Can We Really Lean In?

I first heard about the book Lean In on a morning news show.  At that time the book had not even been released but had mega buzz.  The conversations on these shows sparked my interest.  There were tons of questions about what the author, Sheryl Sandberg, hoped to accomplish, why she didn't offer solutions, and even if it was purely an autobiography.

Well here's my take:

I actually enjoyed the book.  Sandberg is correct in that it isn't an autobiography, despite it reading like one.  While statistics are incorporated, the book shares the experiences of Sandberg in addition to other women.  I now understand why the discussions held prior to the books release were all over the place.  Simply put, it will mean different things to different people.  Life experiences will impact how you feel about this book and in some cases whether you will agree with Sandberg's perspective.   In my opinion, the book is not meant to solve all of the issues related to women in leadership (although she does offer some suggestions about improvements); instead, it pushes self-reflection on ways you can begin to "Lean In". 

For me, it brought out the biases I had about women leaders.  If you had of asked me my gender preference for a supervisor, hands down I would have said a man.  In my mind, I've had the worst women supervisors.  At least that's what I let myself believe.  When I actually took time out to write them out, only been 2 or 3 were span of Satan.  

After letting go of that, I began to feel empowered. There was this connection, a feeling that someone understood the challenges one faces being a women in corporate America.  And quite honestly, some of those challenges I never correlated to gender. 

I would be amiss to not acknowledge the things this book helped me learn about myself ; I now sit at the table!  But even if that had not occurred, I would applaud it if for nothing else than it has people talking.

“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.”