Jolie Lee

USA TODAY Network

Is bossy a bad word? Celebrities are joining the Ban Bossy campaign to encourage girls to take on leadership roles.

The campaign was created by the Girl Scouts of USA and LeanIn.Org, a nonprofit founded by Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer and author of the book Lean In.

"I think the word 'bossy' is just a squasher," says Glee star Jane Lynch, in a video for the campaign.

"I'm not bossy," Beyonce says in the video. "I'm the boss."

Other celebrities featured in the campaign are actress Jennifer Gardner, designer and singer Victoria Beckham, former Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice and CNN foreign correspondent Christiane Amanpour.

In an editorial in the Wall Street Journal, Sandberg said the word "bossy" carries both a negative and a female connotation.

BanBossy.com includes tips for girls, parents and teachers. For example, the campaign tells girls to stop apologizing before they speak and not to end statements in class that sound like a question.

"How are we supposed to level the playing field for girls and women if we discourage the very traits that get them there?" Sandberg writes.

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