Escalation is a critical skill for anyone in a leadership position, be it a project manager, team lead, or senior executive. Yet, it’s often one of the worst practiced and most misunderstood aspects of effective management.
Too frequently, managment or all levels “escalate” by throwing a tantrum or demanding immediate attention, mirroring the classic “I want to see the manager!” approach. But there are far better ways to do this:
1. Clearly Explain Why Your Request Is Important
Simply stating “This matters to me or my project” isn’t enough. You need to demonstrate why it should matter to the person (or team) whose help you need. Ask yourself:
- What are the consequences of not addressing this issue?
- How does this impact the broader organisation or project goals?
- Why should they care?
By presenting the bigger picture, impact on the company’s bottom line, alignment with strategic objectives, and potential risks, you give others a compelling reason to prioritise your request.
Pro tip: Frame your explanation in terms of the other person’s life and work. If you’re escalating to a support team that’s currently battling a production incident, show empathy by acknowledging their workload and critical issues before explaining why your request matters.
2. Recognize That You Are Not the Only Priority
One of the biggest mistakes in escalation is forgetting that everyone else has tasks just as important as yours. To escalate effectively:
Understand their workload: If the team is already dealing with a production crisis, your request may not be somthing they are even thinking about.
Align on urgency: If your needs truly outrank current tasks, help demonstrate (or secure leadership input on) why that’s the case.
Stay empathetic: Show that you appreciate the pressure they’re under. Anger or insistence won’t change the fact that resources are limited.
Try to see the situation from their point of view. If your project isn’t in immediate crisis, it may be better to negotiate timelines rather than demand compliance.
3. Make It Easy for Others to Help
Escalation often fails because the person making the request provides minimal context or support. A one-line email saying, “Please fix X” doesn’t communicate the importance or background needed to act quickly. To make it easier:
Provide full context: Why does this matter? Who is impacted? What is at stake if this isn’t resolved?
Include all relevant information: Attach logs, data, screenshots, project plans, or anything else they may need.
Anticipate questions: If you know certain details are commonly asked for, include them upfront.
The more work you do to present a complete picture, the less back-and-forth is required and the faster the other teams can address your request.
4. Offer Assistance or acknowledge a debt
In most organisations, everyone is juggling multiple priorities. When you ask someone to insert your request into an already packed schedule, something else will need to be deprioritised. That can create friction. Instead, look for ways to help:
Negotiate with the impacted party: Talk to the person whose task might get pushed aside, and explain why your need is a higher priority; saving the support team this headache will go a long way.
Offer support with administrative tasks: If you can take on some of their paperwork or provide resources, they may find it easier to accommodate you.
Facilitate better communication: Bridge gaps, reduce email ping-pong, and keep everyone in the loop.
By making their life easier, even in small ways, you create goodwill and practical room for your request on their to-do list.
The Pitfalls of “Blunt Force” Escalation
What happens when escalation is done poorly? You may see what some refer to as toddler tantrums, where the manager or requester demands immediate results without any explanation or empathy. This approach might sound like:
“I need this now. Why haven’t you fixed it already?”
Often, the team on the receiving end has no idea why it’s urgent, which leads to confusion, frustration, and resentment. Remember: simply insisting that a task is a priority does not make it so in someone else’s eyes. Without context, urgency, and empathy, your escalation will likely fail, or damage relationships in the process.