Abstract

This case discusses the leadership and career philosophy of Sheryl Sandberg (Sandberg), former COO of Meta Platforms Inc. (Facebook). The case starts off with a brief look at the early life of Sandberg and delves into the way she made Google LLC’s ad business an essential part of every advertiser’s budget. Later, the case takes an in-depth look into the way she managed operations at Facebook, wherein she took up a range of responsibilities. She was considered to have played a pivotal role in making Facebook a social media giant and a multi-billion-dollar advertising powerhouse. Being one of the highest-ranking female executives in corporate America, Sandberg then used her stature and public speaking skills to try and bring about an equal and fair representation for women in the workplace. Through public forums, Sandberg sought to fight sexism and encouraged women to join the workforce. She authored two motivational books for women and was instrumental in the emergence of the Lean In movement, thereby creating her own brand of self-empowerment feminism. After nearly two decades of being at the helm of the top two IT companies and becoming one of the richest self-made billionaires in the world, Sandberg resigned from her position at Facebook in June 2022, to continue her philanthropic work and focus on her family life. With her trailblazing career behind her, can Sandberg continue to inspire and serve as a champion for women’s causes?

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Analyze the role of a woman leader in a male-dominated industry.
• Understand transformational leadership and the way it changes the fortunes of a company.
• Know what kind of issues and challenges women corporate executives face.
• Recognize the impact of the gender discrimination women face at the workplace.
• Examine the various ways in which a champion for women sought to advocate gender equality in the workplace.

Keywords

Transformational Leadership; Gender Discrimination; Gender Equality; Self-empowerment; Leadership Skills; HR planning; Workplace Discrimination; Women’s Rights; Business Strategy; Operations Management; Woman Leader; Marketing Management; Collaboration; Communication Skills; Career Management;