In the ever-evolving tech landscape, truly exceptional leaders are those who can masterfully bridge the gap between technological brilliance and strategic business acumen. My recent conversation with Vidhya Narayanan, Director of Engineering at Google, unveiled invaluable insights into harmonizing these two critical domains.
With over two decades of experience spanning major industry players like Google, Oath, Verizon, and Intel, Vidhya has carved out an impressive path, rising through the ranks of engineering leadership. In this post, I’ll highlight seven key lessons from our discussion that are sure to inspire and empower tech professionals at every career stage.
1. Stay Technically Engaged as You Ascend
One of the biggest concerns for engineers moving into managerial roles is the fear of losing their technical edge. Vidhya stressed the importance of actively maintaining technical proficiency, even as leadership responsibilities increase.
Her advice?
Immerse yourself in the architecture, dive into whiteboarding sessions with senior developers, and continuously learn about emerging technologies that could impact your team’s work. This hands-on approach breeds trust and credibility with the people you lead.
2. Cultivate a Culture of Learning
In Vidhya’s experience, the most empowered teams are those that embrace a growth mindset and constantly seek to “add tools to their tool chest.” She advocates creating an environment where engineers actively explore new capabilities like AI and promptly apply their learnings to solve real business challenges.
3. Earn Your Team’s Trust
As a strategic leader, one of your most valuable assets is the trust and confidence of your engineers. Vidhya achieved this by rolling up her sleeves, taking time to truly understand the intricacies of her team’s work, and proving her technical competence.
“It builds trust when your team sees you connect to their day-to-day. Once you have that trust, magic happens,”
Vidhya explains.
4. Become an AI and Automation Catalyst
Rather than fearing the rise of AI, Vidhya encourages leaders to view it as an opportunity to boost productivity and accelerate innovation. Leverage AI to automate mundane tasks, generate test cases, review code, and more — freeing up your engineers’ bandwidth for higher-impact work.
5. Align Engineering Investments with Business Needs
Drawing from her experiences at companies like Yahoo and Verizon, Vidhya candidly discussed the pitfalls of allowing the engineering organization to overextend without considering business realities. She reminded leaders of their “fiduciary responsibility” to thoughtfully assess how engineering investments serve evolving business goals.
6. Navigate Biases as a Woman of Color
In her impressive career, Vidhya has faced her fair share of unconscious biases and preconceptions about her technical capabilities as a woman of color in leadership.
Her advice?
Speak up, build allies, and — if an organization proves resistant — seek more inclusive environments that value your talents.
7. Embrace Opportunities that “Give You Butterflies”
One key theme resonating through our discussion was Vidhya’s fearless approach to seizing stretching opportunities that push her abilities. As she puts it,
“If an opportunity is easy and I’m not getting butterflies, I get bored.”
This growth mindset has propelled her personal and professional development at every stage.
There you have it — seven powerful insights from an exceptional leader who has truly cracked the code on unifying technical mastery and business leadership.
I can’t encourage you enough to tune into the full episode to glean even more invaluable wisdom from the inspiring Vidhya Narayanan.
What was your biggest takeaway from this post? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
About Vidhya:
Vidhya Narayanan is a seasoned engineering leader with a unique blend of technical expertise and strategic business acumen. As a Director of Engineering at Google, she guides high-performing teams across critical products like Google Workspace, driving innovation and operational excellence.
With over two decades of experience in the tech industry, Vidhya has honed her skills in building and empowering engineering organizations. Known for her ability to bridge the gap between technology and business, she aligns engineering priorities with overarching company goals, delivering substantial results. Vidhya’s diverse background includes leadership roles at companies like Oath, Verizon, and Intel, where she spearheaded the transformation of large-scale cloud and media platforms.
Vidhya is passionate about cultivating a culture of accountability, coaching, and continuous learning. She expertly navigates complex challenges, leveraging emerging technologies and agile practices to drive impactful, customer-centric solutions. As a respected thought leader, Vidhya shares her insights on harmonizing engineering and business strategy, inspiring others to reach new heights in their own careers.
Follow Vidhya Narayanan on LinkedIn to learn from her leadership journey and insights: https://www.linkedin.com/in/srividhyanarayanan/
