Published cartoon ·
We’ll need to escalate this
If the answer will not change, perhaps the pressure can.
Why this one bites
A small angry face grows larger at each step up the incline, with increasingly alarmed groups below. The mechanism amplifies emotion and organisational reach. It does not add any new information about the issue being escalated.
Escalation can bring a decision to someone able to make it. The cartoon depicts a different use: seeking a preferred answer after the normal process has failed to provide one. Rank becomes a substitute for resolving the reasons behind the original response.
Accessible summary
- A manager operates a lever beneath a sloping track. Red arrows connect angry faces that increase in size above groups of worried employees.
- The caption describes increasing organisational pressure after failing to secure the desired answer through the normal process.
Reading notes
Escalation can be the correct response when a decision exceeds the authority of the people doing the work. A conflict between teams, an unfunded obligation or a material risk may need someone more senior to choose. The useful destination is therefore a decision-maker, not simply a higher position on an organization chart. Sending the problem upward is not enough if every recipient sends it onward unchanged.
A workable escalation explains the decision required, the available options and the consequence of waiting. It also identifies what the team can continue doing in the meantime. Without that structure, urgency can increase while clarity decreases. More people join the conversation, more updates are requested and the original employee becomes responsible for managing the escalation as well as the issue that prompted it.
The phrase can also signal a transfer of political risk. A person who does not want to own an unpopular choice may prefer a larger audience to a clear answer. The cartoon asks whether authority is actually being brought closer to the problem or whether the problem is being moved further from an owner. Successful escalation ends with a decision returning to the people who need it. Merely acquiring a more impressive distribution list is a different achievement.