Twitter's new CEO standing on the glass cliff: success or failure depends on whether Musk is willing to delegate power

On May 23rd, according to foreign media reports, Twitter owner Elon Musk's appointment of Linda Yaccarino as the company's CEO is a repetition of the "glass cliff" model - allowing women to take on leadership positions when the company faces higher risks of failure. Although Jakarino's challenges are significant, the success mainly depends on Musk's true willingness to let go

On May 23rd, according to foreign media reports, Twitter owner Elon Musk's appointment of Linda Yaccarino as the company's CEO is a repetition of the "glass cliff" model - allowing women to take on leadership positions when the company faces higher risks of failure. Although Jakarino's challenges are significant, the success mainly depends on Musk's true willingness to let go.

In December last year, two months after Musk acquired the social media platform Twitter, he launched a public opinion survey asking netizens whether he should resign as the company's CEO. When 57.5% of people encouraged him to resign, Musk wrote on Twitter, "Once I find someone stupid enough to accept this job, I will resign as CEO! After that, I will only be responsible for the software and server teams

Ten days ago, Musk announced that he had indeed found such a foolish enough person to steer Twitter. For Jakarino, who was previously responsible for global advertising at NBC Global, serving as the CEO of Twitter is a big step forward, which has also expanded the number of female leaders in technology companies.

Although Jakarino is recognized as an expert in the advertising industry, experts studying gender dynamics in the workplace believe that she is likely to become a victim of the 'Glass Cliff' model. This model describes how women often take on leadership positions when an organization faces a higher risk of failure. When women break through the "glass ceiling" and are promoted to senior leadership positions, they find themselves on the edge of a cliff. This makes female leaders appear less likely to succeed, as they usually take office during the toughest times in the company.

Christy Glass, a sociologist at Utah State University who studies this phenomenon, said: "In some ways, I haven't seen anyone better defined the concept of glass cliffs than Musk's challenge." "This seems to be the perfect storm on Twitter

A typical example of the glass cliff in the technology industry in the past was the appointment of Google executive Marissa Mayer as CEO of Yahoo in 2012, when Yahoo was losing quickly in the competition with Google and Facebook. Mayer ultimately sold Yahoo to Verizon for $4.5 billion and resigned.

Musk's acquisition of Twitter has created textbook like glass cliff conditions, and the platform has fallen into a disadvantageous spiral of decline. In 2021, 90% of the company's revenue came from advertising, but now advertisers are fleeing Twitter, resulting in a sharp decline in revenue.

Shortly after acquiring Twitter in October 2022, Musk began large-scale layoffs, including the dismissal of most of the company's content review and policy personnel. According to reports, in December last year, two months after Musk acquired Twitter, Twitter's revenue decreased by 40%. Musk had planned to build a subscription business through the "Blue V Certification" paid service, but it brought almost no revenue.

For any CEO, these challenges are daunting. Alexander Haslam, a professor of social and organizational psychology at the University of Queensland in Australia, was one of the proponents of the term 'glass cliff'. He said that although many organizations do not lack capable female leaders, people tend to lean more towards male leaders until things reach an irreparable collapse. When a company is in trouble and wants to send a clear signal that significant changes are underway, it is easy to choose completely different leaders.

You need to convey as vividly and clearly as possible that the company is on a different track. The stronger the separation from the past, the clearer the signal, "Haslam said. Therefore, in this situation, women or other members of ethnic minorities are often given priority in appointment

Advertising remains the main source of revenue for Twitter. Yakarino's background in the advertising industry undoubtedly makes her a reasonable candidate to rescue her precarious business. However, experts interviewed stated that one important reason why women embark on a dangerous glass cliff is that although they are highly competent themselves, they often have few other opportunities to hold leadership positions.

Athena Alliance is an online organization targeting female executives in the business world. CEO Coco Brown said, "For many female executives, sometimes their first opportunity to enter truly influential positions is to turn the entire department or company around

Even if the risks are obvious, it may make it difficult for women to refuse to step onto the glass cliff. Grass of Utah State University said that although women are more likely to be appointed during the crisis, they are also more likely to be blamed for the crisis itself and then replaced by male CEOs. Researchers call this phenomenon the "savior effect".

Grass said, "Women CEOs rarely have a second chance." For them, this is a double blow: crisis appointments may be their only opportunity, and choosing to take on these positions can put their future leadership careers at risk

But Glass said that often women are best suited to help correct company mistakes. General Motors CEO Mary Barra pulled the company back from the brink of bankruptcy after the 2008 financial crisis. Anne Mulachy took over as CEO when Xerox was in trouble and made the company profitable.

Sandra Quince, CEO of ParadigmforParity, an organization dedicated to addressing corporate gender issues, believes that the success of Jakarino depends to some extent on how much time and freedom she has to turn the situation around. The support of the board of directors and Musk's genuine willingness to let go may be crucial.

Musk stated that with Jakarino serving as CEO, he will become the Executive Chairman and Chief Technology Officer of Twitter's board of directors. In addition, Musk is also the CEO of electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla and space company SpaceX, with Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX President and Chief Operating Officer, responsible for the company's daily operations.

Kuns said, "Jakarino needs the board to support her vision." "She needs someone to provide cover for her. At such times, when you try to figure out the situation, no one is perfect and you may make mistakes

It's easy to see appointing Yakarino as a last resort when Twitter is on the brink of bankruptcy. But Brown from the Athena Alliance said that regardless of whether Twitter can be saved or not, Jakarino's courage is commendable.

Brown said, "We shouldn't publicly say that this is destined to fail, but her decision is indeed an opportunity to try heroism." "In most people's eyes, she will fail. But wouldn't it be cool if she could bring Twitter up?" If Jakarino could really do this, it could be an unexpected reversal in Musk's acquisition of Twitter. (Chen Chen)