I recently finished Sheryl Sandberg’s provocative book, “Lean In,” about gender differences in the workplace and her perspective on how to help right the inequalities. I am about the same age as Sheryl, and while our backgrounds are different, many of her points resonated with me. I find it astounding that there are only 21 women CEOs leading Fortune 500 companies — although I am not sure why it is such a surprise when we at Communiqué PR have only had a handful of clients with women CEOs.
I am truly optimistic for the young women that we have hired at Communique who are just beginning their careers. Some of them know they want to pursue a career in public relations, while others are going to work with us for a couple of years before branching out into new professions. Regardless of the path they choose to take, I want them to go forward, have equal opportunities and rise to new levels of leadership.
To this end, I think Sandberg book offers solid advice – for both men and women. Take the following three points as examples:
Sandberg writes, “Just as I believe everyone should have a long-term dream, I also believe everyone should have an eighteen-month plan.” This is a fantastic suggestion especially as it pertains to skill development. Effective leaders – male or female – must develop a wide range of skills including critical thinking, writing, negotiating, seeing the big picture, etc. Working toward such a skill range will likely take years, so thinking expansively about “what do I want to learn now and how does it fit into the bigger picture of my life” is sound advice that I am now actively applying to my own life and business.
Another chapter of Sandberg’s book focuses on the myth of doing it all. She writes, “Counterintuitively, long-term success at work often depends on not trying to meet every demand placed on us.” I could not agree more. Everyone knows it is impossible to be in two places at once. It is time we recognize that success is incumbent on figuring out where to be, what to focus on and how to accomplish it. It’s not always easy, but it is an important ability to master for men and women who want leadership positions, which are often high-pressure and more time-intensive than other middle-management roles.
In closing, Sandberg discusses how we can work together toward gender equality and how “feeling threatened by others’ choices pulls us all down.” Ideally, we would all aspire to a world that celebrates individual personal passions, talents and interests. At the same time, however, we need to realize that sometimes we as individuals have competing passions and talents. A fair amount of self-awareness is necessary to recognize and rectify ambitions that are clearly in conflict (e.g., I want to attend my niece’s school play and I want to participate in an important new business meeting.) By spending more time on introspection around their lives and priorities, I believe both men and women will have greater clarity and comfort about their choices.
While I think Sandberg offered excellent advice, I did find that my biggest criticism of the book centers on some of Sandberg’s use of personal examples. For instance, on page 20 Sandberg talks about how she still “feels it was unseemly for a little girl to be thought of as so…domineering.” She asserts that society thinks it is okay and even rewards boys for domineering behaviors, but not girls.
Sandberg goes on to emphasize that boys from a young age are encouraged to take charge and offer their opinions. While this may be true – and I hope girls will be encouraged to do the same – I think they both need to do it in a manner that is not domineering. I do not think people who are perceived as domineering make especially effective leaders, so let’s not put a premium on these types of characteristics, for males or females.
As a leader in my own business, I found the book to be insightful and full of practical advice. It is one that I will continue to refer to as I mentor men and women and continue on my own professional path. I applaud Sheryl for raising the issue and writing a thought- and discussion-provoking book.