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Daniel Shapero was named CEO of LinkedIn this week, stepping into the role long held by Ryan Roslansky. But after nearly two decades at the Microsoft-owned company, Shapero says he didn\u2019t climb to the top by chasing titles\u2014he did it by choosing the right people.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best career decisions that I\u2019ve ever made have been about the people I got to work with,\u201d he told Bloomberg last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re all more malleable than we give ourselves credit for. We adapt to our environment. And so the best decision I\u2019ve ever made was when I chose to work around people who were going to shape me into the person I wanted to be, as opposed to career decisions about the specifics of the job or the task.\u201d<\/p>\n
Early in his tenure, that philosophy meant staying put. During his first over half decade in sales, Shapero worked under the same manager\u2014a stretch he credits with sharpening both his performance and his leadership instincts.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rather than job-hopping for faster promotions, he doubled down on mentorship, betting that the right environment would compound over time.<\/p>\n
Shapero long had his eyes on the C-suite\u2014but the path to the top required tough love from LinkedIn\u2019s former CEO<\/p>\n
After studying mathematics at Johns Hopkins University, Shapero dabbled in entrepreneurship\u2014starting, and later selling, a high school athletic recruitment website. He eventually obtained his MBA from Harvard Business School in 2004, and worked in strategy consulting at Bain for nearly four years before joining LinkedIn in 2008.<\/p>\n
But his ultimate career goal was always simpler: running a tech company.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve known probably since some of my entrepreneurial days that I aspired to be a great CEO one day of a tech company,\u201d he recalled on Reveal: the Revenue Intelligence podcast in 2021. But getting there required a reality check\u2014delivered by then-CEO Jeff Weiner.<\/p>\n
After helping grow LinkedIn\u2019s recruiting business from roughly $40 million to $1 billion in revenue over five years, Shapero expected validation. Instead, Weiner pointed out a gap: if he wanted to run a great tech company, he needed to understand the product\u2014not just sales.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s one of those moments where someone tells you a truth that isn\u2019t necessarily comfortable in the moment,\u201d Shapero said. \u201cBut upon reflection you realize is right\u2014the cold water you needed splashed on your face a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
So in 2014, he made an unusual move: stepping down from a senior sales leadership role to become an individual contributor on the product team.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe only way to learn product is to do product,\u201d he said. \u201cYou can\u2019t learn it from afar. You can\u2019t learn it by being connected to it. You need to build a product from the ground up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bet eventually paid off. By 2019, he was named chief business officer, by 2021 chief operating officer\u2014and now, CEO.<\/p>\n
Fortune reached out to LinkedIn for further comment.<\/p>\n
LinkedIn CEO\u2019s advice for Gen Z on getting started<\/p>\n
While Shapero has finally hit the top of the corporate ladder, if he had to do it all over again today, the path would likely be much more complicated. Traditional paths to entry-level work, especially in tech, are already being squeezed as companies automate routine work. But Shapero doesn\u2019t think opportunities will necessarily outright disappear for Gen Z\u2014instead they will just evolve.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bottleneck is unlikely to be the tech,\u201d Shapero told Fortune last year. \u201cThe bottleneck is going to be how you teach people how to do it. That\u2019s a talent challenge, not a tech challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
In practice, that means the most valuable candidates won\u2019t necessarily be the ones building AI systems\u2014but the ones who know how to work alongside them and be adaptive. Moreover, pairing that tech approach with human skills, like communication and creativity, are likely to pay even greater dividends, Shapero said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou don\u2019t necessarily need to be the one that invents the new way to do something,\u201d he added. \u201cBut you do need to be aware of what others are doing, what the best practices are, and then be comfortable changing your habits.\u201d<\/p>\n
#LinkedIns #CEO #Daniel #Shapero #company #bigger #impact #career #job #titles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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