The Snakes and Ladders of Your Career

What connections are there between the “snakes” and “ladders” of your career?

In a workshop at SJII Connects Women, Claire Peet was explaining:

🐍“Snakes” are detours, challenges, or pauses that shaped our leadership.

🪜“Ladders” are moments that accelerated growth, shifted perspective, or opened new possibilities in our careers.

Claire asked us to list several snakes and ladders in our leadership journeys so far.

Then she asked two powerful questions:

• What did we learn from each snake and ladder?

• What connection is there between the snakes and the ladders?

Photo credit SJII

And it became clear to Sarah that the snakes she listed directly led to the ladders.

Astoundingly, each terrifying challenge led to moments of growth.

As an example, a tricky problem she stalled on for years led to one of the most impactful pieces of advice she ever received (“Relationships, relationships, relationships!”) and then to a major win that propelled her and her team forward.

As another example, we discussed setting up a company for several years and the fear was overwhelming. We put it off despite knowing that it was inexpensive, simple, and something we were passionate about. Then by encouraging ourselves to take a small, brave step, we initiated momentum for ourselves that has opened all the new possibilities we are grateful for today.

💡What connection do you see between the snakes and ladders in your career so far?

This inspiring workshops was part of SJII Connects Women, hosted at St. Joseph’s Institution International and organised by Katie Wellbrook and team. Thanks to Lara May Liebenberg for the catalyst of her conversation.