Should I Escalate This?

Escalating isn’t a failure, and owning a decision isn’t a risk you take alone. The goal is to know which one this is. Give yourself ten minutes with these questions before you send the message or book the meeting.

Get clear on the situation

1. What happened, in one or two sentences? Stick to what you saw or heard, not what you think it means.

2. What decision is actually being asked for? Not the whole situation. The specific call that needs to be made.

3. What would “resolved” look like?

Whose decision is it?

4. Whose decision is this? Is it within my role, my project, my budget, my authority?

5. Who else is affected, and who needs to know? Needing to know is not the same as needing to decide.

What do I already know?

6. What do I already know? Facts, history, what’s been tried, what’s happened before in similar situations.

7. What am I assuming? Which of the above haven’t I actually confirmed?

8. What would I do if I couldn’t escalate? Write down your answer, even if you’re not sure of it.

What does waiting cost?

9. What’s the cost of waiting? For the people involved, the work, the timeline, the relationship.

10. What’s the risk if I get this wrong? Is it easy to reverse, or hard to undo?

If I escalate

11. If I escalate, what exactly am I asking for? A decision, information, permission, support, or a heads-up?

12. What’s my recommendation? Bring one, even if it’s tentative.

13. When do I need an answer, and what happens if it waits?

Escalate when…

• It’s outside your authority, budget, or role.
• It involves someone’s safety, harassment, discrimination, or a possible legal or ethical issue. Bring in the right people quickly.
• Two priorities you’ve been given are in real conflict and only someone above you can rank them.
• Getting it wrong would be hard to undo or would affect people well beyond your area.
• Your leader would be surprised, and unhappy, to hear about it later from someone else.

Own it when…

• It sits clearly within your role and authority.
• You already know what you’d do, and you can explain why.
• It’s reversible if you learn something new.
• What you’re really looking for is reassurance, not a decision.
• A heads-up afterward would be enough: “Here’s what came up, here’s what I did, here’s why.”

One last check: whichever way you go, can you explain your reasoning in two sentences? If yes, you’re ready.