The "Lean In"? movement is not over!

The "Lean In" movement is not over!

I love the Washington Post but I can think of few articles I disagree with more than this opinion piece about the impact of Facebook’s recent problems on Sheryl Sandberg’s legacy for women.

Don’t get me wrong, I view Facebook’s apparent carelessness with customer data and lackadaisical approach to bots shaping our electoral debates with unabated alarm. And I recognize that Sandberg, as COO, shares significant responsibility for these practices. 

But how exactly does that invalidate the entire message of Lean In or show that urging women to fully engage in trying to reach their highest potential qualifies as some kind of sham? And how do Facebook’s self-wrought travails somehow prove that women, once they achieve power, will make no difference in organizational cultures? It’s this last assumption that really bothers me and that seems to be getting the widest–– and often most gleeful– play: the assertion that Sandberg’s problems demonstrate that having more women at senior levels will change nothing.

For the better part of two decades, McKinsey (especially in their superb Women Matter reports) and Catalyst have been cataloguing the positive effects that accrue when more women hold leadership roles: greater collaboration, a broader pool of information, fresh perspectives, more harmonious teams, win-win negotiating outcomes, an increased focus on long-term good rather than short-term advantage. We’ve watched the growing number of women in Congress shift more attention to the impact of economic decisions on families and the environment. And we’ve seen women transform non-profits and philanthropic enterprise by focusing on grassroots solutions to intractable problems.

Only last week, in a profile of women leaders in the defense industry, retired Air Force colonel Rachel McCaffrey noted that “having more women at the top affects companies and defense agencies in ways large and small — from questioning stale assumptions about the smartest way to develop weapons and provide services for the military; to negotiating better deals for the taxpayers when buying airplanes, tanks, rockets and ships; to recruiting and retaining the best and the brightest engineers and policy wonks.”

The evidence across sectors is broad and indisputable.

Two things seem to be at work in the sudden backlash against Sheryl Sandberg’s highly significant, if now mixed, legacy. The first is our celebrity culture’s tendency to put anyone who achieves fame on a pedestal and treat them like gods until it becomes apparent that they are not perfect. At which point, of course, we turn on them completely and decide that everything they did must have been terrible. 

To me, this is adolescent. Teenagers tend to see things through an either/or lens–– someone is the greatest or they’re terrible. This how they test out having individual opinions. But adults are supposed to have a more nuanced understanding of human strengths and weakness and recognize that all of us are a blend of both. And that even those who may have made egregious misjudgments can still have made important contributions to the world.

Also at work, though it hardly needs saying, is our old friend the double standard. No one has suggested that Mark Zuckerberg’s behavior in the Facebook saga reflects poorly on men in general, or proves that ambitious men should never be trusted with power. He gets to be just Mark Zuckerberg, an ambitious guy who screwed up, whereas Sandberg is excoriated for failing to be a role model for all women.

In my view, Lean In offered a powerful and much-needed message that many women found inspiring and affirming. It created a sense of sisterhood among women by building a strong case that we needed to support one another, even when doing so came with a cost. And, no doubt because of Sandberg’s high position and high-profile mentors, it compelled the respect and attention of men. It was the first book on the topic ever to do so and many organizations are better places as a result.  

So I want to make a plea that, however the continuing Facebook controversy unfolds, we not use it to look for evidence that women just can’t make a difference as leaders. Sandberg’s stumbles do not cast a shadow on all women nor does how she chose to exercise the power of her position undercut the vital message that was her gift to us all.  


Sally Helgesen's latest book, "How Women Rise," co-authored with good friend and world renowned executive coach Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, was published in April 2018. Sally and Marshall have each helped thousands of high achievers to reach greater heights and enjoy more satisfying careers. 

Sally delivers leadership programs, workshops and seminars for corporations, universities and nonprofits around the world. Her focus is on helping women strengthen their contributions and realize their best talents.


Angela Payne

I help leaders 'lead well' with Emotional Intelligence (EQ) so they can increase their team and personal effectiveness.

5 年

Having a platform or ‘sisterhood’ is and continues to be an incredible place for women of all stages to share and grow - well said Sally Helgesen

回复
Cynthia Burnham, MBA

Executive Coach & Leadership Consultant at 100 Coaches

6 年

Funny - I just had this conversation with a male colleague of mine, who said, "So women leaders are better than men, I guess, right?" (Insert smug, sarcastic tone.) It was all I could do to stay respectful.? Thank you for calling this out.

回复
Jaspal Bajwa

Coach & Consultant - Transformational Leadership & Organizational Vitality

6 年

Thank you Sally for helping put things in the right perspective!

回复
Laura Milewski

Driving partnerships, aligning brands and audiences through face to face engagement with a trusted partner through sponsorships and custom events.

6 年

Although I don't agree with the "Sisterhood" the Lean In movement provided, however,? what? I will share is the strength it provided to think differently as an individual and not? continue to bucket myself in "female" versus "male".? My value to my organizations has been gender neutral.? I am a contributor to the overall success of the companies I have served.?

要查看或添加评论,请登录

Sally Helgesen的更多文章

  • Bots and Birthrates

    Bots and Birthrates

    Technology and social change, forever intertwined In 1990, I published The Female Advantage: Women’s Way of Leadership,…

    2 条评论
  • Cooking Class

    Cooking Class

    This past weekend, an edgy world honored International Women’s Day, celebrated yearly on March 8 since the UN set the…

    1 条评论
  • Clients Who Press Their Advantage

    Clients Who Press Their Advantage

    Strategies for staying off the back foot I got a lot of email in response to last week’s newsletter on bullying…

    4 条评论
  • Bullying clients

    Bullying clients

    My sister Cece Helgesen has a small business in Montpellier, France, organizing storytelling events and helping…

    4 条评论
  • Soledad vs Solidaridad

    Soledad vs Solidaridad

    These last few weeks my husband Bart and I have been traveling in Mexico, trying to ignore what’s happening in our own…

    3 条评论
  • Oh Brother, it's Big Brother (Again)

    Oh Brother, it's Big Brother (Again)

    I’ve always been proud that my book, The Web of Inclusion, published in 1995, is credited with having brought the…

    24 条评论
  • Risky Business

    Risky Business

    Over the last two years, we’ve watched political activists relentlessly trying to blow up efforts by business…

    2 条评论
  • Performance vs. Pronouns

    Performance vs. Pronouns

    Debunking the DEI bunkers Is there a world in which shareholders in Apple, Microsoft, JP Morgan Chase and Costco…

    9 条评论
  • On the alleged death of DEI

    On the alleged death of DEI

    I’ve been in Singapore this week, arriving here via the world’s longest non-stop flight to deliver a series of master…

    18 条评论
  • Generosity

    Generosity

    The surprising, , personal and life-changing kind January 1977 was exceptionally cold and snowy in New York City. To…

    11 条评论

社区洞察

其他会员也浏览了