My Game's Secrets - Limor Zellermayer

Engineering Manager at Facebook

What are the ladders (opportunities, tools) that have been most useful to you in the game?

This may sound counterintuitive, but I try to talk openly about my vulnerabilities with my peers, managers, and people I manage. I don’t “play the perfect role”, and I talk about the things I am struggling with, things I need to improve in. I remember the time when I started to manage a team in a product domain that was new to me.

I kept asking basic questions, and I was ok with being perceived as someone that doesn’t know everything. Sometimes I just got answers and I learned, other times the question turned out to be not that basic and we were able to engage in meaningful discussions. But more than all, it built an atmosphere of trust in the team and that it was ok to ask questions and to be wrong.

What are the snakes (challenges, barriers) that you've dealt with

over the years?

Without a doubt, my biggest challenge throughout my career was my own self confidence. I always thought that I am not good enough or not as good as other people around me. While this feeling helped me to improve, and to distill the areas I want to grow in, many times it held me back from taking opportunities that I thought I couldn’t do. I was really lucky to have people around me that pushed me and really made me feel I can and should move forward.

I see this phenomena with many other women (and also with men). Many times they are afraid to move to the next level, or take a different position. The fear of needing to establish credibility from scratch can really paralyse people sometimes.

What does "playing the game" mean to you?

The one rule that keeps guiding me is to always always think about my next career move. I never assume that my next career move will be offered to me or handed over.

It is on me to plan and drive my career. I can ask for feedback from many people around me, or take advice. I see many peers that either “wait” for something to happen, or expect that someone else will plan their next role.

Well, that’s easy. I want to live in a world where this question is irrelevant, where there are more women in all positions, especially in senior technical positions and senior management positions. While the answer to this question is easy, the path to get there is really hard. The reality is that we are just not there in the tech industry. The work to get to a place where we see 50% women in tech is hard and requires work and dedication.

Many times we talk about women and work life balance, especially for mothers. Well, I need to be better when it comes to work life balance, and of course I have a lot of guilt around not spending enough time with my two boys (5.5 and 8.5 years old).

But we could look at it also from a different perspective. My boys are growing up in a house where both mom and dad have careers, both are in the tech. and some would say both are succeeding... They witness first hand partnership and equality around raising them. I really hope that it will make them grow into a different reality than the one I grew up in.

Watch Limor Zellermayer and Bat Sheva Boker

talk about the snakes they've dealt with.