Destroying the Corporate Ladder

Marketing 101 - hit them with a controversial title.

Check.

No, this isn’t an article about the perils of capitalism, corporations or the state of navigating a global economy in the age of our short attention Twittersphere.

It is to introduce you to the "Corporate Bridge" - a lovely, collaborative sounding concept, which it is but let's face it, not as grabbing a title as "Destroying the Corporate Ladder". Hey, I didn't spend 3 years going to B school at night for nothing, right?

It is an article about reframing one of the core concepts of entering “work life” from the time we are barely out of school through the time we get to think about retiring to a quiet porch somewhere to watch evening sunsets - if that’s your thing AND if you’re lucky enough to get there.

The corporate ladder - the visualized framework which we are to abide by whereby you start at an entry level position faxing papers for someone (yes, I am using an old reference Millennials - it's a thing you can check it out here: https://www.explainthatstuff.com/faxmachines.html) until you become CEO and find yourself speaking at a conference and on the cover of Forbes magazine.

It’s time to destroy the corporate ladder and build the corporate bridge.

Unless you are part of Cirque du Soleil there’s no way to be on a ladder without someone always in front of you and someone always behind you. Hierarchies aside, I have witnessed time and time again too many decision being made, or worst, deferred, due to this organizational construct.

This is not to say that there won’t always be organizational dynamics and hierarchies but if the goal is to “get ahead”, the corporate ladder sets the stage that the main way to do so is by physical position - ultimately having the authority to stand in place that someone else is not yet ready for.

The corporate bridge, on the other hand, reflects the realities of today’s work environment, particularly in virtual teams, where the only way to get things done is horizontally. Our cross-functional, matrixed reality cannot afford for the process of getting work done to be solely driven by who reviews what, has the authority to sign specific budget amounts and gives final approval to a project. This is the least of our efforts.

The true work comes with respect to the bridge that spans roles, responsibilities and milestones that can only be achieved by working together as a team. In this way, the ideal state would be to see the promotion of teams, rather than individuals, as organizations evolve. As such, it would required much deeper connections, relationship building, transparency and collaboration. This requires a corporate bridge that genuinely allows for one seemingly disconnected part of an organization to reach another part in a way that not only allows for work to be done but also for it to be rewarded. The ladder gets you in a window. The bridge can bring you to an entire new place.

There will always be leaders that have made it by climbing the corporate ladder and they will always only be as good as the teams that support them. The team cannot possibly advocate for the leader, the company or most importantly, customers by waiting their turn. They need a bridge and this is where true success lies. So, I think it's time to start talking about the Corporate Bridge - in business schools, on CNBC, in the Boardroom and yes, even LinkedIn.

The opinions of this article are solely the opinions of me, myself and I and in no way reflect those of my employer, my country, my children, family, friends or potential visitors from another dimension. Thank you.