In male populated industries, women are often told that success is scarce, there is only one seat at the table, only one woman can lead and only one can rise. Over time, that message becomes internalized, shaping how women interact with one another in leadership spaces. One of the most damaging results of this conditioning is what has come to be known as queen bee syndrome.
Understanding where this behavior comes from, how it shows up, and how to dismantle it is critical not only for individual growth but also for the long-term health of industries like trucking and logistics.
At its core, queen bee syndrome is rooted in scarcity thinking. It is the belief that power, opportunity, and recognition are finite resources. When one woman advances, another must lose.
Faulkner describes it this way: women are conditioned to believe that “power is pie, and if another woman gains even a small slice, then that is going to diminish your own power.”
This belief often leads to behaviors such as:
While these behaviors may feel protective in the short term, they come at a significant cost over time.
It is important to understand that the queen bee is rarely a villain. More often, she is one of the first women who made it through deeply challenging systems.
Faulkner explains that many women in these positions “came through the fire and came out the other end burned.” They may have faced systemic bias, isolation, or constant pressure to prove their worth in environments that were never designed with them in mind.
What looks like hostility is often a trained survival response.
Research supports this reality. In male populated industries, women are twice as likely to report being undermined by another woman rather than by a male colleague. This does not happen because women are inherently competitive. It happens because systems reward scarcity and punish collaboration.
As Faulkner states plainly, “this is not a personal development issue. This is a systems issue.”
Gatekeeping often feels like control, but in reality, it creates stagnation. When women feel they must do everything themselves to protect their position, burnout is inevitable, leadership pipelines dry up, innovation slows and trust erodes.
The long-term consequences include:
Faulkner notes that in industries already facing talent shortages, especially female talent, this cycle does real damage. Instead of building legacy, women are left fighting for scraps.
Faulkner shares the story of a senior leader, referred to as Sally, who hesitated to promote another qualified woman. Sally was intelligent, respected, and driven. Yet she feared that promoting someone else would make her replaceable.
Her thoughts were not malicious. They were deeply conditioned:
As Faulkner explains, Sally “was trained to survive, not to lead.” The idea that another woman’s success meant her own downfall had been reinforced for years.
Rewriting those narratives became the turning point. Leadership, after all, is not about protecting relevance, it is about expanding impact.
One of the most powerful shifts women can make is unlearning the belief that someone else’s rise threatens their own.
"When we rise together, when we stand together, we build a platform for the next woman to step onto," says Faulkner.
Legacy is not built through hoarding opportunity. It is built through generosity.
Examples of legacy building actions include:
As Faulkner puts it, “every time you choose to share a resource or open a door, you are writing your legacy.”
To help women move from fear-based leadership to collaborative leadership, Faulkner introduces the LEAD model. This framework reframes leadership as a network rather than a ladder.
Examine the beliefs driving your decisions. Ask yourself what story you are operating from and whether it is actually true.
Share your expertise. Offer mentorship. Model transparency. Collaboration begins with generosity.
Speak women’s names in rooms they are not in. Celebrate accomplishments. Visibility changes careers.
Challenge systems that reward hoarding recognition. Build new spaces and pull up more seats at the table.
Leadership, in this model, becomes expansive rather than competitive.
Not every woman will be ready to let go of scarcity thinking. Some may undermine, withhold support, or attempt to make others shrink.
Faulkner’s guidance is clear:
Instead, model what shared power looks like, choose integrity over ego and choose boundaries over bitterness. Responding with integrity gives permission for others to do the same.
As the saying goes, hurt people hurt others, yet empowered women empower others.
Queen Bee Syndrome does not disappear through shame or blame. It dissolves through awareness, accountability, and conscious choice.
“Sometimes the most revolutionary thing we can do is make one conscious choice,” says Faulkner. “The choice to lift instead of withhold and the choice to invite instead of compete.”
When women choose shared growth over fear, industries change, leadership changes and the next generation inherits something better than what came before.
The table was never meant to be small.
To view this webinar featuring Chelsea Faulkner, WIT members can visit the On-Demand Webinars page.
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