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Todorovic 1 Olga Todorovic
Professor Edford
English 1
04/19/2016 “Lean In: What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid” is a work by Sheryl Sandberg,
former chief of staff of the U.S. Department of Treasury, former VP of Google’s global
online sales and operations, and a current COO of Facebook. Goodreads.com called
Sandberg’s book “a cultural phenomenon” for its contribution to empowering women and girls to be more assertive and ambitious, to aim high in their career
paths, and to take leadership roles. While, I’m sure, Ms. Sandberg has a large
following and support group, I think that author is incorrect in her idea that women,
who already take a lot upon their shoulders, should push themselves even harder. It
is my belief, that chasing ambition in order to prove something to the opposite
gender willadd unnecessary stress, create unhealthy dynamics within existing
families, and make it harder to create new families. I also believe that Sandberg
underestimates the role of women in modern society with her one-sided and unrelatable claims. Todorovic 2 In “Lean In”, author portrays modern women as scared creatures, who are being
criticized for trying to climb corporate ladder, express any leadership traits, or voice
their initiatives. Sandberg sounds her opinion that “Professional ambition is expected from men but is optional – or worse, sometimes even a negative – for
women” (“Lean In” 648). I doubt those are valid statements, as, according to
the United States Census Bureau Deputy Director Thomas Mesenbourg,“As business
owners, women in 2007 had a major impact on the nation's economy, employing
more than 7.6 million workers”(“Census Bureau”).Mesenbourg continues by saying
that “In addition, the businesses they owned equally with men added another 8.1
million workers. Furthermore, businesses where women were owners or halfowners numbered 12.4 million firms, representing 45.7 percent of all
firms”(“Census Bureau”).These facts, in m opinion, clearly prove that role of women
in the field business and economy is well established, and continues to gain its
influence and success. Speaking about success, it is necessary to emphasize the role of the leadership in
advancing the corporate ladder. Many may argue that leaders aren’t born, but made.
Indeed, the certain set of characteristics and skills required to be a good leader can
and should be learned if this would benefit your career. Nevertheless, some scientists claim that people who are true leaders differ from the others. Professors
Shelley Kirkpatrick and Edwin Locke of University of Maryland Todorovic 3 conducted a study and published its results in an article “Leadership: Do Traits
Matter?” They concluded that While research shows that the possession of certain traits alone does not guarantee
leadership success, there is evidence thateffective leaders are
different from other people in certain key respects. Key leader
traits include: drive (a broad term which includes achievement,
motivation, ambition, energy, tenacity, and initiative); leadership
motivation (the desire to lead but not to seek power as an end in
itself); honesty and integrity; self-confidence (which is associated
with emotional stability); cognitive ability, and knowledge of the
business (“Leadership: Do Traits Matter”). Kirkpatrick and Locke do not assign gender to leadership, but state that it takes a
special person to be a leader. I agree with this position, and think there are many
women in pop culture, science, medical field, politics, and business, who, through
hard work, dedication, talent, and, sometimes, luck, have established themselves as
leaders, innovators, and cultural icons. Todorovic 4 It is obvious, that leadership has its price, inparticular, the corporate leadership to
which Sandberg refers to. Sandberg encourages women to enter workforce with
more enthusiasm, while assuring that “ not only women can have both families and
careers, they can thrive while doing so.”(“Lean In” 655). I, personally, find it difficult
to relate to the perspective of a woman who comes from an upper class and has had
her career path outlined and secured for her since the college. On the contrary,
according to the American Institute of stress that refers to International Labor
Organization study Americans put in the equivalent of an extra 40-hour work week in 2000 compared to
ten years previously. Japan had the record until around 1995 but
Americans now work almost a month more than the Japanese
and three months more than Germans. We are also working
harder. In a 2001 survey, nearly 40% of workers described their
office environment as “most like a real life survivor program”
(“Digesting the Statistics of Workplace Stress”). I believe, job-related stress puts unnecessary pressure on people, and endangers
their wellbeing. Huffpost Healthy Living published results of the survey where it
states that“Occupation stress increases the risk of heart attack, according to a 2012
Todorovic 5 University College London review of studies. Job stress can also accelerate the aging
