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

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

As someone who works full time in corporate America while also juggling my responsibilities as a wife and mom, I found this book really interesting. There was a lot in this one that made me think about things in a new way. There are things that didn't resonate with me but much of the book did. There is quite a bit of food for thought here, things that I've never thought of as well as things that I've never thought of within a larger context. This book is very readable and interesting. I was never bored or felt it was moving too slowly which can happen with these sorts of books.

I will acknowledge that there isn't a lot here for single parents or for those without economic resources - much of the content makes assumptions about socioeconomics that just aren't an option for some women. I understand many of the criticisms that I've read about this book. However, I didn't experience it in the way many of the critics did. I found quite a bit in the book that has helped me begin to re-think how I behave at work and how I might not be helping myself in the workplace. That alone makes this book work for me.

I think this is a book that might resonate if you're a woman navigating the corporate ladder and would like to successfully move into leadership positions at some point in your career. And perhaps that is why I enjoyed it more than some - I saw this book as Sandberg educating the reader on her own successful career while providing helpful advice around how to do the same. If nothing else, I think this book begins a conversation that needs to happen about women and work.

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