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What do I love about: Lean In?
I cannot overemphasis the power of this piece, and the subsequent gender discussions that have risen as a result of Sheryl’s gusto in this book. Reading this book, it felt like I was having a personal convo with the writer. She uses her real life experiences to buttress her points. Thank you Sheryl Sandberg. I also love the way she reminds the audience of her imperfections and daily effort to fight the good fight. She also reminds us that gender bias does not only affect women but also men and to that effect, the gender discussion has to be a collective effort.
I have decided to continue this conversion by joining a LEAN IN circle in my local community. You too should do so or better still START A CIRCLE. Because there is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women. P.S Madeleine Albright words not mine.
More than thirty years after women became 50 percent of the college graduates in the United States, men still hold the vast majority of leadership positions in government and industry. This means that women’s voices are still not heard equally in the decisions that most affect our lives. In Lean In, Sherly Sandberg examines why women’s progress in achieving leadership roles has stalled, explains the root causes, and offers compelling, commonsense solutions that can empower women to achieve their full potential.
What do I not love about: Lean In?
Zilch
Who should read: Lean In?
I recommend this book for all women and their allies.
Who should not read: Lean In?
None that I can think of.
Notes from Lean In
- A truly equal world would be one where women ran half our countries and companies. Men ran half our homes.
- A 2011 McKinsey report noted that men are promoted based on potential, while women are promoted based on past accomplishment
- We can reignite the revolution by internalizing the revolution
- Fortune favors the bold
- Proceed and be bold
- What would you do if you weren’t afraid?
- The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have.
- Think globally, act locally
- If you are offered a ship on a rocket ship, you do not ask what seat. You just get on.
- The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they do not have any
- Avoid the Tiara Syndrome
- Parenting may be the most rewarding experience, but it is also the hardest and most humbling
- When looking for life partner, my advice is to date all of them. The bad boys, the cool boys, the commitment- phobic boys, the crazy boys. But do not marry them. The things that make the bad boys sexy do not make them good husbands
- As more women lean in to their careers, more men need to lean in to their families
- The antiquated rhetoric of ‘having it all’ disregards the basis of economic relationships: the idea of trade- offs
- Superwoman is the adversary of the women’s movement
- Done is better than perfect
- Exclusive maternal care is not related to better or worse outcomes for children
- Success is making the best choices we can and accepting them
- The secret is that there is no secret- just doing the best you can with what you have got
- Gloria Steinem observed, “Whoever has power takes the noun- and the norm- while the less powerful get an adjective”
- Talking can transform minds, which can transform behaviors, which can transform institutions
- It is easier to talk about your sex life in public than to talk about gender
- Shutting down discussion is self- defeating and impedes progress. We need to talk and listen and debate and refute and instruct and learn and evolve
- Merit can be manipulated to justify discrimination
- Being forthright led to opportunity
- Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence
- It is time to cheer on girls and women who want to sit at the table, seek challenges, and lean in to their careers
- We need to look out for one another, work together, and act more like a coalition
- Former secretary of state Madeleine Albright once said: There is a special place in hell for women who don’t help other women.
- I have written this book to encourage women to dream big, forge a path through the obstacles, and achieve their full potential.
- Our job is not to make young women grateful. It is to make them ungrateful so that they keep going