The New York Times paints a daunting picture of “volatile” New York City Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn, who is running for mayor.
The Times describes an incident in which Ms. Quinn expressed her dismay to the city’s former Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum for what she deemed to be Gotbaum’s failure of leadership at a chaotic council meeting. The Times said Quinn slammed her hand on the table and said, “You were like Bambi in there!” (Ms. Quinn says she told the Public Advocate that she had an expression of “Bambi-like eyes.”) Gotbaum called it “unprofessional behavior.”
Before bestowing the mantle of Workplace Bully on Ms. Quinn, I think it is appropriate to consider how much of Ms. Quinn’s notoriety is due to the fact that she is a woman running for mayor of New York City.
There is a serious dearth of women in leadership roles in our society. As noted in Forbes Magazine , men run roughly 97% of the nation’s largest public companies, hold 84% of major corporate board positions and control 83% of Congress. Sex discrimination is alive and well.
And the media have a long history of savaging assertive women. Think Eleanor Roosevelt, Hillary Clinton in the ‘90s, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, singer Madonna, Martha Stewart, … even one-time Tea Party diva Sarah Palin. Woman who seek power often are magnets for barbs like the ones the Times story throws at Quinn – brash, angry, controlling, temperamental, surprisingly volatile, retaliated, screaming, “hair trigger eruptions of unchecked, face-to-face wrath,” etc.?
Plus it is hard imagine any candidate making gains in the rough and tumble of the New York City mayoral race without sharp elbows.
“I don’t think being pushy or bitchy or tough, or however you want to characterize it, is a bad thing,” Quinn is quoted as stating. “New Yorkers want somebody who is going to get things done.”
There also is an interesting paradox in the Times article. Workplace bullies often reveal themselves first to their staff and subordinates. The Times writes that members of Quinn’s staff are “strikingly loyal, with close advisers staying by her side for years.” That says something about Ms. Quinn.
Quinn may be the bully who is portrayed in the Times article but for now I’m reserving judgment.