process and raise women’s risk of diabetes, according to other 2012 studies” (“Work
Stress On The Rise”). Ideally, work, with all related to it stress, should stay behind when people
come home after a long day in the office. In reality, we do not live in an ideal world,
and work stress often translates into family relations. In fact, researches from
University of Maryland conducted a study about interference of work with the family
life. The research “concludes that long hours at work increase work-family conflict
and that this conflict is in turn related to depression and other stress-related health
problems.” (“Work Time”)Virginia Smith Major, who is the lead researcher of the
above mentioned study, shares her findings: One of the things that was most striking to us was that the
relationship between work hours and work interference with
family held regardless of how flexible an employee's schedule
was or how much responsibility he or she had at home for child
care or other family duties. (“Work Time”) These findings, in my opinion, discredit Sandberg’s assertion that most married
career-oriented women live a well-balanced life with decreased amount of stress. Todorovic 6 Sheryl Sandberg makes many references to the social stereotypes. She says women
can achieve so much more if they fight the fear of being judged, not accepted or
made fun of. But aren’t modern working mothers are already the fearless breakers of
the stereotypes, who push human limits of strength, endurance, dedication, and will
power, who take creativity and resourcefulness to the next level in order to achieve
the required balance within the family and work environment? While Ms. Sandberg
is trying to be relatable by using the so-called “common knowledge”, she has to
accept the fact that not everyone will go to Harvard or Yale to become a corporate
shark, and not everyone wants to be a CEO, COO, a boss, a chief or a president. Her
failure to accept that people might chose a different path from what she suggests
reflects in “Lean In” through the memories of females in her own family. While
admiring bold, entrepreneurial grandmother, Sandberg speaks of her mother with
notes of vague disappointment, since her mother chose to drop out of Ph.D. program
to become a stay-home-mom. “The centuries-old division of labor stood”(“Lean In”
644), Sandberg bitterly concludes. Sadly, Sandberg doesn’t elaborate further about
her mother choice, and it is not easy to understand whether the mother was happy
in her newly acquired role, which again confirms the one-sidedness of her argument. Todorovic 7 Overall, my issue with Sandberg’s argument is that it is biased and one-sided. While
Ms. Sandberg’s claim has references to some research and, mainly, her personal
experience, her knowledge on the subject seems limited; and it is not always easy to
relate to her point of view, as Ms. Sandberg doesn’t come from an average family, she
is not surrounded by regular people, and her level of education and sharpened
leadership skills are not readily available to everyone. Sandberg has her supporters,
but, in my opinion, any social movement, especially the one that is carefully crafted,
branded and marketed, will find its followers. Meanwhile, modern day women face
day-to-day pressure and stress of balancing work and family, and frequently are
forced to prioritize in those fields. Sandberg encourages competition in the
workplace, while motivating her readers to seek balance and equality in the family
life. In reality, family life is and has always been about compromise and sacrifice. I’m
sure, it makes some wonder if Sheryl Sandberg would be “The Sheryl Sandberg”
today, hadn’t her mother and grandmother sacrificed their career opportunities in
lieu of their families. Todorovic 8 Works Cited. 1. The American Institute of Stress. “Digesting the Statistics of Workplace Stress.” Aug. 2011. Web. 29 Aug. 2011 2. HuffPost Healthy Living. “Work Stress On The Rise: 8 In 10 Americans Are Stressed About Their Jobs, Survey Finds.” 10 Apr. 2013. Web. Updated 12 Apr. 2013. 3. Kirkpatrick, Shelly. Locke, Edwin. “Leadership: Do Traits Matter.” Academy of Management Perspectives. Feb. 1, 1991. 5: 2: 48-60. Print. 4. Major, Virginia Smith.. Klein, Katherine J. Ehrhart, Mark G. “Work Time, Work Interference With Family, and Psychological Distress.”Journal of Applied Psychology.
87.3 (2002) : 427-436. Print. 5. Sandberg, Sheryl. “Lean In: What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?” “They Say/ I Say”: the Moves that Matter in Academic Writing: with Readings. 3rd ed. Ed.
Gerald Graff, Cathy Birkenstein, and Russel Durst. New York: W. W. Norton &
Todorovic 9
Company, 2015. 642-58. Print. 6. United States Census Bureau. “Census Bureau Reports Women-Owned Firms Numbered 7.8 Million in 2007, Generated Receipts of $1.2 Trillion.” census.gov. 7
Dec. 2010. Web. Dec. 2010.
7. Goodreads.com. Web. <https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/16071764- lean-in>
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