Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

📖In this book, Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg, discusses the various challenges faced by women, trying to balance between their career and family, through various examples from her own life.📝I came to know about this book through one of my closest friends and one of the strongest women I have seen. It is primarily focused on workplace challenges faced by women and puts forth very practical arguments and ways to overcome them. Working in a corporate environment with a number of female colleagues, I could relate to the views presented by Ms. Sandberg. Moreover, the book also serves as a career development guide for anyone irrespective of gender. This book is a must read for not only women but also men, in order to empathize with their female counterparts.📝I would love to share some of my favorite quotes from this book.✒️"Done is better than perfect." (A quote used often by my friend whenever I tend to overthink before making a decision)✒️"Careers are a jungle gym, not a ladder."✒️"There is no perfect fit when you're looking for the next big thing to do. You have to take opportunities and make an opportunity fit for you, rather than the other way around. The ability to learn is the most important quality a leader can have."

Sheryl Sandberg certainly has a way with words - this book manages to make a strong case for gender equality without once sounding hackneyed or distastefully overbearing. Her candid admissions of second guessing her choices, and the narration of instances where women in power are branded as over-ambitious and unlikeable, ring true for every working woman.Personally, what I liked the most is the fact that the narrative is delightfully straight forward - I almost felt like I was talking to Sheryl face to face and nodding in agreement. She doesn't prescribe any quick fixes to solve the issues that cause negative perceptions about working women, instead, this entire book addresses the root cause and seeks to make both men and women aware of it. I ardently hope that we won't have to wait too long for the day when we can all look back at this book and say that we're past most of the glaring issues that women face because the seeds of change were sown when this book was written.

I haven't nodded so much while reading any other book as this one. It is spot on! All the dilemmas, all the cultural norms, all the guilt-trips, roadblocks that women are either faced with or put up for themselves, it's here: recognized, researched and represented in a way every woman can relate. It is gratifying to learn how women across the world, irrespective of countries, cultures, religions, social status, etc. are more similar than they are different. Sometimes inequality exists in such a subtle way that it is hard to notice and easier to deny. Yet it is there. While this book is labelled as a 'business book', I believe it is more of a 'human' book, the one that teaches us not to discard the feminine aspects to succeed in business, but how to celebrate them.WOMEN: You owe reading this book to yourself. Add it to your shopping list. Or grocery list. Or any other list. It's better if you could read it at the beginning of your career or before you get married, but if not so, still read it. And gift a copy of it to your friends as well. It is such an important book, I believe I will be re-reading it again and again.MEN: You owe reading this book for all the women in your life- your mother, your wife, daughters, sisters, friends, colleagues, employees, etc. And to yourself - for your business or career or marriage or relationships.[I bought a paperback copy of this book. The page quality and print were alright. Unlike some of the reviews, mine was a legit copy]

Had I got an option, I would have given 10 stars to this book!The book beautifully illustrates how women engulf and hold themselves back by the internal barriers, how societal cues inoculates their minds with “appropriate” behavior right from young age, compromising their career goals, beset by self-doubt and deprecating and muting their own achievements.It is rightly said in the book that when a girl tries to lead, she is often labeled bossy, whereas boys are seldom called so because it doesn’t surprise or offend. The gender stereotypes introduced in childhood are reinforced throughout our lives and become self-fulfilling prophesies.The image of a happy couple is still perceived as the one which includes a husband who is more professionally successful than the wife. If the reverse occurs, it is considered as threatening to the marriage.The book also describes how women hold one another back and how they internalize disparaging cultural attitude towards each other without even realizing it.The author endeavors to drive home that a truly equal world would be one where women ran half our countries and companies and men ran half our homes. Compared to males, fewer of women aspire to senior positions. Condition for all women will improve when there are more women in leadership roles giving strong and powerful voice to their needs and concerns.I could fully identify with a fact mentioned in the book that merits can be manipulated in favor of men to justify discrimination. It is been limned that while evaluating identically described male and female candidates for a particular job, those who claimed to be the most impartial actually exhibited more bias in favor of male candidates. Men at the top are often unaware of the benefits they enjoy simply because they are men, and this can make them blind to the disadvantages associated with being a woman.Sheryl has brought up a significant yet subtle reality that when people talk about a female pilot, a female engineer, or a female race car driver, the word “female” implies a bit of surprise. Men in the professional world are rarely seen through this same gender lens.Gender wars can be appeased and true equality can be achieved through fighting the stereotypes that hold us back.I just cannot stop myself from touting about the author and her book…