Leadership Lessons From Queen Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth the First or Queen Elizabeth I was appointed as the Queen of England in 1558 (Oswald, 2013). This was during a time when the country of England was suffering, partially due to the failed leadership of the country in previous years, and Queen Elizabeth I was only 25 years old at the time and did not have any previous leadership history. Therefore, Queen Elizabeth I was tasked with a challenging job as she was put in charge of reviving and replenishing the country of England as a whole. The Queen was very successful in doing this as it was stated in an article by Learnodo Newtonic that “Her policies cleared debt and provided economic prosperity”(Anirudh, 2017), “Her reign provided a period of stability and peace”(Anirudh, 2017), “She brought about the famous Elizabethan religious settlement” (Anirudh, 2017), “England famously defeated the Great Spanish Armada during her”(Anirudh, 2017), “She oversaw a period of great English exploration”(Anirudh, 2017), and “Her support brought about a splendid age in English literature”(Anirudh, 2017). Queen Elizabeth I truly demonstrated the potential of women’s leadership by overcoming many of the barriers to women’s leadership at the time and also demonstrated overall being a “highly effective”(Northouse, 2022, p.394) leader through an array of gender-oriented leadership styles and practices.

It was emphasized in the text that female leaders “were found to lead in a more interpersonally oriented and less task-oriented manner than men in organizational studies”(Northouse, 2022, p.399), which Queen Elizabeth I’s leadership style reflected this notion as she heavily emphasized the interpersonal leadership practices. For example, Queen Elizabeth I was known for “making regular splendid ‘progresses’ through the country to see and be seen by everyone from peasants to nobility”(Russel, 2015). These “progresses”(Russel, 2015) occurred annually (Russel, 2015) and were said to be characterized by “face-to-face interaction with her subjects”(Russel, 2015), which helped her subjects “to develop a favorable impression of her, respect and admire her, to develop loyalty”(Russel, 2015) towards her. It was also stated in the text that women “were more likely to serve as social facilitators than men”(Northouse, 2022, p.401) in leadership positions, which Queen Elizabeth I was definitely a social facilitator (Northouse, 2022, p.401) to her subjects, by making herself available to them, as she brought them together and unified them into forming a stronger country.

Women were said to lead “in a more democratic, or participative manner than men”(Northouse, 2022, p.399), which Queen Elizabeth I did lead in a “participative manner”(Northouse, 2022, p.399) by being open to seeing “different points of view”(Russel, 2015) that her followers and advisors communicated and was “flexible”(Russel, 2015) in decision-making, as she would “contemplate different proposals and arguments”(Russel, 2015) made by her followers and advisors. In addition, Queen Elizabeth I visiting all sectors and levels within the country, listening, and more broadly being available to her subjects may have also been considered as a “participative”(Northouse, 2022, p.399) leadership practice, as she included her subjects into her leadership processes. More specifically, Queen Elizabeth I engaged in “participative”(Northouse, 2022, p.399) leadership by allowing her subjects to help inform her decision-making, sharing her decision-making with her followers and advisors by being flexible (Russel, 2015), and by keeping open communications between herself and her followers.

In terms of leadership styles, “women’s styles tend to be more transformational than men’s”(Northouse, 2022, p.399) leadership styles, which Queen Elizabeth I engaged in some transformational leadership practices. For example, it was stated in an article by HR Daily Advisor that in times of war “She created a bond with the soldiers and inspired them. Elizabeth didn’t hide in the safety of her castle. She went out to the frontlines and shared in the danger”(Oswald, 2013). In other words, Queen Elizabeth I’s dedication to her people and specifically her military inspired them to unite and win their battles. In addition, it was stated that “blending individualized consideration and inspirational motivation is prudent for women seeking leadership advancement”(Northouse, 2022, p.406), which Queen Elizabeth I demonstrated both “individualized consideration and inspirational motivation”(Northouse, 2022, p.406), as she attended to the needs of her subjects throughout the country on her “progresses”(Russel, 2015) and inspired her military to unite during battle my joining them.

In leadership roles “women are more likely to focus on the welfare of others and ethical behavior”(Northouse, 2022, p.402) and they “tend to emphasize social values”(Northouse, 2022, p.399). Queen Elizabeth I adhered to these notions and emphasized the “welfare”(Northouse, 2022, p.402) of her subjects, as it was stated in an article by HR Daily Advisor that “Elizabeth cared about the people she led. She looked out for their well-being. During her reign, she governed with the best interests of the people at heart, not herself”(Oswald, 2013). In addition, Queen Elizabeth I also focused on acting ethically as a leader by being a “compassionate leader”(Russel, 2015) and by allowing her subjects to “follow any religion they wished”(Johnson, n.d.).

