What can you learn about leadership from Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg?
There's been a lot of buzz lately about a TED Talk video of Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, talking about why we have too few women leaders. (View Video)
She had several pieces of advice for how to ensure that more women make it to the top: take a seat at the table, make your partner a real partner, don't leave before you leave. (Watch the video for an explanation of these.) But what fascinated me the most was when she shared a comment made by a young woman working for her organization.
Sheryl had given a similar talk to employees at Facebook. As she was wrapping up, she said she'd have time for two more questions. Sheryl took one question, then another. At that time, the young woman told Sheryl that she put her hand down along with all the other women in the audience.
But then a funny thing happened. Sheryl proceeded to take more questions from the audience but only from the men, who it turns out, had kept their hands up. Because this young woman had already lowered her hand, she missed out on an important opportunity to not only voice her question but to be heard. This young woman told Sheryl that she learned something that day. She learned that that she needs to keep her hand up.
I think there's an even bigger lesson to be learned which is this: you need to raise your hand in the first place. Let me explain.
I recently attended a presentation to a group of financial executives as a guest of one of my clients. Looking around the room I noticed there were very few women in the audience. At the end of the presentation there was a call for questions. It's with much chagrin that I report that not one woman in the room raised her hand to ask a question, not even me. As I was realizing this, I scrambled to come up with a question. By the time I got my hand in the air, the question and answer session was over.
My take-away? Next time I'll make sure to raise my hand right away and to keep it in the air. What will you do?
P.S. Don't forget to sign up for the second annual Women at the Top® Virtual Leadership Conference - Re-Energize Your Career. Learn More OR Register Free.
She had several pieces of advice for how to ensure that more women make it to the top: take a seat at the table, make your partner a real partner, don't leave before you leave. (Watch the video for an explanation of these.) But what fascinated me the most was when she shared a comment made by a young woman working for her organization.
Sheryl had given a similar talk to employees at Facebook. As she was wrapping up, she said she'd have time for two more questions. Sheryl took one question, then another. At that time, the young woman told Sheryl that she put her hand down along with all the other women in the audience.
But then a funny thing happened. Sheryl proceeded to take more questions from the audience but only from the men, who it turns out, had kept their hands up. Because this young woman had already lowered her hand, she missed out on an important opportunity to not only voice her question but to be heard. This young woman told Sheryl that she learned something that day. She learned that that she needs to keep her hand up.
I think there's an even bigger lesson to be learned which is this: you need to raise your hand in the first place. Let me explain.
I recently attended a presentation to a group of financial executives as a guest of one of my clients. Looking around the room I noticed there were very few women in the audience. At the end of the presentation there was a call for questions. It's with much chagrin that I report that not one woman in the room raised her hand to ask a question, not even me. As I was realizing this, I scrambled to come up with a question. By the time I got my hand in the air, the question and answer session was over.
My take-away? Next time I'll make sure to raise my hand right away and to keep it in the air. What will you do?
P.S. Don't forget to sign up for the second annual Women at the Top® Virtual Leadership Conference - Re-Energize Your Career. Learn More OR Register Free.
Comments