The Glass Cliff Theory[1] describes the practice of promoting women and people of color to risky or precarious leadership positions when organizations are experiencing crisis. James and Wooten studied the leadership tenure of 17 African American CEOs appointed between 1987 and 2018 to Fortune 1000 companies to see if the leadership orientations and competencies of their crisis leadership framework offered any insights about seeing and seizing opportunities during crisis.[2]
GLASS CLIFF LEADERSHIP SITUATIONS CAN CONTAIN COMBINATIONS OF THESE ELEMENTS:
- Sudden crises – unexpected disruptive events where the organization has virtually no control and is not seen as being at fault
- Smoldering crises[3] – smaller internal problems that escalate over time because of systemic inattention
- Strategic crises – where there is a need for a turnaround or significant organizational change often due to a shift in the industry or business environment
- Savior expectation – where incoming leadership is expected to save the organization and heroically manage the crisis
- Unrealistic performance expectations – focusing on the personal performance of the leader alone and not taking into account the system and the situation
- Desire for dynamic and multi-faceted leadership – CEOs are needed to simultaneously strategize opportunities and threats, set direction, be visionary, and balance competing stakeholder demands[4]
- Impatience – key stakeholders and governance want quick results
THE GLASS CLIFF THEORY SUGGESTS WHY AFRICAN AMERICAN LEADERS MAY BE PRESENTED WITH C-SUITE OPPORTUNITIES
- Perceived to have desirable assets associated with effective crisis leadership: being sympathetic, emotionally intelligent, understanding, and intuitive[5]
- Selecting a demographically different leader is a signal of organizational change or reinvention[6]
- To protect traditional white male leaders from extraordinarily difficult or no-win leadership situations where the chance of public failure is high
- Assumption that African American executives may be more willing to accept high-risk leadership roles because it may be the only chance to reach this level of leadership and prove their abilities and competence
CRISIS LEADERSHIP ORIENTATIONS MAY BE INDICATORS OF WHY AFRICAN AMERICAN CEOs ACCEPTED C-SUITE OPPORTUNITIES
- Belief that it is possible to emerge significantly better off after the crisis.
- Expectation of mutual trust and respect.
- Commitment to reflect, learn, and adapt.
- Openness to scanning and seeking possibilities, new experiences and acceptable risks.
- Assumption that high-payoff outcomes are possible and can be attained.
- Willingness to make quick and ethical decisions.
HOW AFRICAN AMERICAN CEOs IN JAMES+WOOTEN STUDY[7] DEMONSTRATED CRISIS LEADERSHIP FRAMEWORK COMPETENCIES
- Sense making and visionary thinking: they had the ability to see possibilities and seize opportunities relating to sustainability, technological innovations, and the global marketplace
- Perspective taking: they chose to take the perspective that a glass cliff opportunity was their responsibility versus seeing it as an unusual assignment. They were also aware that if they were not successful in the role, the stereotype that minorities lack the competence to succeed as CEOs would be reinforced[8]
- Influence: most had meaningful tenures in their roles
- Organizational agility: they showed a thorough knowledge of the business and an ability to muster the resources required to effect change
- Creativity: as evidenced by how they leveraged the results of their turnaround – its success or failure – into a new career opportunity
- Communicating Effectively: examples were given of CEOs demonstrating compassion, explaining the contexts of the crises and expressing empathy for stakeholders.
- Risk taking: they were not naïve; they accepted the CEO challenge knowing the personal risks they faced: being blamed or scapegoated for failure, losing status, or interrupting a career track with a premature termination before a crisis resolved.
- Promoting resilience: resiliency was a common theme both during their tenures and after they ended
Individual and Systemic Learning: Had engaged in actions to prepare for their role as crisis leaders and were acknowledged to have skills and experiences viewed as assets for resolving a crisis situation or turning around a company. If they were internal appointments they were seen as bringing expertise and on-the-job training to the role.
CONCLUSIONS:
- African American executives saw opportunity, and not just risk, in crisis – for their companies and for themselves.
- Recognizing that C-suite appointments are rare opportunities, African American executives seized them even if the circumstances are not ideal.
- Chief executives across all industries and of all demographic backgrounds are finding themselves needing to leverage or acquire crisis management skills to do their jobs.
EVALUATING A GLASS CLIFF OPPORTUNITY
Today leadership landscape means that no executive, and no organization, is immune from challenge and disruption. Some industries and organizations are in a permanent state of crisis[9] and response. Astute executives know that glass cliff opportunities are unlikely to be stable and that they may face challenges to their tenure, legacy and career. Glass cliff opportunities are risky and are not for the faint of heart, but if offered a glass cliff opportunity, use this worksheet to consider your options.
[1] Cook & Glass, 2013; Ryan, & Haslam, 2014
[2] Wooten and James, 2019
[3] Irvine, 1997 as used by the Institute of Crisis Management
[4] Wooten & James, 2014
[5] Cook & Glass, 2013; Kulich, Ryan, & Haslam, 2014, Ryan, Haslam, Hersby, & Bongiorno, 2011
[6] Bruckmuller & Branscombe, 2010
[7] James & Wooten study of African American CEO appointed since 1987
[8] Bruckmuller & Branscombe, 2010; Rudman & Glick, 2001; Tran, 2015
[9] Heifetz, Grashow, & Linsky, 2009