Sara's Audiobook Review: Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg

Lean In By Sheryl Sandberg

I was listening to satellite radio on my way to work one day, when I happened upon an interview with Sheryl Sandberg. She was talking about her new book, Lean In, and the keys points as she described them (work/life balance, the inequity of power between the genders, how to truly achieve success in life, etc.) intrigued me so I had to check it out. As I listened to the audiobook, and Sandberg shared both her advice and lessons learned, several things struck me. First, the belief that many women underestimate their own ability before anyone else underestimates them. This was a good reminder that it is difficult for people to have confidence in me if I don't have confidence in myself. Secondly, the reoccurring theme of having a voice and not passively hanging out on the sidelines reinforced the belief that you must be present and engaged in order to get the full value out of life. The idea of "sitting at the table" can be applied to your career, marriage, parenthood, and friendships. Throughout the book, Sandberg points out many things women do to limit our own success on various levels, big and small. Although she is speaking specifically about women and how to best be heard in a male-dominated corporate America, many of the lessons apply to everyone. Lean In certainly made me examine my own choices and rethink how I approach situations so I would say it is well worth the read.