Book Review- Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

 

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Disclaimer- This book review is majorly a self-contemplation. The personalized meaning derived from the book vis-à-vis life experiences. The quotes are used directly from the book.

I flipped through this book in 2017 while I was going through an enormous change in my personal and professional life- Mental, emotional and physical change due to embracing motherhood and a shift in job assignment. It was a period I got to understand what’s juggling between household and job is all about.

While I could associate with a lot of the topics and opinions dealt with in this book and I'm most clearly within the target audience that the author was aiming to reach, but it wasn't life-changing or masterfully enlightening. Overall, the book made me feel better about my life choices and endorsed the "you're not alone" reassurance. I am happy to spend two days on this read as it added a different perspective of humanity. 

The message I acquired after reading this book is - seek challenges, take risks, and persevere goals with gusto.

Lean In is not a book about feminism and how men are oppressive, but rather a book about how both genders can change the established reality we live in.

Lean In continues that conversation, combining personal anecdotes, hard data, and compelling research to change the conversation from what women 'can’t do' to 'what they can'.

Sheryl Sandberg- Facebook COO and one of Fortune magazine's Most Powerful Women in Business - provides pragmatic advice on negotiation techniques, mentorship, and building a satisfying career. She formulates specific steps women can take to combine professional achievement with personal fulfillment, and illustrates how men can benefit by supporting women both in the workplace and at home.

Written with humor and wisdom, Lean In is a revelatory, motivating call to action and a blueprint for individual development that will empower women around the world to accomplish their full potential. Sandberg acknowledges that women battle in choosing between work and family and then goes on to explain how and why that struggle is benign. She encourages women to speak up and voice their opinions.

Below are few quotes from the book which are my all-time favorite (although I’d recommend reading a whole book to understand every context)

1. “Conditions for all women will improve when there are more women in leadership roles giving a strong and powerful voice to their needs and concerns.”

2. “… when you want to change things, you can’t please everyone. If you do please everyone, you aren’t making enough progress.”

3. “Exclusive maternal care was not related to better or worse outcomes for children. There is, thus, no reason for mothers to feel as though they are harming their children if they decide to work.”

4. “Authentic communication is not always easy, but it is the basis for successful relationships at home and real effectiveness at work. Yet people constantly back away from honesty to protect themselves and others. This reticence causes and perpetuates all kinds of problems: uncomfortable issues that never get addressed, resentment that builds, unfit managers who get promoted rather than fired, and on and on. Often these situations don’t improve because no one tells anyone what is happening. We are so rarely brave enough, to tell the truth.”

5. “Anyone who wants her mate to be a true partner must treat him as an equal — and equally capable — partner. And if that’s not reason enough, bear in mind that a study found that wives who engage in gatekeeping behaviors do five more hours of family work per week than wives who take a more collaborative approach.”

6. “… no matter what any of us has — and how grateful we are for what we have — no one has it all.”