Table of Contents

Definition

The ladder is the only legitimate path to each rung. No rung can be stepped over. Pairs with Training Ladder, Mastery Game, Each Rung Is Its Own Verb.

Explanation

This is the enforcement clause that makes [Training Ladder] more than an aspiration. It’s easy for an operator, especially one short-staffed and under pressure, to promote someone straight past a rung because they seem ready or because there’s an urgent gap to fill. [No Skipped Rungs] closes that shortcut explicitly: whatever the pressure, the ladder is the only legitimate path, and stepping over a rung doesn’t save time, it just produces someone holding a title without having built the rung’s distinct verb.

The pressure to skip is real and the rule accounts for that reality by naming it as a rule rather than leaving it as a judgment call under stress. An operator who’s tempted to promote past Train-the-Trainer certification because they need a trainer right now is exactly the situation this rule is built for. The short-term gap gets filled either way — the difference is whether it gets filled with someone who’s actually built the capability or someone who’s merely been handed the title.