Quick Tip – How to Escalate Appropriately
🚀 The right people at the right time – Issue #138
Working with other people won’t always be sunshine and puppies. There will be challenging moments, disagreements, and conflict.
Sometimes, you can address issues directly with your colleagues. However, there are other times that an escalation is required.
How you escalate is the key to maintaining healthy work relationships. It will also impact your long-term career success. People who handle escalations poorly end up burning bridges and damaging their professional reputation.
There have been times in my career that I had to escalate an issue. When I was younger, I wasn’t sure how to do this well. I learned the hard way, and finally found a model that works better for everyone involved.
I was also on the receiving end of numerous escalations over the 20+ years of my career. Some were handled well, and others were disastrous.
In one instance, someone escalated a “problem” they perceived that they were having with my team. They jumped multiple levels in the management hierarchy without even talking to us first. It ended up being a complete mess with bad feelings all around.
I lost all respect for the individual who stabbed us in the back and escalated without communicating with us (there were multiple incidents). It has been several years, but you don’t forget something like that. They tried to connect with me, but I won’t allow someone like that in my network.
If you need to escalate, follow these three principles to do it well:
Escalate to the right people.
Escalate at the right time.
Escalate the right way.
The right people
You should always communicate your concerns with the relevant individuals first. Try to work things out together. This has numerous benefits, but a few are:
It’s empowering to solve issues on your own, when possible.
You develop a positive reputation in the company.
It creates goodwill with others and strengthens work relationships.
You should only escalate to the management level above both of you when you mutually agree that you’ve reached an impasse. However, when you have connections with very senior people in the company, it might be tempting to escalate to the “big guns” right away.
That’s a mistake. You will upset every layer of management that sits between you and those big guns. It’s a great way to make enemies.
The right time
You do not escalate an issue or a problem the very first time you hear about it. Some people pull the trigger too quickly. They run to their manager for help before they even try to talk to the other party or deal with it themselves.
I understand that difficult conversations are, well, difficult. But, that is what mature professionals do, especially those that want to move up in their careers. They get good at having challenging discussions.
As soon as possible, discuss new issues directly with the relevant parties involved. Don’t let small problems build up into huge issues because you ignored them.
Listen to what they have to say instead of going in with the assumption that they must be wrong because you are always right. Work together to solve the problem.
If you reach gridlock and can’t resolve the issue, then you both escalate the problem to the next level of management together.
The right way
Escalating issues together is the right way to handle it. Don’t go behind someone’s back. Don’t skip levels of management.
No surprises for anyone involved!
The other party is now your collaborative partner in the escalation. Do not make it personal (unless there really is a personal issue, but that’s another tip for another day). Make it about the goals, objectives, and expectations.
Find common ground (e.g., you both want to achieve a shared goal). Calmly and rationally explain the differences in opinion, approaches, priorities, etc. Propose alternative solutions, and let the mediator/manager help you reach a decision.
When that manager makes a decision, accept it. Sometimes, the decision won’t come down in your favor. Welcome to life. But, you must commit and move on.
Don’t be one of those people who sabotage a project or backstab the other parties because you didn’t get your way (i.e., like the person I mentioned above).
Escalations are a normal part of work. You’ll never enjoy them, but it is possible to strengthen relationships when you follow the right principles.
How you handle escalations makes all the difference in the world.
Do you know someone who might benefit from this advice?