Are women their own worst enemies at work?

By Linda King, G2G3

I read an article at the weekend which I fully believed I was going to vehemently disagree with. It was a magazine article written by a self-confessed 'Queen Bee' female boss, working in a male-dominated industry, who claimed that many women were often their own worse enemies at work. 'Disgraceful attitude' I thought, and started to read on...

Her premise was that as a successful female in her industry, she had a unique insight into the ways women work, and she believed that women were, more often than not, the 'troublemakers' in the workplace. If doors were being slammed, or arguments started, it was usually by a female colleague. She also believed that men were less likely to behave in this way or pick up on this 'bad' behavior, whereas there was no pulling the wool over the eyes of a female boss. As I read on, I realized with surprise that I could draw many parallels to what she was saying. In all honesty, there have been very few 'high-performing' women out there that I have worked closely with and truly admire. I know they're out there, and I'm glad to know some of them... it's just they're the exception, not the rule. At the opposite end of the spectrum, I have had way too many experiences of working closely with women with seriously bad attitudes.. those who believe that the workplace owes them a favor. Consequently, I have developed a low tolerance for such behavior and the resulting poor performance.

Part of me hates that I agreed with many of the points in that article... I want to be surrounded by high-performing women who work hard and are truly appreciated for what they can offer. I sincerely hope that day will come..