Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

studies of diversity tell us that if we tapped the entire pool of human resources and talent, our collective performance would improve. Legendary investor Warren Buffett has stated generously that one of the reasons for his great success was that he was competing with only half of the population.

We hold ourselves back in ways both big and small, by lacking self-confidence, by not raising our

Career progression often depends upon taking risks and advocating for oneself—traits that girls are discouraged from exhibiting.

increasing our self-confidence (“Sit at the Table”), getting our partners to do more at home (“Make Your Partner a Real Partner”), not holding ourselves to unattainable standards (“The Myth of Doing It All”). I do not

Millennial women were also less likely than their male peers to characterize themselves as “leaders,” “visionaries,” “self-confident,” and “willing to take risks.

hands, and by pulling back when we should be leaning in. We internalize the negative messages we get throughout our lives—the messages that say it’s wrong to be outspoken, aggressive, more powerful than men. We lower our own expectations of what we can achieve. We continue to do the majority of the housework and child care. We compromise our career

responded, “I said no to a lot of opportunities when I was just starting out because I thought, ‘That’s not what my degree is in’ or ‘I don’t know about that domain.’ In retrospect, at a certain point it’s your ability to learn quickly and contribute quickly that matters. One of the things I tell people these days is that there is no perfect fit wh

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“Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.”

Nell Scovell. Nell and I have been working together