As I was researching for this post, I came across a quote that really speaks to me.
"You can always tell who the strong women are.
They're ones building other women up instead of tearing them down."
~Anonymous
This quote really defines what I have experienced in leadership. As women we don't need to band together against anyone, but we need to build, promote, and celebrate each other as leaders and colleagues. In an article titled "The Queen Bee Phenomenon", the author explores senior executive women who have made large sacrifices in order to reach their career goals. What the author determines is that some of the consequences of these "queen bee" women who focus primarily on individual mobility results in a "phenomenon has revealed three ways by which women do this: (1) by presenting themselves more like men, (2) by physically and psychologically distancing themselves from other women, and (3) by endorsing and legitimizing the current gender hierarchy" (Derks, Van Laar, & Ellemers, 2016, p 2).
As in the quote above, queen bee women tend to distance themselves from junior women rather than mentoring and supporting them. I challenge women in senior leadership positions to view themselves as trailblazers. Richards (2015) shared 4 characteristics of a trailblazer as being someone that is ingenious, visionary, relentless, and collaborative. I recommend that these women who are trailblazers not forget to be collaborative. Not everyone can blaze a trail, but anyone can join in and follow a trailblazer to better opportunities. Rather than resent others who did not trailblaze their way to the top, I believe that we should be willing to turn around and provide support and encouragement to others.