<p><img src="https://static3.businessinsider.com/image/5f1ae42c2618b91c8712a2aa-1440/423244-636223298584759334-16x9.jpg" border="0" alt="Fred Kofman Google Linkedin exec" data-mce-source="Linkedin/Fred Kofman" data-mce-caption="Fred Kofman revealed why he decided to leave Google after two years"></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><ul class="summary-list"><li>Fred Kofman recently stepped down from his role as vice president of leadership development at Googleciting the months he spent meditating under lockdown as influencing his decision. </li><li>A world leader in exec coaching, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg once described Kofman as one of "the most extraordinary thinkers" she had ever encountered. </li><li>"This is the first time I've gone three months without changing time zones in a long while," Kofman told Business Insider. </li><li>The industry veteran also revealed he's been using meditation app Synctuition to help get his daily dose of enlightenment. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/'hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul><p>As of this month, Fred Kofman is no longer Google's vice president of leadership development. </p><p>A leading voice in the world of executive coaching, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg once described him as "one of the most extraordinary thinkers on leadership and management I have ever encountered."</p><p>But after a two-year stint at Google, which came off the back of half a decade as LinkedIn's VP of executive development, a pandemic-induced lockdown brought everything to a halt. </p><p>"I don't think I would have left were it not for the lockdown," Kofman says, speaking over Zoom from his residence in rural Mexico. </p><p>"I had become used to being incredibly busy all the time, with meetings, flights ... This is first time I've gone three months without changing time zones in a long while." </p><p>Kofman is a longtime champion of meditation, having consistently put aside an hour a day for the better part of the last 40 years. </p><p>But in spite of his enthusiasm for self-reflection, Kofman says he hadn't realized what a toll his hectic lifestyle was having on him. </p><p>"I was basically sleepwalking," he says. "It's like being in a dream, where what's happening around you is utterly bizarre but you don't realize it at the time." </p><p>And how did Google take word of his departure'</p><p>"It was a shared decision ... and more of a conversation than a unilateral thing. I'm still working with Google as an external advisor, but I'm no longer a full-time employee." </p><p>He adds: "I can't really express how grateful I am. I want my departure to be an example of gratitude, and honor, and mutual support. It's the best company I've ever worked for and they have really taken care of me." </p><p>For now, Kofman says he'll continue working from home, advising tech titans like Google as well as smaller startups.</p><p>He says he has also started using a meditation app <a href="https://synctuition.com/">called Synctuition</a>, a rival to services like Calm and Headspace, to help get his daily dose of enlightenment. </p><p>And it sounds like lockdown has allowed him more time to reflect than ever: "There's this idea that meditation is some kind of New Age thing filled with flowers or whatever. </p><p>"But it's actually a discipline that really takes a lot of work." </p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/google-exec-quit-after-lockdown-spent-in-meditation-2020-7#comments">Join the conversation about this story »</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/what-its-like-to-do-your-own-taxes-for-the-very-first-time-2018-2">July 15 is Tax Dayhere's what it's like to do your own taxes for the very first time</a></p>
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