Three Types of Growth Paths

We live in a time where there are endless ways to approach how we grow and define success. Yet when it comes to careers, the conversation tends to mostly focus on one type of growth path. While the conventional path is not inherently bad, it’s also not necessarily authentic or accessible to everyone.

I believe in collecting models of possibility and find that more often than not society fails to make the different approaches to life and work explicit. The more we can distill, articulate and discuss different approaches, the more maps we’ll have at our disposal and the more we can learn from and support each other.

The above sketch was inspired by a conversation I had with a friend who is a self-declared Climber. The framework is limited and largely informed by my own experience in tech, design and innovation. Many other types of growth paths exist out there — I’d love to hear of any others that come to mind.