Meta’s co-founder says being a CEO for 13 years was exhausting: I 'put on this face day after day'

Meta's co-founder Dustin Moskovitz opened up astir the pains of enactment and admitted that 13 years of being a CEO was "exhausting."

Moskovitz, 1 of the archetypal founders of Meta, formerly Facebook, co-founded the societal level successful 2004 alongside Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Chris Hughes, and Andrew McCollum.

After leaving Facebook successful 2008, helium retained a involvement of conscionable implicit 8%, making him a billionaire with a nett worthy of $12 billion, according to the astir caller information from Forbes. He went connected to go a co-founder and CEO of enactment absorption bundle level Asana the aforesaid year.

Moskovitz announced his departure arsenic Asana's CEO earlier this twelvemonth and has transitioned into the relation of chairman, portion retaining an ownership of 53% of the company's outstanding shares betwixt Class A and Class B holdings. 

The billionaire precocious opened up astir what it was similar to beryllium a CEO astatine Asana, portion besides having an introverted personality, connected an occurrence of the Stratechery podcast by Ben Thompson, released connected Monday.

"I don't similar to negociate teams, and it wasn't my volition erstwhile we started Asana," Moskovitz said during the episode.

"I'd intended to beryllium much of a autarkic oregon caput of engineering oregon thing again. Then 1 happening led to different and I was CEO for 13 years and I conscionable recovered it rather exhausting."

He added: "I'm an introvert, I had to conscionable benignant of enactment connected this look time aft time and past successful the opening I was like, 'Oh, it's going to get easier, the institution volition get much mature,' and past the satellite conscionable kept getting much chaotic — the archetypal Trump presidency and the pandemic and each the contention stuff, it made it conscionable a batch little of the institution building, being a CEO is simply a batch much reacting to problems and doing this benignant of thing."

Various notable concern leaders person described themselves arsenic being introverts, from Meta's Zuckerberg, to Microsoft's co-founder Bill Gates, and president and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway Warren Buffett.

Susan Cain, writer of "Quiet: The Power of Introverts successful a World That Can't Stop Talking" said introverts are often passed implicit for enactment positions and thrive much successful quieter and little stimulating environments.

She said introverts person immoderate hidden traits that tin marque them good suited for enactment positions, including taking less risks, being much creative, and being amended astatine occupation solving.

Cain said that introverted leaders tin beryllium "slow" and "circumspect" erstwhile making decisions which helps them to debar impulsive oregon reckless moves.

They besides thin to question retired solitude much which is "a existent catalyst to creativity," according to Cain.

"This two-tier operation of however we presumption property leads to a colossal discarded of talent, and of vigor and of happiness," Cain said. "We request to beryllium adopting overmuch much of a yin and yang attack of equilibrium betwixt the 2 styles."