My hope in writing ‘Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead’ was to change the conversation from what women can’t do to what we can.
Done is better than perfect.
So please ask yourself: What would I do if I weren’t afraid? And then go do it.
If more women are in leadership roles, we’ll stop assuming they shouldn’t be.
Speak up. Believe in yourself. Take risks.
Careers are a jungle gym, not a ladder.
You need to feel that you’re making a difference.
Believe in yourself and negotiate for yourself. Own your own success.
I’ve seen over and over how much self-belief drives outcomes. And that’s why I force myself to sit at the table, even when I am not sure I belong there – and yes, this still happens to me. And when I’m not sure anyone wants my opinion, I take a deep breath and speak up anyway.
Don’t be afraid to ask the ‘dumb’ question, everyone else will be relieved you had the guts to ask!
The social web can’t exist until you are your real self online. I have to be me. You have to be you. Once we are online as ourselves, connected to each other and our other friends, then you can have the evolution of what becomes the social web.
Facebook is great for women and men. We are enormously flexible. We care a lot about great opportunities for women, we push ourselves to make things as flexible as possible.
When the man is traveling with a man, he says, “Let’s stay up late and work on this and get this to be better.” When the man’s traveling with the woman, for the sake of appearances he doesn’t do the work with her. That’s a lost opportunity for her to be a success.
Let’s have an honest conversation about what’s going on. A man and a man at a bar looks like mentoring. A man and a woman at a bar looks like dating.
We need to talk more openly about mentorships and sponsorships. Women don’t get the mentoring, and particularly the sponsors, they need to succeed as much as men.
I’m excited that more people, especially men, are understanding that equality is good for them. I don’t want men to want equality for women because they’re being nice to their colleagues and daughters. I want men to want it because it’s better for their companies and their lives.
All of us want the same things. We want to be good to the people around us and for our lives to have meaning. For me that means making the world a little bit easier for women.
I’m not writing about things other women do. I’m writing for other women to have more self-confidence because I need it myself! And if more women were in power, I would feel more comfortable.
Both men and women react negatively when women negotiate on their own behalf. A man can just negotiate: “I have a better offer. That’s not enough to make my family’s ends meet.” No one feels bad about it. But when a woman does that, there’s a backlash.
Men feel like they can be a professional and a father. For women it’s “or.” That’s offensive to me. The concept that it’s not possible is crazy.
We need to start talking about child-rearing in the workplace.