“Be nice, but not too nice.聽Be successful, but not too successful.聽Just be likeable. Whatever that means? Women are stuck in an impossible bind. At work, strong women are criticized for being cold, and warm women are seen as pushovers. An Award winning journalist examines this fundamental paradox and empowers readers to let go of old rules and reimagine leadership rather than reinventing themselves.”
So reads the inside jacket of by MSNBC anchor and host of the Latina to Latina podcast Alicia Menendez about the challenge she addresses: how do women move beyond (society’s implied) need to be liked to find success as their true selves? Laspa explores and discusses this paradox in this semester’s Read to Lead selection.
Join us next week as we start the conversation in reflecting on Mendendez’s ideas and return in March as we consider what we can do about it. Print and audiobooks are available to borrow at the Laspa Center or the Honnold-Mudd Library. All are welcome, no matter what page you’re on.
Read about the notion of “likability” in the November feature of 聽in the New York Times.