Lean In

share something personal, I heard her voice in my head—orin the text messages she sent—reminding me of the power of being authentic. Gene Sperling is one of the busiest people I know, and yet he found the time to write page after page of key suggestions. His ability to cut to the heart of the matter on issues that concern public policy and the problems that affect people from every life circumstance is matchless.
    Mindy Levy, my childhood friend, was visiting with her family when I roped her into looking at a chapter. She turned out to be a master of structure and organization, which she then applied to future drafts. Mellody Hobson encouraged me to speak from the heart with conviction and confidence. She sets the example of what it means to be a woman, unapologetically. Karen Kehela Sherwood helped crystallize several key ideas, including the “aha” moment of realizing that how women are perceived when negotiating can be used as a negotiation tool. And just as she did for so many of my papers for so many years, my college roommate Carrie Weber stayed up many late nights line editing every sentence. She helped in ways that only someone who is both a dear friend and an accomplished author could.
    Many others generously read drafts and offered thoughts, sometimes under demanding deadlines. Deep thanks to Stephanie Flanders, Molly Graham, Larry Summers, Bill McKibben, Tina Bennett, Scott and Clia Tierney, Amanda McCall, Jami Passer, Michelle Ebersman, Stephen Paul, Diana Farrell, Adam Freed, Phil Deutch, Marne Levine, Joel Kaplan, Eric Antonow, Lorna Borenstein, Marcus Buckingham, Michael Grimes, Anna Fieler, Kim Scott, Kim Jabal, Carole Geithner, Don Graham, Zander Lurie, and Michael Balaoing.
    Many people contributed to the research that underpins this book. Shelley Correll and Lori Mackenzie of the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford connected me with Marianne, then supported her so that she could dedicate so much time to this project. Mana Nakagawa, a Ph.D. candidate in the International Comparative Education program atStanford University, did the international research needed to make the book relevant for a global audience. Professor Deborah Gruenfeld of the Stanford Graduate School of Business started educating me on gender issues more than five years ago and has been doing it ever since. Kathleen McCartney, dean of the Harvard Graduate School of Education, explained the NICHD study on early child care and child development. Professor Jennifer Aaker of the Stanford Graduate School of Business shared her research on the importance of setting goals to pursuing happiness. Harvard professor Hannah Riley Bowles interrupted her vacation to spend hours on the phone discussing her work on negotiation. Professor Francis Flynn of the Stanford Graduate School of Business walked me step by step through the findings of his breakthrough Heidi/Howard study. Sharon Meers generously shared all of the research she spent years doing for her book
Getting to 50/50
. Christine Silva, senior director of research at Catalyst, provided important detail on several studies. Kim Parker, senior researcher with the Pew Social & Demographic Trends project, discussed Pew’s research report on gender and career aspirations. And special thanks to Phil Garland, vice president of methodology at SurveyMonkey, for his insightful comments on many drafts as well as assistance with statistical analysis.
    The team at WME has been on top of every aspect of this book. Ari Emanuel kicked this whole thing off by introducing me to Jennifer, and I am grateful for his friendship as well as his ever-amusing and supportive check-in calls. I am indebted to Tracy Fisher, Theresa Brown, Margaret Riley, Kathleen Nishimoto, and Caitlin Moore for all their efforts. The team at Knopf showed remarkable dedication and enthusiasm in this process: Tony Chirico, Paul Bogaards, Chris Gillespie, Peter Mendelsund, Erinn Hartman, Elizabeth Lindsay, Caroline Bleeke, Katherine Hourigan, and Lydia Buechler. It was a joy to work closely with Ellen Feldman and Amy Ryan, and I grew to depend on their precision with words, careful attention todetail, and endless patience. Thank you to Divesh Makan of Iconiq for his organizational and structural help and to Gary Stiffelman of Ziffren Brittenham for his diligence. I also want to thank Jill Gillett and Chris Sanagustin for their support of Nell’s work on this project. Much appreciation goes to Markus Dohle and