“How Women End Up on the ‘Glass Cliff'” is a new HBR article exploring the “glass cliff phenomenon”, which describes the disproportionate challenges women face in corporate leadership once they break through the “glass ceiling”. Specifically, women are more likely to occupy high-risk positions than their male counterparts in corporate leadership. Research cited by the authors indicates that companies tend to appoint women to leadership positions specifically when the companies are struggling, and suggests that this may be the case
…because stereotypically female attributes, such as communication and team-building skills, are especially valued during turbulent times.
One can only draw comparison to the leadership styles of the various Everest teams: the demanding but consultative leadership of Breashears stood in stark contrast to Rob Hall’s strictly authoritative approach. Simply swapping leaders in time of crisis may not be enough to avert disaster (c.f. other levers in the lecture slides)—and could be construed as “setting one up for failure”. Still, the desire for leaders who can work well with their team may not be so misguided.