A Digital Support Group For Emerging Female Leaders

Despite drawing plenty of criticism along with praise for her book, Lean In, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg isn’t giving up on her message to women leaders. Her new initiative targeting recent college graduates asks young women to share online what they would do if they weren’t afraid  (opens in a new tab).

More on Sandberg’s initiative:

The community: Studies  (opens in a new tab) show women avoid leadership roles and are afraid to speak up. Knowing this, Sandberg’s initiative asks them to share their stories with each other and, in turn, engage with others in a similar position. She’s opening up a space on the web for conversation so these women can talk to, sympathize with, and encourage each other. Sandberg hopes millennial women will speak up via a medium familiar to their generation.

The vehicle: Sandberg’s push involves a Tumblr  (opens in a new tab) page built by the LeanIn.org team. Their goal is to create a sense of community that will allow young women to engage and motivate one another. Tumblr is a great spot for this purpose: Its main demographic is 18 to 34 year olds, and it’s recognized for building so-called micro-communities. “Tumblr harnesses the enthusiasm around a particular topic and coalesces into a community,” Hayes Davis, CEO of Union Metrics, writes for Forbes  (opens in a new tab).

The message: According to Sandberg  (opens in a new tab), fear of speaking up is holding women back from reaching their professional and personal goals. In Lean In, she exhorts women to become leaders by letting go of those fears. She’s bringing together the female millennial community about to dive into the job market by delivering one message applicable to all: “Go home and ask yourself, ‘What would I do if I weren’t afraid?’ and then go do it.”

How can your association implement this type of idea to build engagement among its community?

(via ifuwerentafraid.tumblr.com)