Definition #

The visible growth path every actor in the building can see and climb — Cast → Area Lead → Discipline Lead — earned through range rather than through leaving one’s station origin.

Family #

Canon. People/Leadership fundamental. Growth-path architecture underneath [Each Rung Is Its Own Verb], [Mastery Game], and [Role Transfer].

Why Behind the Thinking #

A line cook can become a Back Lead, then a Product Lead; a server can become a Front Lead, then a People Lead or Performance Lead. Growth on The Rungs is about depth and range inside the building, not about ownership — it is pointed at mastery. A career Discipline Lead is a respectable, well-paid, defensible career, the same way a career line cook or career bartender is; nobody has to climb past a rung to be considered serious. A separate, branching Operator path exists only for Discipline Leads who want it, and requires rotating through at least two of the three operating disciplines before GM consideration ([master_ip_compiled.txt]).

Pairs With #

[Each Rung Is Its Own Verb], [Mastery Game], [Role Transfer], [The Inverted Leadership Pyramid], [Accountability Demand], [Real Accountability Model], [Force Multiplier Thinking]

Placement #

People/Leadership fundamental; visible growth-path structure underneath the training and promotion architecture.