Nextdoor CEO Sarah Friar: Don't get hung up on job titles
“If you get an email from me, it doesn't say CEO,” she said.
Becoming the CEO of Nextdoor was not an easy decision for Sarah Friar.
Last October, Friar made the decision to leave her CFO position at Square to become the CEO of Nextdoor, a free private social network for neighborhood communities, describing it as the "hardest decision I've had to make career wise."
“I'd wake up one day and be like I'm going to go do it, the next day I’d be like no, I’m going to stay,” Friar recently told ABC News’ Rebecca Jarvis.
She added, "I mean I tell people over and over again I had the best CFO job in the world."
Friar previously worked at Goldman Sachs for 11 years and was also an employee at Salesforce. Friar said she encourages others to not get fixated on job titles.
“If you get an email from me, it doesn't say CEO,” Friar said. “I think you can get that stuff all in your head and it just gets you off course from doing great things for your customers, doing something that changes the world.”
Serving in various leadership roles has also taught Friar what to look for in future employees.
“If one of the first things someone asks is what's my title going to be or I need a bigger title, I'm like that's awesome, you're not going to fit working in this place with me because in the end I think if you orient around the work that is the much more important thing,” Friar said.
The help of mentors, family and the "RBG" documentary helped push Friar to take the CEO job.
“Halfway through the movie I just was tingling and almost tearful and I’m like I have to do this,” Friar recalled. “It can't be what you can't see.”
While Friar has quite the impressive resume, she said she didn't get to where she is today by being patient. She encourages the next generation of business leaders to constantly seek out challenges.
“What I've found in any company, particularly a startup, is there's always more work than people and work will come to you if you're great,” Friar said. “Do the work you're hired for, but look for other projects. It's rare that you're sitting in a company where you couldn't go work in another country or work in a different part of the company. Be creative."
Hear more from Friar on episode 119 of “No Limits with Rebecca Jarvis.”
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