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I’ve been gaming since I was a curious toddler clutching a Sega Genesis controller, staring at the buttons with absolutely no idea what I was doing until a friend helped me figure it out.Fast forward to today and I’m still deeply invested in video games. So invested, in fact, that I closely follow the major industry developments that impact the consoles and games I love.After watching those decisions unfold — and noticing how heavily they focused on what players actually wanted — I asked ChatGPT to analyze Sharma’s leadership style and break down the mindset behind her decision-making.Making sense of Sharma’s leadership mindset
(Image credit: Getty Images)After asking ChatGPT what type of leadership mindset Sharma sticks by, it sourced the comments she made during interviews, analyzed the statements she made within a company memo and the way she described herself to come up with the many factors that make up her management approach.Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips.These are the parts of Sharma’s leadership style mentioned by ChatGPT that stood out to me the most:“Player-first” thinking: She repeatedly talks about protecting what makes Xbox special for fans — the games, characters, consoles, and community. Her messaging emphasizes rebuilding trust with core players and focusing on “great games” first.Platform-builder mentality: Sharma has described herself as “coming into gaming as a platform builder.” That means she seems less focused on just selling hardware and more focused on building an ecosystem across console, PC, cloud, subscriptions, and services.Community-centered execution: One recurring theme in her internal memos is that Xbox became “too inward.” She wants teams to spend more time with players and ship features faster. That reflects a product-management mindset centered around feedback loops and rapid iteration.Long-term innovation over nostalgia: Even when she talks about a “return to Xbox,” she frames it as reviving the company’s original spirit — boldness, creativity, and risk-taking — not simply recreating the past.Focusing on my “core users,” staying adaptable and more
