Taking on New Leadership Assignments, Knowing When to Pivot and How to Avoid the "Glass Cliff"

Knowing how to advance your career often means taking strategic steps that, at first blush, might seem out of line with upward mobility. One key move that is often overlooked by women seeking elevation within their company: taking an international leadership role to expand your global perspective, advance your skill set and broaden your professional network. Another: preparing a strategic game plan to avoid the so-called "glass cliff," a phenomenon that many women face when they take over a division or company already in crisis, whether experiencing poor financial performance, organizational turmoil as a result of a pivot or unsteady leadership in the wake of a corporate scandal or business misstep.

Honorees talk about the unconventional opportunities, challenges and pitfalls they encountered during their careers and the steps they proactively took to overcome them and find unexpected, career-enriching success and new paths to forge a satisfying career marked by innovation, notable performance and expanded business expertise.

Among the things you'll learn:

• How to spot and get out in front of potential internal, organizational and professional headwinds that can slow career advancement to executive management and the C-suite.
• When to take an international P&L role as a means of acquiring more business expertise and laying the groundwork to access potential leadership opportunities at the company's headquarters that you might have been overlooked for without the addition of an international role.
• Learning when to pivot, either a business you are leading or your career.
• Lessons learned: women who have faced the glass cliff talk about why they accepted a difficult role, what they learned from leading a division or company in crisis and what they'd do differently in the future.