It's All About People

This is Ryan Costa. He used to be on my team at Google, and now he’s at Microsoft. We caught up over tacos a while back (at a restaurant that wasn’t great, by the way. Sorry, Singapore, but it’s no Chimichanga).

Ryan was already on the team when I joined, and he applied when a team lead role opened up. It was competitive. There were several strong candidates, one in particular who was doing really well and I thought would land it for sure. Ryan was the quieter one. He was calm and soft-spoken, a very different leadership style from my own. He was not the obvious choice, but he had this thoughtful leadership style that I trusted. I gave him the role, and he grew into it beautifully.

He grew the team, moved on from Google, and now he’s doing great at Microsoft with kids, balance, and a new perspective on life. It was just nice to catch up and see someone you’ve managed and coached doing well and finding their own path.

The other candidate for the role? I was super proud of him. Although disappointed, he listened to the feedback, and decided to learn what he could alongside Ryan. He took on the team lead role when Ryan left, and is now at TikTok after a run at Meta. He's also doing brilliantly, by the way. I’ll write about him in the future (I had to bail on our planned meeting because I caught the flu).

Moments like this remind me of what leadership really is. So often, we see leaders obsessed with titles or decisions, trying to clone themselves in their work protege. I think the real strength in good leadership is letting your team build something great on their own, with their own style and vision. The reward is watching people you once guided land beautifully, just like Ryan.

These days, that’s what I love most about Teamwork Unlocked, as we are helping leaders spot potential, trust it, and give it the space to grow. If you’d like to find out more about your own team in high-pressure situations, check us out over here.