{"id":889,"date":"2012-04-11T10:08:56","date_gmt":"2012-04-11T14:08:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ohe.5c7.myftpupload.com\/?p=889"},"modified":"2012-04-11T10:09:24","modified_gmt":"2012-04-11T14:09:24","slug":"imagine-the-ladders-gone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/?p=889","title":{"rendered":"Imagine the ladder&#8217;s gone"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"http:\/\/ohe.5c7.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/ladder-whimsical.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-thumbnail wp-image-890\" title=\"ladder whimsical\" src=\"http:\/\/ohe.5c7.myftpupload.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/ladder-whimsical-170x170.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"170\" height=\"170\" \/><\/a>For years, we\u2019ve read about the struggles of women in climbing the corporate ladder and reaching the top.\u00a0 Much has been written about why it occurs and what we can do about it.\u00a0 I offer a different view, namely that the whole notion of a career ladder is an assumption \u2013 a mythology \u2013 that can limit who and how we are in organizations.<\/p>\n<p>When we assume that a ladder exists and that it\u2019s the path to success \u2013 when we treat these assumptions as \u201ctruths\u201d about \u201cthe way it is\u201d &#8212; we can easily mistake ladder-climbing as our journey and a top rung<!--more--> as our goal. When that happens, we\u2019re at risk for some costly tradeoffs.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>When we disagree with those higher up, do we speak openly and authentically or do we tow the party line?<\/li>\n<li>When the ladder narrows, do we embrace others as collaborators or jockey around them as competitors?<\/li>\n<li>If someone else gets the promotion, do we genuinely revel in her success or silently resent her ascendance over our own?<\/li>\n<li>As we near the top, do we become more inventive and willing to risk since we have the authority, or more cautious and politically correct since we have more to lose?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>From one perspective, ladder-climbing is a guy\u2019s game with guys\u2019 rules and values [guys love rank and status]. It\u2019s not a \u201cbad\u201d game; it\u2019s just not our game. So when we buy the ladder myth and its trappings, we risk diminishing the value of our own strengths: our abilities to form and sustain supportive, collaborative networks, to nurture people\u2019s spirits and their capacity to contribute to the well-being of others, to know and stay grounded in what\u2019s most meaningful to those we serve.<\/p>\n<p>When I call career ladder assumptions a mythology, I mean that they\u2019re just metaphors and stories we create to help explain something we observe and don\u2019t understand. We can let them define our world&#8211;by insisting that a ladder exists and that we\u2019ve been shut out of the top rungs by forces beyond our control&#8211;or we can choose a different metaphor [like lattices or webs of inclusion] and different stories about making meaningful connections and contributions in our own powerful ways.<\/p>\n<p>Chris, one of my former clients, does the latter. She got into management by pursuing what fascinated her. Curiosity and high energy, not the organization chart, were her barometers. She nurtured and moved with ease through multiple networks of colleagues, linking people and ideas, developing anyone who wanted to grow, and earning the respect and authority that come from connecting with others in meaningful ways. Because of her curiosity and connections, she picked up on trends and opportunities that others missed. By not confusing meaningful work with ladder climbing, her career \u201cpath\u201d resembled adventurous wandering rather than a linear shot up the rungs.<\/p>\n<p>Since the ladder myth is powerful and pervasive, when Chris measured her career by it, she quickly slid into self-criticism. \u201cI\u2019ve had no strategy,\u201d she said on more than one occasion. Yet she <em>does<\/em> have a strategy: the strategy of following her heart and of tirelessly pursuing meaningful work and relationships. When she\u2019s pulled into the myth, she comes up short. When she puts the myth aside, she knows that making a difference is more important than making it to the \u201ctop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Because Chris\u2019s career has been less goal-directed than her colleagues\u2019, and more intuitive, growth-centered, and relationship-based, it has made her one of the most valuable, trusted, and sought-after executives in her organization. Because of her genuineness, people seek her counsel, confide in her, and invite her to join their teams. Because the ladder doesn\u2019t matter in her world, she finds opportunities others don\u2019t see.<\/p>\n<p>So if you\u2019re stuck on the ladder and feeling low, try on the notion that it\u2019s just a myth, a story that is limiting rather than expanding your options. Create a different story, beginning with what\u2019s really, deeply important to you. Speak with courage from the heart. Have the compassion to celebrate everyone\u2019s successes. Co-create with others the kind of work environment you want by inviting everyone to bring more of who and how they are to those they serve.\u00a0 Model the way. And don\u2019t let myths of making it hold you back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For years, we\u2019ve read about the struggles of women in climbing the corporate ladder and reaching the top.\u00a0 Much has been written about why it occurs and what we can do about it.\u00a0 I offer a different view, namely that the whole notion of a career ladder is an assumption \u2013 a mythology \u2013 that&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,10,12,8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-leading","category-self-awareness","category-self-management","category-stories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=889"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":892,"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/889\/revisions\/892"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/inourrightmind.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}