Check out my article on The Law Insider that came out today at http://www.thelawinsider.com/insider-news/five-things-women-can-learn-from-sheryl-sandberg/. Lots to think about there for women lawyers who also are reading the Sheryl Sandberg book or the press surrounding it.
My article, Five Things Women Can Learn from Sheryl Sandberg, addresses Ms. Sandberg’s message to women in traditional business but also distinguishes the value of that message for many women in the law. I wish it was different—honestly, I do. I wish that I could tell you that Sheryl Sandberg has all the answers for young women lawyers. But, I cannot. She has some very solid advice for women in business, but she also skips lightly over the realities that some women, even those in traditional business, do not have the resources to make it all work to get to the corner offices and flex their muscles—especially during the childbearing and childrearing years. Without the nannies, the cooks, the housekeepers and the personal shoppers it all becomes very challenging. While it is true that some husbands and mates are pitching in more at home these days, I do not think that is going to free up enough time for many women in business for the open field run that Sheryl Sandberg seems to respect singularly and advise above all else. The approach narrows the definition of success and leaves out too many women for my taste.
Ms. Sandberg also too often seems to view having children as an unfortunate complication to a woman’s career—particularly those women who do not have all the support systems identified above. For the rest, who want both career and children but who do not have the open field for the direct route to the corner office, what about them? Are they supposed to feel less successful, or worse, like failures? I don’t think so, and I don’t want you to think so either.
That is what I think about Sheryl Sandberg and women in traditional business. I am not a woman in traditional business, so that is only what I think. However, I am a woman lawyer and have been one for a long time, and what I know about Sheryl Sandberg’s advice and its applicability to women lawyers is worth checking out. What you will find is that it is not all about a lack of ambition, which Ms. Sandberg lays at women’s feet, but a lack of time. That old foe, the billable hour, strikes again!
Tell me what you think!
