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.
