Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg recently revealed that she attributes her tears to part of her success.

In a speech to graduating students at Harvard Business School, the 42-year-old COO disclosed details of how she worked her way up in Silicon Valley, as she addressed gender issues in the workplace, reports the Grindstone.

“I’ve cried at work. I’ve told people I’ve cried at work… I try to be myself,” she said.

“I talk about my hopes and fears and ask people about theirs… [I am] honest about my strengths and weaknesses and I encourage others to do the same. It is all professional and it is all personal, all at the very same time,” she continued.

In her speech, she made the distinction between authentic tears and manipulative waterworks, as she warned against dishonest crying.

“As we strive to be more authentic in our communication, we should also strive to be more authentic in a broader sense. I talk a lot about bringing your whole self to work – something I believe in deeply,” she explained.

The COO also discussed the balance, or lack thereof, between work and personal life.

“I don’t believe we have a professional self from Mondays through Fridays and a real self for the rest of the time. That kind of division probably never worked, but in today’s world, with a real voice, an authentic voice, it makes even less sense,” she said.

She closed her speech by advising the graduating students on becoming successful leaders in the workplace.

“There aren’t enough senior women out there… so it falls upon the men who are graduating today just as much, or more than the women, not just to talk about gender but to help these women succeed.”