Is this role a glass cliff?
Some leadership roles are offered when the odds are worst. Glasscliff helps you weigh a high-stakes role before you accept it, and helps boards appoint leaders without setting them up to fail.
Who Glasscliff is for
The same risk looks different depending on which side of the table you sit.
Leaders weighing a role
You have been offered, or already hold, a senior role in an organisation that is struggling.
Boards, CHROs and search panels
You are appointing a leader in difficult conditions and want the appointment to work.
Students, researchers and journalists
You need a clear, sourced account of what the evidence says, including where it disagrees.
Free tools
Each one runs in your browser. Nothing is sent anywhere unless you choose to.
Glass Cliff Risk Scanner
Twelve questions about a role you are weighing. Get a 0–100 risk score, the red flags and what to negotiate.
Offer Protection Builder
Tick the risks in your offer and get a prioritised list of protections to ask for, ready to copy or print.
Turnaround 100-Day Planner
Choose your situation and get a three-phase plan with weekly checkpoints, dated from your start day.
Crisis Leadership Readiness Check
Fifteen statements across five dimensions. See where you are strong and what to build before you start.
Board Appointment Check
For chairs and search committees: twelve checks that show whether you are setting your next leader up to succeed.
Want a person to look at it?
Share your results with an experienced adviser through a confidential review.
Twenty years of evidence, in five moments
The glass cliff is a research finding, not a slogan. It is also a live debate, and we cover both sides.
Ryan and Haslam publish the FTSE 100 study and name the glass cliff.
Evidence from UK politics and the 'signal of change' experiments.
Cook and Glass extend the pattern to minority leaders and describe the saviour effect.
Meta-analysis in Psychological Bulletin finds a real but context-dependent effect.
New studies on UK chairs, US CEO selection, CEO dismissal risk and ethnic minority leaders.
Guides
Original, sourced and practical. Start with the first one if the term is new to you.
- What is the glass cliff? The complete guideWhere the term came from, what the evidence shows, why it happens, and what leaders and boards can do about it.
- Twenty years of glass cliff research: what the evidence says, and where it disagreesA plain-language tour of the key studies, the null findings, and what a careful reader should conclude.
- Glass ceiling, glass cliff, glass escalator, broken rung: the terms explainedSix metaphors for barriers in leadership, what each one actually describes, and how they fit together.
- Twelve red flags in a leadership offer, and the question to ask about eachA due-diligence checklist for anyone weighing a senior role in an organisation that is struggling.
- How to negotiate a turnaround role: the protections to ask forThe terms that separate a fair crisis appointment from a set-up, and how to ask for them.
- The first 100 days of a turnaround leadership roleA three-phase plan for leaders who start in a crisis: diagnose, stabilise, commit.
Weighing a role that could go either way?
Tell us about the situation in confidence. We match you with an experienced executive coach, employment lawyer or turnaround adviser for an initial conversation.
Get a confidential review- Confidential. No names of organisations needed.
- Reply within two business days.
- Advisers vetted for crisis and turnaround experience.
- Free to request. You agree any fees directly with the adviser.
Leadership news
- Retail’s female leaders are breaking ceilings – but inheriting crisesInside Retail via IADS
- From Glass Ceiling Breakthroughs to Glass Cliff Vulnerabilities: Gendered Leadership, Organizational Crisis and the AMMA Experience in KeralaMainstream Weekly, Jul 14, 2026
- The Evolution of the Glass CliffJewish Women's Archive, Jun 15, 2026
- The Glass Cliff: Why Women Are Being Set Up To FailFuture Women, Jan 31, 2026
- Mind the glass cliff: Study shows women get handed leadership roles in times of crisisHR Leader, Oct 07, 2025
- Exploring the glass cliff phenomenon in the appointments of female chairpersonsCoventry University, May 12, 2025
The board sponsor matters more than the title. Name yours before you sign.Edge note of the day
Take part
Glasscliff is independent and reader-supported. Here is how to get involved.
Win the Edge Prize
Quarterly prizes for turnaround cases, student research and leadership stories. Current round closes in:
Join the Advisor Network
Executive coaches, employment lawyers and interim leaders who help people through high-stakes roles.
Share your experience
Ten anonymous questions for the Glass Cliff Pulse report.
Support the work
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Work with us
Frequently asked questions
What is Glasscliff.com?
An independent guide for leaders taking on high-stakes roles, and for the boards that appoint them. We explain the glass cliff research, provide free tools to assess and negotiate risky roles, and connect people with experienced advisers.
Is Glasscliff.com affiliated with the researchers who coined the term?
No. 'Glass cliff' is a descriptive academic term coined by Michelle Ryan and Alex Haslam. We cite their work and others' but are not affiliated with them or their universities.
Are the tools free?
Yes. All five tools are free, run in your browser and do not send your answers anywhere unless you choose to submit a form.
What is a confidential role review?
You describe the role you are considering or holding, and we match you with an adviser (an executive coach, employment lawyer or turnaround specialist) who offers an initial conversation. Advisers set their own fees, which they agree with you directly.
How do you make money?
Through advertising (Google AdSense), sponsorships, the Advisor Network, referral fees from advisers, and support from readers. Sponsors never influence our editorial content.