How to Rethink Career Growth: Why Your Path Isn’t a Ladder, It’s a Jungle Gym
Description
In this episode of Clover, I’m rethinking one of the biggest myths about career growth — the idea that success is about climbing a ladder.
For many of us, especially women, that ladder was never built for the way our careers actually unfold. So let’s talk about a better metaphor: the jungle gym. It’s flexible, unpredictable, and a whole lot more real.
I share lessons from my own path — from film school to marketing, from startups to enterprise leadership — and how every pivot, pause, and sideways move became part of the story I was meant to build.
We’ll dig into:
- Why lateral moves can be the smartest play
- How to recognize what season you’re in — growth, rest, or healing
- The importance of building your network before you need it
- How to own and narrate your unique career story
- Letting go of timelines that tell you where you “should” be by now
If your path doesn’t look like a straight line, good. That means you’re learning, adapting, and leading in your own way — and that’s where the good stuff happens.
What’s one non-linear move you’ve made that taught you something you couldn’t have learned any other way? Write it down, share it, or simply own it — that’s your jungle gym résumé, and it’s powerful.
If this episode resonates, share it with another woman who needs the reminder: she’s not behind — she’s building her own structure.
United States
