Theresa May and The Glass Cliff: A Lesson for Introverted Women Leaders

This week we saw Theresa May step off the glass cliff and hand over the reigns to Boris Johnson. Some say she needed to go. Some say she didn’t stand a chance from the beginning. 

Whatever your views are on the past that came back to haunt her (namely the Windrush scandal), was Theresa May pushed off the glass cliff, or was she not the right person for the job in the first place?

A term coined by Professor Ryan and Professor Alex Haslam from research they conducted following a 2003 Times article where it was reported  “The triumphant march of women into the country’s boardrooms has… wreaked havoc on company performance.”, the glass cliff is where women are appointed to leadership roles that are at a greater risk of criticism and failure. 

Their research found that yes, the appointment of women to the boardroom did coincide with poor performance, however, they were being appointed to difficult situations where poor performance was already in place. They didn't find evidence that the same thing happened to men.

Women we have seen at the end of the glass cliff with the world’s eyes glaring at them, expecting them to fall include Marrisa Mayer, former CEO of Yahoo and Mary Barra, CEO of General Motors. Stepping in to take the reins of an already sinking ship, where the odds of success are low, puts a lot of pressure on the individual as high expectations are placed on them.

As an introverted woman leader, there are lessons that you can learn from Theresa May about interpersonal relationships if get that executive role you’ve always wanted, only to find yourself on a glass cliff.

Adapt your style rather than trying to be something that you’re not

Her exit speech has been reported as the most passionate one she made. With comments such as, if she had shown that much passion in her dealings with the EU, she might have delivered BREXIT and stayed in the job. There was disgruntlement about her within her leadership team from the start and she failed to win over the hearts of the nation.

Charisma is something that introverts sometimes fail to exude, and Theresa May lacked the interpersonal skills and the ability to influence that can come from that. Nicknamed Maybot, she became known for her robotic delivery of speeches and failure to communicate effectively with the electorate and even with her own leadership team. 

The times when she tried to appear more personable, she came over stiff and inauthentic trying to be something she’s not. Running onto the stage to the sounds of Abba’s Dancing Queen at the party conference à la Tony Robbins had many people cringing in their seats. She looked fake and uncomfortable as she tried to be something she’s not.

As a leader who is introverted, you may feel pressured to put on an extroverted persona in order to win people over. However, by doing that, not only will you feel inauthentic, you may come across as lacking integrity.

There is a difference between adapting your leadership style and pretending to be something you are not. Theresa May lacked emotional intelligence, which is integral to being a leader. Get coaching so that you can develop your emotional intelligence if like Theresa May you lack it. It will help you to identify how to adapt your style and behaviour to get the best out of different situations, without earning yourself a nickname like Maybot.

I cover how to adapt your style in more detail in my forthcoming book Quietly Visible: Leading with Influence and Impact as an Introverted Woman that will be published later this year.

Develop and build personal relationships

Theresa May was clearly uncomfortable around people. Her marked absence following the Grenfell tragedy was noticed by the whole world. If you are to win over your teams and get your stakeholders and customers on board, you need to invest a lot of time in developing those relationships.

As uncomfortable as it may be, people have an expectation that their leaders will be there for them in times of difficulties. It may be tempting to shut yourself away and hide, particularly when you are under a lot of pressure. However, you will need to put yourself into uncomfortable places and situations. Yes, it may be draining for you. Organise your day so that you give yourself time to recharge.

Introverts typically prefer deep and meaningful talks to making small talk so use this to your advantage. Connect with key people on a one to one basis and develop and nurture those relationships. Be visible and relatable so that your wider teams, stakeholders and customers can get to know you, and you develop a rapport with them. 

In times of crisis, people want to know they can trust their leaders but how can they trust you if they don’t have a relationship with you, even if it's one that is from a distance?

Learn from other successful introverted leaders and have a support network

Theresa May would have done well to hook up with other introverted world leaders who were successful for mentoring support. Or at least learn lessons from a distance from them. Barack Obama, Angela Merkel are both reported as being introverted and served two and four terms respectively, with Angela Merkel still serving. Politics aside, the fact that they were both re-elected shows that people believed in their leadership.

As introverts, many of us prefer doing things in isolation, often finding it hard to open up to people about matters that are personal.  If you are in a senior role and on a glass cliff, it is imperative that you develop a support network. Trusted people who have got your back but will tell it like it is, giving you constructive feedback so that you can learn, develop and grow.

No woman is an island and coaching, mentoring and peer support are all essential to stop you from falling off the glass cliff.

Was Theresa May pushed off the glass cliff, or should she not have got the job in the first place?  I would love to know your views, so please share in the comments below.