Glossary

Agreed baseline

A written record, ideally minuted by the board, of an organisation's condition when a new leader arrives. It lets progress be judged on the trend rather than the starting level.

Atypical leader

A leader who does not match the group that has traditionally held a role, for example the first woman or first person of colour in a position.

Board sponsor

A director with authority who supports a new leader, keeps them informed and defends the agreed plan in the boardroom.

Broken rung

The finding that women are promoted to their first management role at a lower rate than men, thinning the pipeline to senior roles.

Change-of-control clause

A contract term giving an executive protection, often severance, if the organisation is sold or merged.

Crisis leadership

Leading an organisation through a period of acute threat, where decisions must be made quickly with incomplete information.

D&O insurance

Directors' and officers' liability insurance, which covers leaders for claims arising from decisions made in their role.

Glass ceiling

The invisible barrier that stops qualified people, especially women and minorities, from reaching the most senior roles.

Glass cliff

The tendency for women and other under-represented leaders to be appointed to senior roles during a crisis, when the risk of failure is higher. Coined by Ryan and Haslam in 2005.

Glass escalator

The faster promotion of men in female-dominated professions, described by Christine Williams in 1992.

Glass walls

Barriers that keep people in certain functions (often support functions) and away from the line roles that lead to the top.

Interim executive

A leader appointed for a limited period, often during a crisis or search, sometimes with the possibility of becoming permanent.

Labyrinth

Eagly and Carli's metaphor for the many barriers throughout a career, as opposed to a single ceiling near the top.

Mandate letter

A document setting out a leader's scope, decision rights and success measures, signed by the appointing body.

Meta-analysis

A study that statistically combines the results of many studies to estimate an overall effect.

Precarious leadership position

A leadership role with an elevated risk of failure because of the organisation's circumstances, the term used in the original glass cliff research.

Saviour effect

The pattern in which under-represented leaders of struggling organisations are disproportionately replaced by white men. Associated with Cook and Glass.

Scapegoat hypothesis

The proposal that atypical leaders may be appointed in a crisis partly because they are easier to blame if things go wrong.

Severance

Payment and benefits provided when an employment contract ends, usually without cause.

Signal of change

The explanation that an organisation in trouble may appoint an atypical leader to show stakeholders that things will be different.

Sticky floor

Barriers that keep people, disproportionately women and minorities, in low-paid, low-mobility roles.

Succession planning

The process of identifying and preparing future leaders so that transitions are orderly.

Think crisis, think female

A finding that the traits stereotypically associated with women match those people want in a leader of a struggling organisation.

Think manager, think male

Virginia Schein's finding that the traits associated with successful managers overlap more with stereotypes of men than of women.

Token leader

A leader appointed partly to represent a group, who may face extra visibility and scrutiny as a result.

Turnaround

A process of restoring a struggling organisation to health, typically involving financial, operational and cultural change.

Under-represented group

A group whose share of leadership roles is lower than its share of the workforce or population.

Visibility of crisis

How widely an organisation's difficulties are acknowledged. Research and practitioners suggest making the crisis visible helps a leader be judged fairly.

For how these terms fit together, read Glass ceiling, glass cliff, glass escalator, broken rung.