Escalation is not a weakness. I often talk about how leaders should work to figure things out and solve problems. That’s what leaders do. That’s what you’re hired to do. You can’t just dump problems on someone else’s desk. You have to figure things out.
But what happens when you’re stuck? What happens when you’re trying to solve a problem or when you have a different opinion from another leader? What if you need alignment to make the right decision, but you just can’t get there?
You’ve tried. You’ve debated. You’ve argued. Great teams know how to argue and fight. You’ve done all the right things. That is the moment—when you’ve exhausted all options—that it’s the right time to escalate.
In my opinion, escalation should go to your senior leader, whoever that is. I tell my executive team this: if you’re stuck trying to solve a problem, don’t stay stuck. Give it everything you have. But if you just can’t make progress, escalate it to me. Part of my role as a leader is to make decisions, break ties and help move things forward. My job is to listen to both sides, understand the situation, assess what’s going on and then make the call.
If the decision is right, great. If it’s wrong, fine—we’ll fix it. The point is to make a decision and move forward.
There’s a big difference between escalating after you’ve tried everything and escalating too soon. If you escalate before you’ve had the conversations or wrestled with the problem, it feels like you’re just dumping it on my desk—and I don’t like that.
When done at the right time, escalation is a strength. It shows confidence as a leader to say, “We’ve given this our all, and we’re stuck. We need help to move forward.” Being stuck happens, but staying stuck isn’t an option.
Escalate when it’s time. Let’s make a decision and move forward. If it’s right, great. If not, we’ll figure it out. Action brings information, and we’re always moving forward.