USG holds Lean In circle workshop event

Undergraduate Student Government held a Lean In Circle Leader Workshop event on Wednesday night in the Ronald Tutor Campus Center.

Lean In, a book authored by Facebook Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg, spurred the idea for “Lean In circles,” which primarily focuses on creating small group discourse to empower women and men on social issues. Lean In circles consist of eight to 10 group members who meet every month to discuss issues in a private setting. Wednesday night’s workshop, sponsored by USG Co-Director of External Affairs Alana Victor and Maggie McMahon, a Lean In circle leader and junior majoring in architecture, was designed to create a network of leaders who can build a presence for future groups on campus.

By joining a Lean In circle, group members are encouraged to build on the facets of confidentiality, communication and commitment. According to Sandberg, Lean In circles were created to build upon the concept of peer support. In order to build peer support, Sandberg and Lean In circle leaders are asked to build the presence of circles across the nation by networking and sharing the concept of building relevant discourse among their peers to share personal struggles, thoughts and topics.

USG Vice President Rini Sampath first became involved with the Lean In foundation last year.

“I wrote a column for the Daily Trojan called ‘Leaning In,’ and it was picked up by Sheryl Sandberg and the Lean In foundation and was recognized by them.”

Since then, Sampath has been in communication with the organization. They then emailed her about the Lean In circles.

“What the Lean In circles seek to do is establish these groups and communities of women on campuses all over the United States, everywhere in the country really, and foster a safe environment for us to discuss what it’s like to be a woman, how we can help each other succeed. ”

Victor kicked off the event by showing members in attendance a brief video from Sheryl Sandberg entitled “Power of Circles.”  Student Lean In circle leaders Victor and McMahon further elaborated on one of the key facets of Sandberg’s discourse, which promotes individuals to ask themselves, “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?”

Students were then given the opportunity to take “connection cards,” which had them answer questions such as, “If you could give one piece of advice to your younger self what would it be?” and, “What are you most proud of?” Victor further discussed the key components of Lean In circles by giving a brief presentation. Victor cited work from Sandberg’s website which discussed the critical importance of group trust, commitment, investment and attendance.

McMahon encouraged her peers to establish a circle within their community of interest.

“Statistics have shown that women involved in circles have been more confident and more able to use their skill sets in the workplace and in other areas of social life,” McMahon said.

Victor said she envisions Lean In circles on campus becoming a hub for discussion in the future.

“I think having a network of these Lean In circles on our campus is really going to create more discussion and more dialogue about empowering women … It really starts getting our students active and integrating these ideas into our daily lives, so by taking time once a month to have these discussions in small groups, it can really just start there,” Victor said.

Many students who left the event indicated significant interest towards developing their own Lean In circles.

Gillian Chugg, a sophomore majoring in health promotion and disease prevention, said she hoped to create a circle of her own.

“I think that Lean In circles are a really powerful way to empower women,” Chugg said. “I think it’s really important that we do empower women especially at this current stage of modern life, and I am interested in starting my own Lean In circle, possibly with a group of girls from my sorority.”