Lean Out

The Truth About Women, Power, and the Workplace

By: Marissa Orr

Narrated by: Misty Wells

Girl gangs reigning terror at Facebook, narcissistic overlords at Google...this is the backdrop of Lean Out, which takes listeners on the journey of Marissa Orr, a single mom of three trying to find success in her 15-year career at the world’s top tech giants. Orr delivers an ambitious attempt to answer the critical question: What have we gotten wrong about women at work?

“This book is a must-read for insights on the impact that reversing systemic gender biases can have on creating more diverse, healthier workplaces for both women and men.” (Joanne Harrell, Senior Director, USA Citizenship, Microsoft)

“This book will make you think differently about what it will take for women to succeed at the highest levels in American business.” (Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Growth Officer, Publicis Groupe)

Lean Out offers a new and refreshingly candid perspective on what it’s really like for today’s corporate underdogs. Based on both in-depth research and personal experiences, Orr punctures a gaping hole in today’s feminist rhetoric and sews it back up with compelling new arguments for the reasons more women don’t make it to the top and how companies can better incentivize women by actually listening to what they have to say and by rewarding the traits that make them successful. In Lean Out, Orr uncovers:

• Why our pursuit to close the gender gap has come at the expense of female well-being.
• The need to redefine success and change the way corporations choose their leaders.
• The way most career advice books targeting professional women seek to change their behavior rather than the system.
• Why modern feminism has failed to make any progress on its goals for equality.

More than 50 years since the passage of the Equal Pay Act, the wage gap still hovers at 80 percent, and only five percent of CEOs in the Fortune 500 are women. Today, rising up the ranks in many companies still often means cutthroat, win-at-all-costs tactics, where being the loudest voice in the room is more important than being the person with the best ideas for moving the company forward. Not surprisingly, most women don’t want to play this game. An everyday working woman with a sardonic sense of humor, Orr is an endearing antihero who captures the voice for a new generation of women at work. Lean Out presents a revolutionary path forward, to change the life trajectories of women in the corporate world and beyond.

©2019 Marissa Orr (P)2019 HarperCollins Leadership

Critic reviews

'Lean Out is a highly readable book that has 'leaned in' and listened to many--and maybe the majority of--women in the workplace. Many, many women will proclaim, 'Finally, an honest book that gets me, who I am, where I am, where I'm trying to get to, and the myriad of roadblocks stopping me.' If you're a working woman, read it to feel validated and less alone and uplifted in your struggle.' --Mark Goulston, author of Just Listen: Discover the Secret to Getting Through to Absolutely Anyone

'For the first time in a long time, I finally read a book that states clear facts around the gender issues, with sound research backing the assumptions, in a simple way for men and women to comprehend. This book should be read by leaders of all types, as it provides a fresh perspective on valuing oneself without shame or blame, while preparing the reader for the corporate ladder.' --Dr. Betty Uribe, Executive Vice President, California Bank and amp; Trust and author of #Values: The Secret to Top Level Performance in Business and Life

'This book will make you think differently about what it will take for women to succeed in American business, by exploding myth after myth with cogent arguments and simple common sense.' --Rishad Tobaccowala, Chief Growth Officer, Publicis Groupe

Game changer

Wow this book made me reconsider ALL of the past career advice I have gobbled up from self-gel books. A MUST READ for anyone who feels out of place in the workplace or for anyone who has suffered from “faking it until they were making it.“

I’m not dysfunctional

This book had an amazing eye-opening impact on my perception of successful women in corporate America. As someone who’s aspiring to get to a C level I find materials and analysis of others authors vital to my personal journey. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for writing this book! I can finally put a finger on what is it that cause so much internal struggle every time I adopt men behavior and try to Lean in.

Inspiring

Great book and different view for those that thought “Lean In” had all of the answers for women in the workplace. Invigorating viewpoints and a great basis of data to support her thoughts. Inspiring.

Sour Grapes, not Feminism

I have been waiting for this book to come out since it has been marketed as a feminist manifesto for non-alpha females. It’s not. It’s a thinly veiled gripe session against Google, and it’s hard to tell if the author’s bruised ego has a message of women’s empowerment since every chapter is just a litany of grievances committed by the tech giant.
I was too distracted by the narrator’s diction (think book report reading in front of 6th grade class) and SUPER specific, author-specific examples (e.g. the “power hungry, narcissistic manager named Barry”) to be inspired.
Take away: it’s okay to be a Hufflepuff, just don’t go work for Slytherins.

Preach It Sister!

This book is a must-read for all women, especially if you are raising a future woman. I read Lean In back in the day I really felt convicted that I needed to push myself and become a leader. I took six weeks off for each of my maternity leaves with my children. At the end of working for what I believed to be my best career advancement job I was depressed and my marriage was almost done.
If only this book was there for me instead of the "make work life your bi#;$" books. The author combines research with personal experience seamlessly. It is one of my must reads for the year and probably forever. Thank you Marissa for writing this book. I am forever a fangirl.

Validating and Inspiring!!

Heard her on a couple podcasts and her message, stories and research felt like they were specifically validating my thoughts and feelings about the struggles and complexities of corporate America, especially as an introvert. Definitely agree our outdated corporate institutions need to be flipped on their heads, questioned and updated!!

Wish Marissa narrated the book, though. Marissa - Please narrate your own book, so much better to hear you reading!

Great read; really good message. Keep an open mind.

I really did enjoy this book and felt like it had a great message. However, if you are a fan of Lean In (as I am), this book might be difficult for you to listen to at the onset because it is such a stark contrast to that book and its message. Marissa also uses Lean In as an example many times to illustrate what is wrong, and that can get a little repetitive. She can sometimes come across as bitter and victimized in the early chapters. However once you get beyond that and listen to the message that she has and the point she is trying to make in this book, it really is excellent and in my mind, exceptionally valid. I would highly recommend the book.

Highly Recommend!

Finally! A refreshing, honest and truly insightful perspective on the monopolized topic of women & work. Loved it.

Courage and insight

She’s the perfect spokesperson for everyone who hates playing the office politics, not because they don’t know how to, but because it often requires crushing a certain degree of integrity and personal morals. Even if it’s not a self help book, it’s a great guide and testimony to true success

Couldn’t finish it

I was curious, and I do believe that the author had some negative experiences and that there is plenty of politics and cliquish behavior in corporate America among men and women alike, and she got the short end of the stick a few times. That’s all worth sharing.

However, when she starts theorizing and drawing conclusions about thoughts and behaviors, there is so much unsubstantiated and erroneous conjecture that it becomes whiny fiction. She may be an expert in some things, but definitely not in social science research. (I’m trained in that.) She should stay in her lane, write the auto biographical narrative and share the facts as they occurred, yes. That’s fair perspective. But once she shifted gears it became intolerable. By the time I got to the halfway point I had to stop.

If you have experienced a lot of political frustration at work, her experience will feel very validating, which is fine, but be wary of accepting her theorizing beyond that.

Unless you are looking for someone to commiserate with, don’t waste your time with this book