A Review Of Marshall Sandberg's Lean In

Although we are designed to breathe caution and warmth, women - myself included - need to become confident leaders. In Lean In: Women, Work, and The Will to Lead, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg resonates with this genome battle and suggests, “women need to shift from thinking “I’m not ready to do that” to thinking “I want to do that – and I’ll learn by doing it” (2013, p.68). In order to succeed, accepting cultural differences is only the first step that a female leader must take to become a better leader. As a leader we must learn to act the different roles needed for a company to succeed. Like the chameleon, we must adjust personality and traits to the needs of our leadership role. In other words, it is essential that women become assertive

One of his first rules is “make peace with ambiguity in decision making” (2008, p.1). Goldsmith recommends leaders to seek confidence and follow through with decision making; not to make changes or create doubt because they are afraid of failure. As another step, Marshall Goldsmith encourages leaders to “gather a reasonable amount of data, involve people, then follow your gut and do what you think is right” (2008, p.1). Even if in doubt, women need believe in the decision they have made and keep in mind that “…the relationship between a woman’s gut feeling and her intuitive hunches is grounded biology [because]…The anterior cingulate cortex, which is larger and more easily activated in females, is a critical area for anticipating, judging, controlling, and integrating negative emotions” (Brizendine, 2006, p.1976). Knowing that the worry is biology, emotionally aware female leaders will begin to question their doubts and anxiety in the presence of a problem. In addition, the will learn how to control their instincts and follow with their decided

By becoming more knowledgeable than everyone else in your company, you are more prone to believe in your decision making and, in addition, employees are more likely to believe in your decision making assumptions. Furthermore, in the event that something goes wrong, Goldsmith encourages not showing your true feelings. According to Goldsmith, in order to be seen as a confident leader, it is important to “demonstrate courage on the outside, even when you don’t feel it on the inside” (2008, p. 1). Showing your fears to your team will only make them doubt your leadership. Men and women seek leaders that will guide them in the toughest of times. For this reason, even when times become difficult and there is no more hope than the thought of having to fire employees, you must become hopeful in front of your followers and rise to the occasion.

Finally, “believe in yourself… [and] find happiness and contentment in your work…. When you win, celebrate. When you lose, just start over the next day” (Goldsmith, 2009, p. 2 - 3). The reality is that “career progression often depends upon taking risks and advocating for oneself .” (Sandberg and Scovel, 2013, p.15). For this reason, it is important that you value the hard work invested throughout your career, that you are ready to take a measured risk, and that you know that you are a