22 | How to Navigate Change & Opportunity in Organisations
Helen started her career as a primary school teacher. However, with a class of 43 four-year-old boys, she realized pretty quickly that perhaps that wasn't the career for her! So, she went back to college to study computer science before going on to work in a number of software firms. And it was there that she found HR, "before there were really careers in HR". Helen has now worked in HR for over 20 years with brands including GE, Andal Fujitsu, Dell and Oracle before she joined Google in 2010. As Director of People Operations, Helen is responsible for both Dublin's 8,000 employees and the Finance team across all of EMEA, roles she moves between on a daily basis. Show Notes: 1.45 – Helen’s Career and a bit about Google – 4.00 – 15 years of Google in Ireland – 4.50 – The cultural melting pot – 9.40 – What make a leader in Google – 13.50 – Individual contributors vs people leaders – 16.00 – Engaging staff and providing feedback is key – 19.15 – Thoughts on millennials – 23.30 – A leader’s role during change – 26.53 – Helen’s leadership role models – 34.45 – Advice Helen would give herself.