Survival of the Sharingest

For Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, the personal isn’t just political, it’s company business

- Sarah Frier

On the last day in January, about two dozen prolific users of Facebook were invited to the social network’s headquarters in Menlo Park, Calif. There, they were arranged in a circle of brightly colored chairs to meet Sheryl Sandberg, the company’s second-highest-ranking executive and the Oprah of corporate America. The guests, who had made life-changing friendships using an organizational tool called Facebook Groups, were invited to ask Sandberg questions. She insisted that she had to hear their stories first.

That’s when the tears started flowing. A woman talked about how a Facebook post on her struggle to become a mother led her to adopt a foster child; two women from opposite coasts discussed how they’d become close by starting a private group to help women of color navigate mental health issues; and a Dallas waiter who’d lost his leg because of a rare bone disease talked about meeting a man who’d helped him raise money to try out for a soccer team for the disabled. Sandberg, dressed in a loose white sweater, jeans, and boots, California quiet-luxury style, leaned in over and over to listen, offering words of encouragement and hugs. “I love this,” she told them. After the sudden death of her husband, David Goldberg, two years ago, she was comforted to know that Facebook was helping others cope with their own hardships.