Beyoncé covers TIME Magazine's Top 100 Edition

She's the boss

Beyoncé doesn’t just sit at the table. She builds a better one. Today she sits at the head of the boardroom table at Parkwood Entertainment.

In December, she took the world by surprise when she released a new album, complete with videos, and announced it on Facebook and Instagram. Beyoncé shattered music-industry rules — and sales records.

One song includes words by novelist Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: “We say to girls, ‘You can have ambition, but not too much.’ ” Beyoncé has insisted that girls “run the world” and declared, “I’m not bossy, I’m the boss.” She raises her voice both on- and offstage to urge women to be independent and lead.

In the past year, Beyoncé has sold out the Mrs. Carter Show World Tour while being a full-time mother. Her secret: hard work, honesty and authenticity. And her answer to the question, What would you do if you weren’t afraid? appears to be “Watch me. I’m about to do it.” Then she adds, “You can, too.”