What do the phrasal verbs “Lean In” and “Lean On” mean?
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I think ‘lean on’ in this article means ‘seize more opportunities at your workplace’ and ‘lean on’ refers to relying on the support from your family, neighbors and your local community.
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What does the verb “lean” mean in the phrases “lean in and lean on”?
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I think it’s very difficult to look at the meaning of a verb separately if it’s used as a phrasal verb but here ‘lean’ means the movement you make when you reach out either to grab an opportunity (lean in) or if you reach out for help (lean on). Please let me know if this makes sense.
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Lean in means to grab opportunities without hesitation. An older meaning for lean in is to incline into something, such as a skier leaning in at a turn or pedestrian leaning in to the wind during a heavy gale. In 2013, Sheryl Sandburg published a book called Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead. In it, she suggests that women should seize opportunities during their careers and not limit themselves, the metaphor is a woman at a business meeting leaning in and engaging with the challenges being put forth, not leaning back and disengaging. In a short few years, the phrase lean in has begun to be used in ways unrelated to business. Related terms are leans in, leaned in, leaning in.
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