The Conversation That Changed My Career

You can’t always predict where a conversation will lead — but you can make space for it.

Years ago, a colleague asked if I’d have coffee with someone to talk about a role their team was trying to fill at Microsoft. I was leaving on vacation soon and was a bit behind on a deadline so was reluctant to allocate the time. But I somewhat reluctantly agreed to the conversation.

I wasn’t actively looking to make a change. But the conversation clicked more than I expected. And we met three more times that week.

We talked about leadership, about engineering, about scaling teams globally, and about building products that could shape how people use technology every day. By the end of that week, I was rethinking my career path and a few months later, my family and I were on a plane moving to Europe.

Those conversations led to a leadership role in Microsoft’s Online Services Division (what would later become Bing), where I helped build and lead extraordinary teams across London, Paris, and Munich. We lived in London and Paris for five years; years that stretched and shaped me as a leader, broadened my worldview, and created lifelong friendships and professional relationships.

When I eventually returned to the U.S., I was asked to develop and lead a global engineering organization spanning 12 cities, from Suzhou to Cairo, Hyderabad to Rio de Janeiro, teams that became central to Microsoft’s cloud-scale services.

Looking back, those conversations didn’t just profoundly change the trajectory and velocity of my career, they expanded my perspective on what’s possible when we make space for connection.

The Myth of Networking

We often treat networking as something we do; something transactional and a means to an end. But the most meaningful opportunities rarely come from a deliberate transaction.

The best leaders don’t “network.” They connect.

They show up with curiosity, not an agenda. They make space for conversations that might not have an immediate payoff and in doing so, they create space for serendipity and possibilities that couldn’t have been planned.

Progress often starts in the conversations we almost didn’t take.

Connection as a Leadership Practice

Over time, I’ve learned that relationships don’t grow on autopilot. You can’t just build a network; you have to maintain it.

That’s why I build “Linking” into my daily rhythm — the “L” in FLARB (Fitness, Linking, Appreciation, Reflection, and Book-learning). Every day, I reach out to someone who I haven’t connected to in at least 60 days; not because I need something, but because I value the connection.

Sometimes it’s a quick check-in. Sometimes it’s sharing something that might help. Sometimes it’s introducing two people who should know each other.

Those small acts build trust and community, and every once in a while, they create opportunities you could never have imagined.

The Takeaway

You can’t always predict where a conversation will lead.

But by consistently creating space for connection — not just to grow your network, but to sustain it — you increase the odds that something meaningful will emerge.

Leadership isn’t just about what you know or even what you do.
It’s about who you connect with, how you invest in those relationships, and how you show up when there’s nothing immediately to gain.

Because the next door that opens might just change everything.

So make the time.
Keep the connection alive.
Have the conversation.