Is There A Queen Bee Syndrome?
I’m curious about a rumbling I’m hearing in the corporate world – is there a Queen Bee syndrome? These so-called Queen Bees are women who have made it to the top and don’t make room for or want other women to join their ranks.
The thought process is that these women either don’t think there is enough room at the top for more women (and thus feel threatened and unwilling to bring others along) or that they believe “I had to pay my dues. No one made it easy for me. I made it on my own, so they can do the same… Why should I make it easy for someone else?”
While I have personally always had a community of women who have been very supportive and connected me to opportunities that enhanced my opportunities, what I’m hearing – and what I’d like your feedback on – is that it is easier to tap into senior men within an organization, than it is to reach out to and receive help from senior women. Is that true? If so, why do you think that is?
I’m hearing it so often, I am afraid it might be true. If so, women are defeating themselves. The only way to further the development of women – and the success of our organizations – is to reach out and bring others up. Particularly in the current economy, companies cannot afford to ignore 50% of the population when seeking the best talent. Why then, from a business perspective alone, would women not mentor and support other women?
From a personal standpoint, many women point to the old boy’s network as a reason they can’t get ahead and yet, from what I’m hearing, we’re refusing to start an old girls network. Why would we neglect our own power and influence?
Power is not just a title. Power is exerting our influence to open doors and break barriers. By developing and retaining high potential women, we are making our organizations (and our own positions) stronger by creating a more diverse, more qualified bench of leaders.
Bottom line, there is a leadership deficit in America and abroad and we will be losing 50% or more of our leadership institutional knowledge in the next 3–5 years. This is mostly due to the boomers exiting and moving on to the next chapter. Women represent 50% of the manager and professional positions in the US workforce and represent a majority of the pipeline of our future leaders. I share with women that in order for organizations to operate fully and globally, they will have increasing numbers of opportunities and choices in the workforce and opportunities to rise to senior leadership. So there is plenty of room and opportunities for us all!!
We all have contributions to make to our world, within our organizations and communities. Not only do women need to self empower themselves to capitalize on their leadership but also empower and galvanize others around us to step up and take on the leadership opportunities in front of them.
Women in leadership are in a unique position to help other women – to understand their needs, build rapport and leverage our value within the organization to develop others. And this is what our organizations want, indeed demand, of us right now. Organizations are looking for leaders to be proactive in developing succession plans, fulfilling organizational goals and adding value as leaders. That means developing that 50% of the population that is just “like us.”
What do you think? Is their a Queen Bee syndrome? Do you have examples to share of women helping others – or not? I look forward to your feedback.
Leave a Reply