You’re not the boss of me


By SkyeTeam on April 1, 2014

Posted by SkyeTeam | April 1, 2014You’re not the boss of meSheryl Sandberg, author of Lean In, has great ideas and positive intent for girls and women everywhere.  I had read some of the bad press about the book and was fully prepared not to like it or her.  To my surprise, I “got” what she was talking about and recalled situations where I had done just the kind of thing she warned against.  I’ve continued to think about the book and what the concepts mean to me and to my 10-year-old daughter.The latest idea to come from Sandberg, is the push to ban the word “bossy” to describe girls and women who take charge.  Reasonable enough on first reflection but the more I thought about it, the more I thought, gee that sounds a little bossy to me.  More like an order than a request.  I actually think sometimes girls and women are bossy.  Bossy can be the right word.I think Kara Baskin of the Boston Globe, really nailed my discomfort with the whole “ban bossy” movement, when she pointed out in her March 23 post that the conversation seems to put bossiness and leadership in the same category – that the term “bossy” should be replaced with the term “leader.”  To me that implies that you have to be bossy to be a leader, but that we should just keep that our little secret and call ourselves something else, like “assertive.”  Really?  Stop telling me what to do.As Baskin observes, “Some women might actually be bossy. And that’s OK. And others might not have any desire to be bossy or to lead, and that’s fine, too. These women deserve a place at the table, even if they’d rather doodle in a notebook.”  Yes!There’s much more to Baskin’s point of view on the subject and you can find it here. I’m still a Sandberg proponent, but I love Baskin’s take on it.  Now, go forth and read more.Related ArticlesTags »Lean InSheryl Sandbergvalues Share2