All in a day’s work: Female Facebook director handles work and life with ease

Sheryl Sandberg , the first woman to make it onto Facebook’s board of Directors, is making an impact with her simple approach to managing her career and her family. The mother of two from Washington, who has been consistently ranked in Fortune Magazine’s top 50 most powerful women in business since 2008, said:

“There’s no such thing as work-life balance. There’s work and there’s life, and there’s no balance”.

With the help of Sandberg, Facebook has been transformed into a billion dollar social networking enterprise through the use of clever and subtle advertising. Vocal in her belief that women should have a more prominent position in the workplace, Sandberg has impressed men and women alike with her business acumen and wise words.

Family life does not take a back seat in Sandberg’s world; this was an admission which surprised many who assumed that her success had only been achieved through overtime, compromise and cut-throat ambition. Of her daily routine, Sandberg said:

“I walk out of this office every day at 5.30pm so I’m home for dinner with my kids. I’ve been doing that since I had children but it’s not until last year that I’ve been brave enough to talk about it publicly”.

The savvy businesswomen was, however, keen to dispel any rumours that she may have just walked into her high powered jobs – she was previously Vice President of Global Online Sales and Operations at Google – and added:

“I want to tell any young girl out there who’s a geek, that I was a really serious geek in high school. It works out. Study harder.”

Sandberg’s interesting take on woman’s plight when juggling career ambitions with home commitments has established her as a strong role model for women everywhere. In a recent talk to Harvard Business Graduates, she encouraged men to help their female colleagues succeed at work.

Nevertheless, Sandberg has previously spoken of her belief that it is female confidence levels which most significantly hinder women’s accomplishments:

“ If you ask men why they did a good job, they'll say, 'I'm awesome. Obviously. Why are you even asking?' If you ask women why they did a good job, what they'll say is someone helped them, they got lucky, they worked really hard.”

Zuckerberg’s right-hand woman may have a refreshingly simple outlook when it comes to working life but with her track record, it is unsurprising that women everywhere have begun to sit up and take notice.