There is so much hullabaloo over Sheryl Sandburg’s book, “Lean In”that I decided to look through it to understand reasons for the fuss.
Much of her premise, that women essentially underestimate and undersell themselves, is familiar to me – having either read about it over time or witnessed those characteristics in person throughout my career. I’m among those of my gender mates labeled “ambitious” and have been ‘affectionately’ called a bitch from time to time because I accept authority easily and hold others accountable. Those traits are more difficult to come by in women and I don’t know whether that’s due to nature or nurture, frankly. But I can say that I’ve identified more strongly with men than women over the years and seem to have nurtured more professional friends of the opposite sex.
It’s true that men are raised with the expectation of earning a living and supporting their families. The more money he can make, the better lifestyle he can provide. They’re also taught to be strong and to assume power as their birthright. I’m talking power over their destiny because that’s the role of a man. Of course there are always going to be the artistic types who defy society’s expectations. It’s my guess that swimming against that tide for those men can probably be as difficult as for the woman who aspires to take control of her life and aim for an office in the corporate executive suite. Both are defying stereotypes and that usually involves swimming upstream.
But I think there’s a real distinction to be made between men assuming power as a birthright and actually having real self-confidence. Portraying strength is an image they learn to cultivate. But dig a little deeper and discover that many of those fellas don’t actually feel strong inside. Some drink to ease their tension and muster courage. And though Sandburg attributes self-doubt to women, there are many men who also feel like frauds internally and learn to compensate for that by networking with other men to create quid pro quo relationships. You do this for me … I do this for you. It’s the way of their corporate world – developing allies to protect their backs and help them succeed. It’s their understood reality.
Sandberg writes that men will attribute their success to innate qualities and skills. Women will say they got lucky, or worked really hard or had help from others. When asked about failure a man will say he wasn’t interested enough or didn’t study enough where women might attribute failure to an inherent lack of ability.
I’d like to suggest that only women are telling the truth in those two examples. Because men are raised to “fake it till you make it” it’s natural for him to continue to put his best foot forward to preserve his image while women are better able to absorb what could be the objective truth. Nobody reaches the pinnacle of a profession alone. Good timing has always played a role as well as people who’ve helped – either directly or as part of a team. Think of any successful man in the world, read his bio and examine the team around him throughout his career. Smart leaders choose the right people with whom to surround themselves.
The fact is, corporate America is used to having men in charge. There’s a style of conducting business that’s well suited to a man’s psyche because men created it. Women have always had to fit in to play the game. And some women are comfortable with that role while others aren’t and there are plenty of guys who will never become part of the executive suite either.
My mother always told me that I could do anything I wanted and she ‘knew’ I’d be successful at it. My father owned a business and was clearly comfortable being in charge. Maybe as a combination of nurture and nature I’ve also been comfortable as a leader. And yes, with hard work, good timing, smart choices, help from people who believed in me and success over the years I’ve achieved a professional self-confidence too. But more important to me than climbing to the very top of an organization was keeping a close distance to the product we were creating, in my case, television projects. That’s where I found my joy and the idea of being relegated to a business office overseeing a couple of levels of management who managed the product was not my idea of fun. So I climbed as high as I wanted to and the money I made was better than most, certainly good enough to pay for all my expenses and all of my conservative wants. I’ve never been a big acquirer.
So a corner office with a view in the executive wing was not what I aspired to. And there are plenty of other women … and men … whose passions lead them in other directions too. We don’t all have to run companies to make a difference in lives and our communities. As long as we’re paying attention to the beat of our own drums and fearlessly living our lives, I believe we’re leaning in.
The real take away from her book might be an invitation to women to dream big, feel their fears and do it anyway. That’s what most of the male species does and women are equally capable as they.
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