22 Jan Take the Lead: The Glass Cliff
Many women shatter the glass ceiling only to face a corporate crisis. Here’s how to safeguard your career.
By Kimberly Olson
In January 2014, Mary Barra became CEO and chairman of General Motors, shortly after the company admitted that faulty ignition switches in some GM vehicles caused crashes and deaths.
In 2018, JCPenney was struggling to compete against big-box stores and e-retailers. It had lost 95 percent of its market value in a decade and was $4 billion in debt. Jill Soltau was appointed CEO to save the department store chain.
In 2023, after Twitter’s earnings fell by 40 percent within two months of being acquired by Elon Musk, he tweeted, “I will resign as CEO as soon as I find someone foolish enough to take the job!” Linda Yaccarino stepped up to join a mere handful of women who helm a large tech company.
In 2024, Stephanie Pope was promoted to CEO of Boeing, two months after a door panel flew off a Boeing 737 MAX 9 jet mid-flight, leading to investigations by several federal government agencies.
“These women were all more than capable,” says Rose Fass, cofounder of fassforward Consulting Group. “But they were taking over companies that unfortunately needed a lot more transformation than possibly they banked on initially.”
You’re likely familiar with the glass ceiling, an invisible barrier that makes it difficult for women to advance into top leadership positions. And when they do manage to break through, they may face another challenge.
Women in high positions are more likely than men to find themselves perched on a precarious “glass cliff” from which they might tumble.
The organization may be facing a major crisis, for example, such as a product failure, poor financial performance, or a scandal.
When Utah State University researchers Alison Cook and Christy Glass analyzed the Fortune 500 over a 15-year period, they found that white women—and people of color—are more likely than white men to become CEO at weakly performing companies.
But why?
During troubled times, organizations may switch their mindset from “think manager, think male”—tending to associate desirable leadership qualities with men—to “think crisis, think female.” This is especially likely if the crisis calls for traits stereotypically associated with women, like shared leadership and emotional management. Putting a woman in the top spot also signals that the organization is moving in a fresh direction.
Women on the glass cliff often face pressure to solve the crisis quickly. And if they can’t turn things around, they might be blamed—and lf reinforce the perception that women can’t lead.
“It’s not easy for women,” Fass says. “Very often, the stakes are a lot higher, and they’re in situations where they have to prove themselves. They not only have to prove themselves to themselves, but they have to prove themselves to the street. And they have to prove themselves to the employees who have doubts.”
The glass cliff is one reason that women CEOs don’t last as long as their male counterparts. In 2023, male CEOs of Fortune 500 companies ran their firms for 7.2 years, on average, compared to just 4.5 years for women CEOs in the Fortune 500, according to executive intelligence firm Equilar.
So when accepting a glass cliff job, it’s best to proceed with eyes wide open and take self-protective steps.
School yourself
During negotiations, get a clear picture of what lies ahead. “Do your due diligence by talking to people at all levels,” suggests Kemi Akinsanya-Rose, COO of Cambium Learning Group in Dallas. “In my current role, it took me asking, ‘Tell me about the budget.’”
It’s important to pinpoint the core issues that led to the organization’s troubles. Get a clear understanding of what your predecessor did, which may help you chart a better path forward.
Akinsanya-Rose recommends exploring informal channels—what she calls the “back channels”—to gather information. So instead of relying solely on the recruiter who’s in charge of the search, she casts a wider net. “I’ll contact executive recruiters who I’ve had a good relationship with and say, ‘Tell me about the organization,’” she says.
Get curious about the culture
Akinsanya-Rose says that women of color, in particular, may have a hard time understanding an organization’s unwritten rules.
That’s something she experienced firsthand when she transitioned from New York City’s Department of Education to a small nonprofit. “Coming from a board of education where we had a mayor-elected board to a nonprofit, I didn’t understand that I needed to grow and nurture ties with the nonprofit board myself and not just rely on my boss to tell my whole story,” she says. “I trusted my boss was advocating for me to our board, but it turns out, the board chair did not know the depth or breadth of my contributions. But if you asked my boss, he would have said, ‘We couldn’t live without her.’” This is the structure. I underestimated the power of the board.”
