It's A Jungle Gym Not A Ladder Analysis

The chapters covering “It’s a Jungle Gym, Not a Ladder” and “Are You My Mentor?” cover career building and processes used to climb the corporate ladder. The title of the Jungle Gym chapter was taken from a quote by Fortune Magazine editor Pattie Sellers, who said "The most successful people I know don’t think of their career as a ladder. But rather, a jungle gym. People who view their careers as jungle gyms, rather than ladders, make sure that their vision is always peripheral so that they can see opportunities that come along—and swing to them.” (Sellers) Climbing the corporate ladder refers to upward mobility within the same company, whereas a jungle gym approach to your career involves lateral moves or even downward moves to expand their …show more content…
Sandberg notes that women frequently do not recognize when mentoring is taken place if the mentorship relationship has not been officially established. She says that if the question has to be asked then the answer is most likely, no. Sandberg argues that women spend a lot of time trying to establish the relationship when it could already be taking place organically. She also offers that it is more difficult for women to find mentors so they exert a lot of energy and time trying to recruit mentors, which most of the time result in asking perfect strangers (like herself) to be a mentor. Sandberg states that “No matter how crucial these connections are, they probably won’t develop from asking a virtual stranger, “Will you be my mentor?” The strongest relationships spring out of a real and often earned connection felt by both sides.” (Sandberg) Since leadership positions for women are limited, she also encourages women to look towards the men within organizations for mentorship and sponsorship. In her own experience, Sandberg admits that she benefited from more male mentors than female. This chapter emphasizes the need for mentorships (in different forms) during our professional journey along the jungle gym. Having someone who can provide positive feedback, challenge us, and offer good advice can serve as additional learning opportunities. The fact that women have so few of these opportunities or fail to see when the mentoring is taking place is …show more content…
… Of all the ways women hold themselves back, perhaps the most pervasive is that they leave before they leave.” (Sandberg) Sandberg writes in this chapter that some professional women start contemplating starting a family too far in advance…even when the reality of their situation does not contain the other variables, like a partner. Her suggestion is to dig down, stay engaged and committed to your career until you actually decide to start a family. She says to keep your foot on the gas pedal until your life actually changes. Then you can make the decision to keep driving quickly, slow down or step out of the car.” (Sandberg) The message here is don’t check out before you have to. If possible, keep your options open and try to not make plans based on the unknown. It can actually slow you down or cause you to pass up opportunities based on information that you do not yet have. The premise of having your eye on the door before you get started is a great way of examining where you are in your career. Unless you have decided to move on, being too presumptuous about a future that you don’t know could cause you to not live in the present and thrive in your current