Ladder of Leadership
| Category | Leadership |
| Origin | L. David Marquet, Turn the Ship Around; used in Harrison Metal MGMT 01 |
| Surfaced in OS | Feb 21, 2026 |
Core Concept
A seven-rung ladder that maps the spectrum from total dependence (“tell me what to do”) to full autonomy (“I’ve been doing”). The leader’s job is to push people UP the ladder — and your questions should match the rung they’re on.
| Rung | Worker Says | Leader Asks |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | ”I’ve been doing…" | "What have you been doing?“ |
| 6 | ”I’ve done…" | "What have you done?“ |
| 5 | ”I intend to…" | "What do you intend?“ |
| 4 | ”I would like to…" | "What would you like to do?“ |
| 3 | ”I recommend…" | "What do you recommend?“ |
| 2 | ”I think…" | "What do you think?“ |
| 1 | ”Tell me what to do." | "Do this.” |
How to Use It
Diagnose the rung: Listen to how someone frames requests. “Can I…?” = rung 1-2. “I’m going to…” = rung 6-7.
Match your response: Don’t give rung-1 answers to rung-5 people (it undermines their growth). Don’t give rung-7 freedom to rung-2 people (it sets them up to fail).
Move them up one rung at a time: The goal is to get everyone to rung 5+ (“I intend to…”) where they state intent and you just confirm. This is intent-based leadership in practice.
Why It Matters to Me
This is the operational mechanism behind “make myself irrelevant.” The ladder gives you a diagnostic AND a development tool. It connects directly to:
- “Last to speak” — if you speak first at rung 1, you’ve trained everyone to stay at rung 1
- Competence + clarity — Marquet’s prerequisites: people need BOTH to move up the ladder safely
- The Marquet test — if you leave for 6 weeks and things fall apart, your team was stuck at rung 1-3
Where I’ve Seen It
- A capable engineer can sit at rung 5-6 in their core domain (e.g., iOS work) while still operating at rung 3-4 on architectural decisions. The gap tells you where to invest in their growth.
- A counter-pattern: leaders who pull people back DOWN the ladder by retaining authority and giving rung-1 instructions to capable people.
Related Patterns
- Right vs Effective — sometimes you let someone stay at rung 4 even when you’d prefer rung 6, because pushing too fast backfires
- Manager as Interface — the ladder describes the interface between manager and report