It was stated in the text that “one way that women can increase their perceived warmth and their influence is by combining communal qualities such as warmth and friendliness with agentic qualities such as exceptional competence and assertiveness”(Northouse, 2022, p.406). Which Queen Elizabeth I did exhibit “exceptional competence”(Northouse, 2022, p.406), as it was stated that she was skilled at looking “beyond the way things were at the moment and anticipating what might occur in the future allowed her to survive decades on the throne and was a large contributor to her success”(Oswald, 2013). She also demonstrated “communal qualities”(Northouse, 2022, p.406) like by visiting with and being friendly to all of her subjects throughout the country on her “progresses”(Russel, 2015) and by treating them with compassion (Russel, 2015).

It was stated in the text that “when women are promoted to leadership positions, they may be more likely than men to be placed on a “glass cliff”- in other words, appointed to precarious leadership situations associated with greater risk and criticism”(Northouse, 2022, p.397). Queen Elizabeth I may have been considered as being “placed on a “glass cliff”(Northouse, 2022, p.397) when she was appointed Queen of England in 1558 (Oswald, 2013), as it was stated in an article by HR Daily Advisor that at the time, she was appointed queen that “England was … a mess”(Oswald, 2013). England was considered to be “a mess”(Oswald, 2013) for a variety of reasons, such as because “The country was struggling financially with runaway inflation and a debased currency”(Oswald, 2013), the country “was far behind other countries when comparing achievements in literature and the arts”(Oswald, 2013), the military was lacking “any real army or navy”(Oswald, 2013), and because the “country was on the brink of a civil war caused by religious dissension”(Oswald, 2013). Furthermore, the leadership situation that Queen Elizabeth I entered into was not favorable or desirable and was associated with a great amount of “risk”(Northouse, 2022, p.397), as there was an abundance of detrimental issues within the country that needed to be properly addressed in order for the country to prosper. Although Queen Elizabeth I proved herself as “fit to handle”(Northouse, 2022, p.398) the “crisis situation”(Northouse, 2022, p.398) posed to her, as she was successful in reviving the country in a multitude of ways.

Women may face prejudice (Northouse, 2022, p.402) when they enter into leadership positions and it was stated in the text that “women and men were”(Northouse, 2022, p.399) perceived to be “more effective in leadership roles that were congruent with their gender”(Northouse, 2022, p.399). As the Queen of England, Elizabeth I had to take on a variety of different roles in order to serve her country, including more masculine roles or “roles that were”(Northouse, 2022, p.399) not “congruent with”(Northouse, 2022, p.399) her gender (Northouse, 2022, p.399), such as her role as the head of the military. It was stated in the text that typically “women were less effective than men in military positions, but they were somewhat more effective than men in … government”(Northouse, 2022, p.400). Queen Elizabeth I countered the notion of a woman leader being “less effective than men in military positions”(Northouse, 2022, p.400) as she was largely successful in all of her military efforts and even went as far as defying typical gender norms by participating in the defense of her military. Overall, Queen Elizabeth I was successful as a military leader despite her gender, as she inspired, united, and helped the England military to prosper. In addition, Queen Elizabeth I reinforced the notion of women being “somewhat more effective than men in … government”(Northouse, 2022, p.400) leadership positions, as Queen Elizabeth I transformed her country of England from “a mess”(Oswald, 2013) into a prospering country.

