Rupinder Saini – Remote Leader who Steps Up, Gains Trust, and Executes

Name: Rupinder Saini

Rupinder recently joined Google as Director, Google Cloud Support Operations.

Prior to this, and for the last 13 years, Rupinder was at VMware as an executive in the Global Support Services organization. And before that, she worked at 01 Communique.

Rupinder has a Systems Analyst / Computer Science degree from Sheridan College and completed an Executive Women’s Leadership Program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business.

I had the opportunity to work with Rupinder while at VMware. She ran a good part of the support organization in Broomfield, Colorado while I was driving the reinvention of the support model. She was someone that volunteered to help, brought a tremendous amount of experience, and always delivered!

I think you will get a lot out of my interview with Rupinder.

Questions Interview

I asked Rupinder three questions that were specific to her.

1. In managing your team, how do you use goals? How do you balance between aggressive and impossible? How do you operationalize goals?
2. You have been involved in diversity and inclusion. What are the three things that you think every manager should do to improve the current situation?
3. You have been remote from headquarters for much of your career. What do you do in order to be successful while working remotely? Specifically, how do you get noticed?  How do you hear about opportunities? How do you build relationships?

I then asked Rupinder the same six questions that I ask all interviewees – in a lightning-round format.

1. What’s the most important factor you consider when hiring someone?
2. Who was your most effective boss, and what made him or her stand out?
3. What was the most difficult transition that you made in your career?
4. How do you approach helping someone with their career development or path?
5. What tools and tricks do you use to find work-life balance?
6. How do you go about building relationships with your peers and other leaders in the company?

The interview was fun, interesting, and full of valuable insights. Here is what Rupinder had to say about goals.

“Goals are a good way to motivate the team in driving business objectives.

If we make the goals attainable or easily attainable – are we growing? You have to have some degree of stretciing ourselves”

Rupinder recommended a book during this conversation. It is “Measure What Matters, OKRs: The Simple Idea that Drives 10x Growth” by John Doerr.

Another area that Rupinder had great insight into was unconscious bias.

“There is so much out there that influences your thinking – that your brain has already adapted to. So you have to be extremely conscious in making sure that we do not let those biases come into your mindset.“

I hope this gives you a sense of what you will hear in the interview.

Career Path

I talked to Rupinder about her career path. She just made a major change – leaving VMware after 13 years to join Google. Listen to the steps that she has taken, and the decisions she has made that have led her to where she is.

See Also

Prepare for the New Normal

Scott Bajtos – Amazing Leader whose Strength is to Serve Others

Goals – How to Define Them!