Bettina Weiguny spoke to many top German managers for her book “Power Areas”. A conversation about poisoned CEO offers and unpleasant customer conversations.
For the first time in the company’s history, Deutsche Bahn has a female boss. When this became public, the term “glass cliff” theory started circulating again – that women only get to the top when the company is actually already on the brink and they have little chance of success. Does that apply here?
BETTINA WEIGUNY: I can only judge this from the outside. But from what you can see, this theory fits pretty well. A number of men before her tried to renovate the railway, and with each new boss things got worse. Many came from outside, some from politics, and had little to do with the rail business. Before Evelyn Palla, several men were asked who apparently declined – only then were they spoken to. After all, she comes from the company, which I think makes sense she is also highly competent and fully qualified. But the condition of the railway is disastrous. I can understand the men who declined the position. Unfortunately, for women, the crisis is often the only chance to become a CEO – even if the risk of failure is huge.
