Boeing Shakeup Threatens ‘Glass Cliff’ Fate for Stephanie Pope

The Boeing Co.‘s appointment of executive Stephanie Pope to salvage the aircraft maker’s most embattled division had a familiar air to it.

Boeing’s move tees up a “glass cliff” scenario, in which a woman is promoted to a high-profile corporate leadership role at a time of crisis to fix an impossible situation, and ends up shouldering blame.

“We call them to the seat, and then they can’t show up in ways that are unique to them—we expect them to lead like all the people that have come before them,” Deepa Purushothaman, a corporate culture consultant and Harvard Business School ...