Well Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg sure leaned in on George Soros. Got caught trying to hide it too. I’m sure Ms. Obama’s in for a hailstorm of pearl clutching from folks with profane mouths themselves but that’s how it is today. If she want’s to bash Facebook with the f word, s word or any other one with 4 letters she can’t go to far. Sheryl Sandberg and her pal Zuck are threats to American democracy and democracy all over the world.
As we would say in my native tongue: Sheryl je bent een klootzak. Google translate will not do that justice. It’s a damn nasty thing to say. Really gross. Clutch on! As my wife, a native Spanish speaker and a woman in business would say, : that shit doesn’t work all the time. She speaks English very well.
That book was warmed over pablum. It said nothing new. This on top of the fact we now know Sandberg is a complete phony, someone who would yank that seat out from under you.
As used by Sheryl Sandberg in the book of that title, to “lean in” means to be assertive, to move toward a leading, rather than a following, role. The book, and the associated movement, encourage women to do this.
The phrase is based on the idea of a group of people sitting around a table discussing something. Those who want their ideas heard and who want to affect the course of the discussion will lean toward the table (“in”), so as to be in a more central position. Those who are content to do whatever other people want will lean away from the table (“out”).
There are still sacrifices even when having money allows one to hire the best childcare, cooks, etc. for the kids. My highly successful niece (Stanford MBA; travels often for work) has a supportive husband and wonderful staff around her household. Still, her young son for his 4th birthday wished that “Mommy could be home to put me to bed more often.” I’m not saying that boy won’t grow up to be a fine human being, but hearing those words reminds us that there is no perfect balance.
It is also the difference of how men & women are treated at work. As objective research has shown, the woman who ‘leans in’ to talk the same amount as a man is castigated as ‘pushy’, ‘aggressive’, etc.
The thesis of her book was to blame women who don’t get ahead for not doing exactly the right things to get you ahead. And thus to praise herself for getting ahead because ‘my success proves I did things right’.
BTW, I’m sure your niece’s kid will turn out fine! Somehow, the kids are turning out better than all of us.
