By: Joshua Finley

Navigating a corporate career can be daunting, especially for young professionals starting their journeys. With limited training opportunities and ill-defined paths to leadership, many talented individuals get lost in the shuffle. Rahul Karan Sharma, a leadership advisor with over 25 years of global corporate experience, saw this disconnect firsthand. To empower the next generation of leaders, he created the CLIMB, a personalized framework tailored to accelerate leadership development.

Understanding the Four States of Corporate Leadership

Through his extensive work with corporate professionals, Rahul identified four distinct states individuals experience in their career progression. “Based on my 25 years of corporate experience, I have noticed that many corporate employees fall into four different states,” he explains. These states form the foundation of his CLIMB framework.

The Invisible State

The journey typically begins in what Rahul calls the Invisible state. “They are new to the organization. They are not heard. No one is talking to them,” he notes. In this state, employees struggle to have their ideas considered and often feel lost in their early career stages. Their potential remains unnoticed, creating a challenging environment for growth and recognition.

The Potential State

As professionals progress, they enter the Potential state. “They are able to perform as an individual contributor but not yet there to lead a team,” Rahul explains. While successful in their tasks, these individuals often watch others receive promotions and leadership opportunities while feeling stuck. They know they want to lead but have yet to find their path forward.

The Achiever State

The third state brings its challenges. “People in this state try to take too many things on their plate,” Rahul points out. “They tend to overcommit, which leads to burnout.” This overachievement often creates friction with team members, as an overcommitted leader inevitably impacts their team’s workload. Despite their accomplishments, they struggle to establish themselves as credible leaders.

The Influential State

The final state represents the ideal leadership position. Rahul describes this as “when you are seen everywhere. Leadership wants to pick up your ideas. Every individual wants to work with you as a leader.” In this state, professionals can motivate and influence their direct reports and others throughout the organization.

The Reality of Leadership Training

Rahul’s research revealed a startling statistic: “A large percentage of organizations do not provide leadership training until the person becomes a leader.” This gap creates a significant problem. When untrained people become leaders, they try to lead the way they have seen leadership,” he explains. Without proper training, new leaders mimic what they’ve observed, perpetuating good and bad practices.

The consequences of this approach became clear during a recent workshop. “This July, I was doing a workshop with senior leaders of a billion-dollar organization,” Rahul shares. “These leaders’ average tenure was 8 to 10 years, and I was surprised that none received formal leadership training.”

Building Better Leaders Through CLIMB

Rahul emphasizes that leadership isn’t innate – it’s a skill that requires development. “Leadership is an art, in my opinion. You need to develop it,” he states. The CLIMB framework provides a structured approach to this development, helping professionals navigate each state. Importantly, the framework helps create what Rahul calls “leaders by choice rather than accidental leaders.” He notes, “A large percentage of the people who become leaders, or probably I would say all, never go to their managers and tell them that I want to become a manager 12 months from now or 24 months from now, can you start providing me training.”

The framework aims to change this pattern, creating more intentional leadership development. As Rahul concludes, “You prepare yourself to be a leader. You don’t become an impromptu leader… You do justice to the people that you are leading because once you become a leader, you have a big task in everyone’s life.”

Transform your leadership journey with Rahul Karan Sharma’s personalized CLIMB framework. Visit his website or schedule a consultation through Calendly.

Published by Zane L.