This week one of my coaching clients shared with me that she was ambushed by her female boss in an executive meeting. It’s not the first time. Her boss will chastise her, belittle her, and unjustly accuse her of committing some horrific mistakes. And she does this in public. Linda is beside herself with anger and frustration. She fears her reputation will suffer. She did nothing to provoke her boss and these verbal attacks seem so unfair. What most likely triggers her boss’s bad behavior? Perhaps it’s that Linda is great at what she does, and is considered a top performer? Maybe her boss sees Linda as a threat?
There’s a name for women who bully and belittle other women: Queen Bee.
“Queen Bees are adult versions of the mean girls from school—but now they have grown up and are more calculating. These socially aggressive behaviors include gossiping, social exclusion, social isolation, social alienation, talking about someone, and stealing friends or romantic partners.”
What’s really going on?
A study published in the journal Development and Learning in Organizations, suggests that 70 per cent of female executives feel they have been bullied by a female boss in their office and, as a result, it has underdeveloped their professional growth.
It also found that 33 per cent of the 100 UK executives surveyed had experienced a female colleague on the same level or below being unhelpful, holding them back or undermining them.
The study also found that the ‘Queen Bee syndrome’ can have a negative impact on organizational performance and bottom-line results, and for individuals, it can have lasting negative effects on their career.
While the stereotype of women being rivals in the workplace exists, research suggests that it’s more complex than a simple “catfight” dynamic.
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