Jane Hynes, Vice President of Global Communications at Google Cloud

Jane Hynes is vice president of global communications for Google Cloud .  

What are your core values? How do you maintain them? 

I went through a leadership training program a number of years ago, and the importance of intentional leadership really stuck with me. One of the tactics they suggested was to write down my values as a leader, and regularly ask for feedback on them. 

I created an acronym to help me easily remember them - TREE:

• Transparency & honesty
• Respect
• Empowerment
• Empathy

They are written on a post-it note that is stuck to my laptop or notebook. It acts as a constant reminder and helps me stay accountable for how I show up. I also ask for feedback from both direct reports and skip-levels annually. At the end of every year, I set aside some time to revisit them, as they may evolve over time.

What advice would you give yourself a decade ago?

Generally speaking, I think the best career advice is to focus on the things that are in your control. There are a number of things that can impact careers that are out of our control - from changes in geopolitical and economic conditions to technology advances. What we can control is the work we do and how we do it.

With respect to the work: I encourage people to take every advantage their current job offers to learn new skills, whether that is taking classes, shadowing another team or taking on a stretch assignment. It is also important to take pride in their work, and always put forth their best effort. With respect to the “how” - it matters how you show up every day. Always make sure you treat others with respect and always assume good intent. This is particularly important for people in leadership positions - employees typically leave managers, not companies.

What's one habit or practice you've adopted that has significantly improved your professional or personal life?

Asking questions. Coming from a place of curiosity is the cornerstone of good decision making (and has the side benefits of learning new things, building deeper relationships and checking our own biases). And it works in all parts of life - children, friends, colleagues and more. 

At the office, when there is a big or controversial decision that needs to get made, I try to get everyone in a room or on a call (versus going down the email spiral). Finding out “why” someone is asking for something, talking through some “what if” scenarios, or exploring the risks and benefits from different perspectives can usually help drive consensus.

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