Women are also faced with “stereotypical expectations”(Northouse, 2022, p.403) in leadership positions, as it was stated in the text that “in the leadership role, women are confronted with cross-pressures: As leaders, they should be masculine and tough, but as women, they should not be “too manly”(Northouse, 2022, p.403). Queen Elizabeth I did an excellent job at balancing these “stereotypical expectations”(Northouse, 2022, p.403), as she knew when it was appropriate to embrace her femininity, like through her notable displays of “jewels and beautiful clothes”(Johnson, n.d.), but she also knew when it was appropriate to take on a more masculine role, as it was stated that “Elizabeth could be hard when the circumstances needed a strong hand”(Johnson, n.d.). For example, Queen Elizabeth I took on a “masculine and tough”(Northouse, 2022, p.403) role when she aided in the defense of the military during a battle to help motivate and inspire (Oswald, 2013) her soldiers. Furthermore, it was stated in the text that “women respond in one of two ways to the gender-based leadership stereotype: Either they demonstrate vulnerability by assimilating to the stereotype, or they react against it by engaging in stereotype-countering behaviors”(Northouse, 2022, p.404). In this case, Queen Elizabeth I engaged in both “stereotype-countering behaviors”(Northouse, 2022, p.404) and stereotypical female behaviors, as she engaged in both stereotypical behaviors associated with the feminine appearances of queens during that time, and “stereotypical-countering behaviors”(Northouse, 2022, p.404) such as being physically involved in the military’s defense during wartime. Queen Elizabeth I used this stereotypical countering behavior to her advantage as she participated in the military’s defense to establish a “common ground”(Oswald, 2013) with her followers, which concerned “a love of country and the willingness to give their lives for it”(Oswald, 2013), to “get them to identify with her”(Oswald, 2013) and respect her as a leader of the country. Overall, through her participation in the war she wanted to demonstrate to her subjects and followers that the war was worth fighting for.

It was stated in the text that “Women confront greater barriers to establishing informal mentor relationships than men do”(Northouse, 2022, p.397), although this was not the case for Queen Elizabeth I, as it was stated in an article by HR Daily Advisor that due to her position as queen, she was more readily able to “surrounded herself with very able advisers”(Oswald, 2013). It was also emphasized that Queen Elizabeth I did call on and seek the opinions of her advisers (Oswald, 2013) quite frequently, which may have helped her to make better more informed decisions in her position.

One barrier to women’s leadership concerns the notion that women have “more career interruptions than men, largely because women assume significantly more domestic responsibility”(Northouse, 2022, p.398). Queen Elizabeth I’s advisors were said to warn her against getting married and having children (Russel, 2015), as this had not turned out well at the time for others around her, and instead decided to focus on her career as Queen of England. Queen Elizabeth I specifically and openly “declared that it would be ‘sufficient’ for her to ‘live and die a virgin”(Newport, n.d.). Therefore, Queen Elizabeth I largely avoided this leadership barrier.

Overall, Queen Elizabeth I demonstrated the potential of women’s leadership by overcoming many of the barriers to women’s leadership such as the “glass cliff”(Northouse, 2022, p.397), stereotypical gender role norms (Northouse, 2022, p.399), prejudice (Northouse, 2022, p.402), stereotypical gender expectations (Northouse, 2022, p.403), mentorship accessibility barriers (Northouse, 2022, p.397), and career interruptions resulting from domestic labor responsibilities (Northouse, 2022, p.398). The queen also demonstrated the potential of women’s leadership and set an example of a “highly effective”(Northouse, 2022, p.394) leadership through the use of specific appropriate gender-oriented leadership styles and practices such as participative leadership (Northouse, 2022, p.399), transformational leadership (Northouse, 2022, p.399), interpersonally oriented leadership (Northouse, 2022, p.399) practices, social facilitation (Northouse, 2022, p.401) practices, ethical behavior practices (Northouse, 2022, p.402), prioritizing the welfare of followers (Northouse, 2022, p.402), emphasizing social values (Northouse, 2022, p.399), being compassionate (Russel, 2015), and by engaging in appropriate communal behaviors and agentic behaviors (Northouse, 2022, p.406). Overall, Queen Elizabeth I set an example of very successful leadership due to her exceptional balance of gender-based leadership practices and has been said to be “regarded as one of the greatest monarchs in British history”(Anirudh, 2017).

References:

Anirudh. (2017, November 28). 10 Major accomplishments of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Learnodo Newtonic. https://learnodo-newtonic.com/elizabeth-i-accomplishments

Johnson, B. (n.d.). Queen Elizabeth I. Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/Queen-Elizabeth-I/

Newport, S. (n.d.). The love life of Queen Elizabeth I. Historic UK. https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofEngland/The-Love-Life-of-the-Virgin-Queen/

Northouse, P. G. (2022). Chapter 14: gender and leadership. Leadership theory & practice (9th ed.). SAGE Publishing.

Oswald, D. (2013, September, 16). The heart of a king—but the incredible leadership of a queen. HR Daily Advisor. https://hrdailyadvisor.blr.com/2013/09/16/the-heart-of-a-king-but-the-incredible-leadership-of-a-queen/

Russel, P.(2015, November 18). Perception and power: leadership lessons from Elizabeth I. Training Zone. https://www.trainingzone.co.uk/lead/culture/perception-and-power-leadership-lessons-from-elizabeth-i