My afternoon with the LEAN IN author : Sheryl Sandberg : thank you for telling me it is OK to be called a aggressive woman : you are just a good leader.
My morning started with me checking my FB newsfeed and the article that all my girlfriends seem to have tagged me on was
Why Pepsi - CEO, Indra Nooyi Can't Have It All
One simple conversation how a woman is always struggling to be mother, wife, daughter and then CEO...so what if Indra Nooyi was on the Board of Quaker Oats, a iconic American brand, all her mom cared for was that there was no milk in the house, so Indra better go fetch milk.
Phew I so identified with this article early morning as my son, husband announced they have to be at work early so please make sure that the machinery at home functions for them to be at work on time. This is when I have been leaving home before them for years for work and no one bothered how I made it. Anyway, I was all set to meet Sheryl Sandberg and that was my BIG DAY, but no I have to silently get along with my tasks and get the whole household to rush that husband and son make it on time.
Nothing new for me to deal with these issues and get to work, finish your tasks and I finally make it to hear Sheryl Sandberg. Here are her three simple messages for all of us
a. It is ok to be called aggressive. When a little girl is leading she is called bossy but when a boy leads he is appreciated for great leadership skills.
Phew, I so identify with that women are aggressive because they are in a rush to get things done and are intuitive when things are going to drop. Thank you Sheryl you just reiterated my faith that it is ok to be aggressive....we are just good leaders.
b. All of you with little girls go nurture them they will grow up to be good leaders one day. As Sheryl said when she got married her siblings said they were her employee #1 and employee #2 as Sheryl was always organising play dates for them, but never got to play herself.
c. Women at work form "lean in" circles which is women with same issues. Talk about these as a circle and not as a individual but as a circle, you will get heard . And help one women to Lean In at work and be at the forefront.
While we all do this, let us celebrate that India has 11 percent women CEOs against a global average of 3 percent. And 7 of the top banks in India are led by women CEOs.
http://blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/11/18/which-has-more-female-ceos-india-inc-or-fortune-500/
1 comment:
Lived this one.
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