Book Review: Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg

Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In spiked a lot of conversations about feminism, balancing work and life and how women can take charge of their life. Forbes Writer Susan Adams in her review wrote

My assumption was that Sandberg wanted women to tough it out and push ahead with their careers while their kids were young, and to put success in the office ahead of the time-consuming, energy-sapping but ultimately deeply rewarding demands of parenting.

Having carefully read the 2013 best seller ‘Lean In’ with anxiety, I realized that there’s no superhuman. The book is an admission of how sexism exists in the workplace, Sheryl’s fears and a how to move forward as a woman. My lessons from Lean In are as follows

1. Prioritize potential  for fast  and the mission of the company above title
2. Careers are a jungle gym, not a ladder
3. Have a long term dream and an eighteen-month plan. Set goals on two fronts (1) set a target for accomplishment, focus on results and impacts (2) set more personal goals for learning new skills.
4. Don’t miss out on great opportunities by focusing
5. Don’t ask ‘How can I get a mentor’? Excel and you’ll get a mentor. I particularly liked this advice because I got served ‘NO’ a couple of times in the past, I simply always thought a plea with a great smile will endear a yes! This chapter in her book will drive much more productive relationships than a simplistic, general plea for mentoring.

The most intriguing part of Sandberg’s book and the point that has stirred criticism among other feminists is that women keep themselves from advancing because they don’t have the self-confidence and drive that men do. “We lower our own expectations of what we can achieve,” she writes. Indeed, this is the part of the book that still gives me goosebumps, maybe because it appears true in some situations. I believe that personal motivation is a dynamic complex which is often shaped by parental, societal and peer influence. Even the opportunities present and expectations can stir us into motivation.

I particularly liked how the chapters flowed and how she revealed that women don’t need tiara’s on a jungle gym. Sheryl’s vulnerability when she was listed as Forbes list of world’s most powerful women in August 2011 she was ranked No. 5 on the list, ahead of First Lady Michelle Obama and Indian politician Sonia Gandhi. “Far from feeling powerful, I felt embarrassed and exposed,” she writes, adding that she told colleagues that she thought the list was “ridiculous.” Until her longtime executive assistant, Camille Hart pulled Sandberg aside and suggested Sandberg was handling the publicity poorly.

The book is good for women who wants to harness the genius in them.