our approach:
rethinking advancement.
how we think about advancement.
advancement is often treated as an individual pursuit.
at the re.write, we examine it as a system.
the persistent gaps in leadership, authority, and recognition are not the result of individual failure. they are produced by stories, structures, and incentives that shape who advances, how, and at what cost.
our work begins there.
what we mean by advancement.
to rethink advancement is to examine the rules that quietly govern work.
whose ambition is rewarded
whose labor is made invisible
whose leadership is trusted
whose well-being is treated as expendable
advancement is not only about promotion or pay.
it shapes access to power, legitimacy, safety, and voice at work.
limits of current models.
most advancement models were built around a narrow set of assumptions that no longer reflect how work is lived.
they reward:
constant availability
linear career paths
individual heroics
proximity to dominant norms
these models persist even as work has changed. the result is not only exclusion, but distortion of leadership, success, and value.
the re.write approaches advancement through a set of analytic frameworks developed through research and narrative inquiry.
vantage points that reveal how authority, legitimacy, and value operate inside institutions.
these frameworks emerge from observing a widening gap between how work is structured and how people actually live and lead.
the frameworks
we’ve developed.
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how authority and legitimacy are accumulated, protected, and transferred.
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how layered race and gender dynamics shape who is seen, heard, and believed at work.
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the belief that hard work, loyalty, and sacrifice lead to reward.
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the normalization of burnout, over-functioning, and self-erasure as proof of value.
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how experience, age, and accumulated judgment lose value over time.
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the myths of the ideal worker and the bias they create.
