Last week, during a podcast, Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet Inc. GOOG GOOGL, shared his insights on leadership, admitting that while he gets frustrated and angry, he has learned that losing his temper isn't productive and that silence can often be more effective.
What Happened: In a conversation with Lex Fridman, Pichai acknowledged that frustration and anger are normal emotions but underscored the importance of controlling them for effective leadership.
He explained, "I do get angry. I do get frustrated. I have the same emotions all of us do in the context of work and everything," adding, "But have there been times I lose it? Yeah. Maybe less often than others, and maybe over the years less and less so, because I find it's not needed to achieve what you need to do."
Drawing from his love for soccer, Pichai said, "In soccer… people often talk about man management," meaning how great coaches know how to get the best out of individual players.
He elaborated, noting people often want to do well on their own and sometimes yelling at them isn’t productive because they already feel bad when they mess up. On the other hand, some people may need direct feedback.
Pichai also shared that sometimes silence can be a powerful tool.
"People can sometimes see that you're unhappy without you saying it, and so sometimes the silence can deliver that message even more," he stated.
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Why It's Important: The conversation was made public just days before Pichai celebrated his 53rd birthday. Born in 1972, Pichai developed an early interest in technology after his father brought home a rotary phone.
He earned a degree in metallurgy from IIT Kharagpur, followed by a master's at Stanford and an MBA from Wharton.
After stints at Applied Materials and McKinsey, he joined Google in 2004, contributing to products like Google Chrome. Rising through the ranks, he became CEO of Google and later Alphabet.
Under his leadership, Alphabet, now valued at $2.16 trillion, has advanced in AI, voice tech and cloud computing. As of early 2025, Pichai's net worth is over $1.3 billion, according to The Street.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Sundar Pichai | Photo courtesy: Rokas Tenys / Shutterstock.com
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