what you need to do to moderate or change direction and do it. In doing that, be stable, people rely on you. Don’t play games.

Be Decisive.

Be decisive be quick - people would often say to me, you respond quickly, I appreciate that, I suspect sometimes they might not even get a response or it would be slow, I always felt it was a sign of respect, it doesn’t matter who you are in the Organisation, the most junior or the most senior person, I felt that each person deserved my respect and therefore speed of response. Tied to that is speed of decision making, a good decision or a wrong decision, a fast decision is important, it might be right or slightly wrong, but at least make it. I see this so many times, analysis paralysis and people dodging their responsibility, people rely on you and need you to make decisions - do it.

Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Don’t sweat the small stuff - sometimes it is so easy for the small things to derail you, I’ve learnt now to pause, take a breath, decide the significance of the decision, do I have the right information, if not where do I get it, if the information is the best I will have, what impacts or risks relate to my decision, what is the risk/impact ratio, are you betting the farm or just one paddock, if manageable, then make it. If you need to moderate that decision with new insight, ok, no problems, if you find the decision was wrong later based on new data or insight, all good, then decide what you should do now, don’t take blame and don’t give blame, at the end of the day, you made a decision on the facts you had on hand in that moment, hindsight is a wonderful luxury.

Be Yourself don’t wear a mask.

Be yourself - don’t wear a mask, I’ve always tried to stay true to my values, who I am as a person and what’s important to me. My personal test was always, can I look myself in the mirror and be comfortable with how I have acted, treated people, supported my team, the decisions I make and how I have shown up as a leader. By looking at myself in a mirror, it is stark, no hiding places and brutally honest, I know if I have been less than my best, in those moments I then think about what then should I do, I always knew when I hit the right spot and hopefully it made me a better leader.

Be Pragmatic.

Be pragmatic - anyone that knows me, knows that I must say that 100 times a day, in my view work often lives in the grey areas, sometimes you do things that you don’t like, but they are right to do, or you do thinks that others don’t like, but is also right. Pragmaticism for me is the ability to adjust and moderate based on information, it comes from really getting to the foundations of what you’re trying to solve for and lets ego or hierarchy fall aside and not be relevant. The acronym WYSIWYG rings so true for me and my personality/style - what you see is what you get! No airs or graces, no neediness or entitlement, I am who I am, and I call it the way I see it.

For those that love change, a dynamic environment, making an impact then, I would encourage you to seek out opportunities in the internet sector, it is the most amazing ride.

Thanks for taking the time to read this and I hope something resonates for you in your leadership journey.

Warm regards,

Klaus