Founder + Strategy Principal at The Hush Collaborative | I use strategy and storytelling to provoke and accelerate change.
Research shows that businesses that appoint women to leadership roles for the first time tend to have been in crisis for five months or more. The author of the book Glass Cliff, Sophie Williams, states, "I don’t think it’s a coincidence that when there is this big public mess, when there’s a possibility of someone’s reputation being tied up with this problem, we suddenly default to women in a way that we haven’t historically." THE SKILLS LEADERS NEED IN A CRISIS ARE THE SKILLS WE NEED OUR LEADERS TO ACCESS AND ENGAGE EVERY SINGLE DAY! Since the term was introduced in the early 2000s, it has expanded to apply not just to women but, more generally, to people of color. I immediately think of people like Delrish Moss, Yvette Gentry, and many other BIPOC leaders hired to "fix" their respective police departments after making national headlines for police brutality and after decades of white leadership. Women and BIPOC leaders, folks who have overcome obstacles and acquired the relational skills to lead despite the circumstances, are tapped more often when the building they are walking into – and the people, the resources, and the budgets – is already on fire. Christy Glass is quoted in the article as saying, "We’re building this incredible pool of talented C.E.O.s, and we’re giving them this one shot that is high risk, and if they fail or perceive to fail, they’re gone." Imagine what these people could do to accelerate and grow their businesses versus fixing them with one (or both) hands tied behind their backs.