Ask for help
No leader succeeds alone. “Ask for what you need upfront,” Akinsanya-Rose advises. “I think women of color, especially, tend to be very self-sufficient and are used to going it alone. It’s very difficult to ask for help because it’s a sign of vulnerability. We wear the mask of a person who’s independent and in control. Everybody puts their mask on, but especially women of color.”
Be thoughtful about what you’ll need to succeed. Are there certain roles missing? Maybe consultants could help you. Will you need moral support? “I asked for [resources] to join a national women’s network,” Akinsanya-Rose says. “I also asked for a six-month executive coach to transition.”
Set clear goals
Before signing on, establish clear performance goals and metrics. Ask, for example, how the board intends to measure your success.
Protect yourself against unrealistic expectations. “Have an honest conversation about how long it’s going to take to turn things around and ask for the time to do it,” Fass advises. “You want in writing that you have two years to turn this around [for example] and that there will be a mission bonus attached to what you’re doing—because what you’re doing is hard—and that mission bonus will extend to your team, so there’s a feeling of camaraderie. If they don’t want to give you those kinds of boundaries, walk away, because that kind of failure can kill your career.”
Harness your team’s strengths
Be realistic about what resources and team skill sets you’ll need to achieve your goals on target and on budget—and ask for them.
Then look for ways to flip setbacks into opportunities. “I’m a big believer in redefining a team’s purpose with these glass cliff jobs,” Akinsanya-Rose says. “Organizations have lost their way. It’s not about changing the business plan but reorienting your purpose. What are we doing this for? What can this team do that no one else can do?”
“Work hard to create a collective leadership model so [team members] feel like they are worthy colleagues on almost a peer level with you, exchanging ideas, so you win hearts and minds,” Fass adds.
Have impactful conversations
“You have to be able to read a person and a room as well as you read a spreadsheet because leadership happens in the conversation,” says Fass, author of The Chocolate Conversation: Lead Bittersweet Change, Transform Your Business and The Leadership Conversation: Make Bold Change, One Conversation at a Time.
Fass advises leaders to be real. “When you don’t know something, have the vulnerability and courage to say, ‘I don’t have a good answer for that right now. I’d be interested in your perspective.’” That reframing, she says, invites others to engage and shows that you’re trustworthy and authentic.
In The Chocolate Conversation, Fass explains that conversations occur in three layers, like layers of a cake—the top layer is your worldview, the middle layer is the expectation that you set for yourself and others, and at the bottom is the concern layer, often expressed through frustration or complaining. When solving problems, Fass urges leaders to address the concern layer first.
As an example, she points to a history-changing conversation in the film Hidden Figures when Mary Jackson, hoping to become a NASA engineer, tells a judge she wants to take advanced classes at a white school in segregated Virginia. “He had been first in his family in a number of things,” Fass says. “She said, ‘One hundred years from now, of all the cases you’re going to hear today, which one is going to matter a hundred years from now?’ And that’s what got her the classes. Knowing how to position conversations is an art.”
Pull others up behind you
Being in senior leadership gives women the power to make changes—including changes to help mitigate the glass cliff for those coming up next. “How do you build a pipeline of women leaders and women leaders of color?” Akinsanya-Rose poses.
She advocates for sponsorship programs that invite underrepresented individuals—perhaps high-potential, up-and-coming leaders or women—saying, “That builds the relationships they need and allows them to add to the culture. Then when you ask them to take on a role, they’re ready.”
Know when to say no
Glass cliff positions can be exciting and lead to tremendous growth. But think hard before you leap. “The red flag is when your brain is saying, ‘This is a great title, this is great money,’ but your gut is telling you there’s danger,” Akinsanya-Rose says. “Pay attention to your intuition. Get with your mentors and coach friends and unpack that before moving forward.”
“Sometimes the risk isn’t worth it,” Fass adds. “Ask, is it realistic to believe that I can do it? It might be a stretch—I can deal with that—but am I putting myself in harm’s way because I’m dazzled by the opportunity? Will I end up in a situation where I fail? You really have to assess the risk.”
As women ascend into the upper echelons, it’s important to enter any new position clear-eyed. “I don’t think [the glass cliff is] going to go away anytime soon,” Akinsanya-Rose says. “But there are companies that have done extraordinary things to help.”
At Cambium, for example, women can join employee resource groups to connect and offer mutual support.
If you make the leap, get what you need to succeed—including support inside and outside the organization—before signing on. Only then can you transform a challenging situation into a rewarding adventure. EW
