Four Queens: Lessons in Career Development

Abstract

Drawing parallels between the careers of the four queens and those of modern women might seem like a fool’s endeavor. After all, these women achieved their successes in contexts that bear little resemblance to those of today. Indeed, as an executive coach and an expert in leadership development, I fully appreciate the importance of each individual and her unique circumstances when I give career advice. No leader is a clone of her contemporaries, much less of monarchs who lived hundreds of years ago. But leaders often draw wisdom and inspiration from their predecessors, so it is also a fool’s endeavor to ignore history, whether recent or remote. In this chapter, I articulate career development lessons from the queens in just that spirit—as women to view as predecessors, as mentors from history.