How to Be a Boss: 12 Tips from The Crown

Photo collage of the cast of The Crown Season 2. From left to right, Princess Margaret (Vanessa Kirby), Prime Minister (Anton Lesser), Jackie Kennedy (Claire Foy), Jackie Kennedy (Jodi Balfour), and Prince Philip (Matt Smith)

So you wanna be a boss. Netflix and chill will yourself to get off the couch already. How to Be a Boss (According to Your Favorite Shows) is your excuse to binge all the TV you want. It’s career inspiration, right?

Whether you’re navigating a new dynamic with your latest deskmate or trying to strike the perfect work-life balance, The Crown provides an interesting template for reaching peak Boss Life™—especially since Queen Elizabeth manages to confront even the worst case scenarios with an impenetrable poker face. We see it in the way she handles rogue prime ministers, or loved ones in existential crisis, and how she wields power by unapologetically making hard choices and sticking to them—all while expressing an authoritative, even-keeled tone.

But we, like The Crown’s heroine, still have to go to work every day and deal with what’s thrown at us. Here’s how to channel your inner queen, or king, to be a boss (crown jewels not included).

1. Embrace those awkward moments of mentorship—you may be the one others look up to.
Queen Elizabeth (Claire Foy) takes Jackie Kennedy (Jodi Balfour) on a tour of Buckingham Palace
Alex Bailey / Netflix
2. Exercise your powers of observation, with discretion.
The queen stands amid her party guests, observing quietly
Alex Bailey / Netflix
3. Don’t be afraid to express your disappointment. No one gets a pass just because they’ve got seniority.
Queen Elizabeth stares at Prime Minister Macmillan (Anton Lesser) in pure disappointment
Stuart Hendry / Netflix
4. Push outside of your comfort zone. Sure, social functions can be painful, but even allowing a few minutes of face time might mean the difference between a cold greeting in the break room and a lifetime alliance.
Princess Margaret (Vanessa Kirby) sits uncomfortably between two dinner guests
Alex Bailey / Netflix
5. Dress for the job you want. Or the job you have. Or the job you used to have. How about this? Dress the way you want. Let the power follow.
Queen Elizabeth gets sized for clothes in front of the mirror
6. Support your arguments and ideas with visual aids. Nothing screams “I know what I’m talking about” like a photo, video, or a breathtaking graph.
Queen Elizabeth points to video sent by Prince Philip from his expedition
Alex Bailey / Netflix
7. Take time to put your feet up. Everyone’s got limits, and most of those limits are standing up for far too long.
Pregnant Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip joke around in front of the mirror, while she has her feet up on a footstool
Alex Bailey / Netflix
8. Try something new, already. Empires weren’t built by sticking to Slack.
Queen Elizabeth preps for her first on-camera Christmas message
Alex Bailey / Netflix
9. Treasure your allies—they’ll make their allegiances clear by the way they greet you, regardless of setting.
Corgis run up to greet the queen
Stuart Hendry / Netflix
10. Surround yourself with people you trust. It takes a village to be a boss.
Queen Elizabeth is surrounded by loved ones, including Princess Margaret and the Queen Mother (Victoria Hamilton)
Alex Bailey / Netflix
11. Every once in a while, try to get away. Because it’s shocking how helpful not staring at your laptop for even a day can be.
Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip walk down the steps of their plane
Stuart Hendry / Netflix
12. Reflect on your achievements. You’ve gotten this far and not even your greatest enemy can take that away from you.
Queen Elizabeth writes at her desk, looking wistful
Stuart Hendry / Netflix
Feature image by Niall McClelland

Words by Anne T. Donahue