Satya Nadella’s 10 career tips after decade as Microsoft CEO: 'Listen more, talk less'

Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft celebrated 10 years as CEO this year, driving growth and even guiding the company in dethroning Apple as the world's most valuable public company earlier this year, according to a Business Insider report. Create clarity Nadella says being able to "create clarity when none exists" is the “most important attribute that any leader needs to have.” "You don't need a leader when everything is well-defined, and it's easy, and all you have got to do is follow a well-written plan," he said in a 2019 interview with Chicago Booth Magazine. "The psychological safety that you create around you, especially the more senior you are, becomes super important," he said in an interview at the 2022 Wharton Future of Work Conference. “One technique of that is to share your own fallibility because that gives confidence to others.” Be empathetic Nadella doesn't consider empathy a soft skill; in fact, he thinks it's "the hardest skill we learn," he said in a 2023 interview with Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner. You could say it's design thinking, but design thinking is empathy.” Keep analysing yourself No one is the “perfect” leader, but those questioning how they could have brought more clarity, energy, or freedom to their employees will always improve, Nadella said, speaking to LinkedIn’s CEO Ryan Roslansky as part of its The Path video series.