Table of Contents

The Demand

This week, you check whether your promotion pipeline runs on demonstrated range and depth or on tenure and availability. If you hand someone a rung because they have been here long enough or because the seat above opened up, you have broken the pipeline before it produced a single real operator.

The Work

  1. Map your current cast against the four rungs: Cast, Shift Lead, Discipline Lead, Operator. Write down who sits where today and why they got there — earned range, or tenure and availability.
  2. For any promotion you are considering this week, test it against the rung standard: has this person demonstrated the discipline is carried, not just that they showed up long enough or were available when the seat opened?
  3. For your current Shift Leads, decide which are on the “stay and master” path and which are candidates for the “rotate and rise” path toward Discipline Lead. The rotation path requires exposure to at least two of the three operating disciplines before GM consideration — check whether your current candidates have that exposure yet.
  4. If a Shift Lead candidate has only ever worked one discipline, build a rotation plan this week — a defined stretch into a second discipline before you consider them for Discipline Lead.

By Friday, you have mapped your cast against the four rungs and corrected at least one promotion decision that was based on tenure rather than demonstrated range.