Lean Out

Outline

Lean Out (2019) challenges popular advice that tells women to be more assertive and compete harder to reach the top at work. Marissa Orr, drawing on her years at major technology companies, argues that many workplaces reward a narrow style of success, and that women should not have to change who they are to thrive. She calls for workplaces that value different strengths and ways of working.

• Common career advice tells women to be more assertive and compete harder to reach the top, and the book questions that advice.
• Many workplaces reward a narrow style of success, which leaves out people who work and lead differently.
• Marissa Orr draws on her years at major technology companies to explain how these workplaces actually operate.
• Women should not have to change who they are in order to thrive at work.
• The book calls for workplaces that value different strengths and ways of working, including collaboration and empathy.

Marissa Orr is an American author and speaker who spent many years working at Google and Facebook in sales and leadership roles. She writes about women, work, and how organisations define and reward success. Lean Out is her first book.