Throwing the Book at Bad Behavior

Linda Wheeler S&L 1996, MPA 1998

Linda Wheeler spent her entire adult life working her way to the top, only to find that once she got there, she didn’t like the view.

"Before I got to the executive level," Wheeler said of her many years working as a clerk in a government agency, "I thought everyone worked together as a team. I really believed that. Then when I got there, I found out differently."

There were the expected issues to deal with — issues like hierarchy and power. But more disturbing to Wheeler was the behavior she witnessed from her female peers: behavior that was unethical, self-defeating, and competitive. In an effort to climb the corporate ladder, Wheeler noticed, women weren’t helping each other — they were stepping on each other’s backs. As she rose quickly from entry-level to middle management then to upper management in less than two years, Wheeler felt a snub from her female coworkers, many accusing her of becoming overly ambitious. Even worse, to Wheeler’s dismay, she started acting the same way.

"I became one of them," Wheeler said.

Eventually, however, she decided to put an end to her destructive behavior and instead offer solutions that would help other women not only recognize the problem, but also develop strategies for competing in productive, not hurtful, ways. The result was a new book she wrote called The Executive Alley: Evolution of the Woman Executive, the first in a series that Wheeler will publish.

Wheeler admits that some of the views in her book are controversial.

"Let’s face it," she writes, "many feminists will deny that the problem exits, no doubt afraid to wash our dirty laundry in public. But I know firsthand about the nasty, calculating, devious ways in which women may treat their colleagues and competitors; not only was I the victim of such conduct, I gave as good as I got, feeling I had to engage in the same kind of back-stabbing behavior or be left in the dust. It is just this kind of vindictive, fear-based attitude that I’m hoping to help eradicate."

Wheeler is quick to say that women are not necessarily to blame for this kind of behavior.

"It’s not our fault," Wheeler says, "but let’s recognize that it is an issue. As young girls, we are taught to be competitive with one another. It’s a learned behavior, so skills can be taught and untaught. It’s not too late to change."

Wheeler is currently on a national tour educating women in the workplace, as well as lecturing at her daughter’s elementary school in Washington state, where she hopes to give all of the children, but especially the girls, the necessary tools to deal with aggression, conflict, and victimization. Wheeler also hopes that the increase in female role models — something she didn’t have growing up — will change how young girls learn to work with one another.

For women already in the workplace, Wheeler’s book offers a host of concrete ways to get their work noticed in positive ways — volunteering, serving on commissions, working on campaigns, and starting a networking card file, for example. The book also includes sections on avoiding gossip about coworkers and redirecting efforts when feelings of jealousy emerge.

"We don’t have to stoop," said Wheeler. "Everyone competes, not just women. The difference is that women have so far to come still. Let’s continue to help women gain rather than think, ‘I’ve made it so let’s pull up the ladder.’ My challenge to women is, once you’ve made it, how many women can you take up with you?"