Books to Read Along with Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg – A Suggested “Lean In” Reading List

I will present my synopsis of Lean In by Sheryl Sandberg again this week – this time for the the NSHMBA’s 2013 LEAD Conference. I think that Lean In is a terrific book. But, it is not the first book, the only book, or maybe even the best book to read, to help think about the ongoing challenges for women in business.

Over the 15 years of the First Friday Book Synopsis, I have presented a number of books that would be useful to add to your reading stack, to help you think about the challenges and opportunities of women in business in this modern era.

I know here are many other fine books I have not yet discovered, or read. I invite you to leave a comment to recommend other important books.

But, each of these has something useful and valuable to add to the discussion. Which of these are my favorites? They each add some valuable observations and/or insights to the discussion. If this issue matters to you (and, it should – it matters to our society, for sure), this might be an issue to do a deeper dive, reading a few books…

Here’s my short recommended reading list:

Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead by Sheryl Sandberg (Knopf, 2013).

Knowing Your Value: Women, Money and Getting What You’re Worth by Mika Brzezinski (Weinstein Books, 2011).

Womenomics: Write Your Own Rules for Success by Claire Shipman and Katty Kay. (HarperBusiness/HarperCollins, 2009).

Women Don’t Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever (Princeton and Oxford: Princeton University Press, 2003)
{Note: my First Friday Book Synopsis colleague Karl Krayer presented a synopsis of the “companion” book to Wonen Don’t Ask. It is also worth adding to this list: Ask For It: How Women Can Use the Power of Negotiation to Get What They Really Want by Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever (Bantam; Reprint edition, 2009)}.

How She Does It: How Women Entrepreneurs Are Changing the Rules of Business Success by Margaret Heffernan (Viking Adult, 2007).

Play Like a Man, Win Like a Woman: What Men Know About Success That Women Need to Learn by Gail Evans (Broadway Books, 2000)

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My synopses of all five of these books, with my multi-page comprehensive handouts plus the audio of my presentation, are available at our companion web site, 15minutebusinessbooks.com. (Note: if you have never ordered from our site, be sure to read the FAQs first).