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

by Sheryl Sandberg

When negotiating, “Think personally, act communally.” I have advised many women to preface negotiations by explaining that they know that women often get paid less than men so they are going to negotiate rather than accept the original offer.

We need to stop telling them, “Get a mentor and you will excel.” Instead, we need to tell them, “Excel and you will get a mentor.”

I truly believe that the single most important career decision that a woman makes is whether she will have a life partner and who that partner is.

“Done is better than perfect.”

Guilt management can be just as important as time management for mothers.

definition of feminism—“A feminist is someone who believes in social, political, and economic equality of the sexes”

Stay-at-home mothers can make me feel guilty and, at times, intimidate me. There are moments when I feel like they are judging me, and I imagine there are moments when they feel like I am judging them. But when I push past my own feelings of guilt and insecurity, I feel grateful. These parents—mostly mothers—constitute a large amount of the talent that helps sustain our schools, nonprofits, and communities.

In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders.