Escalations That Speed Things Up - How leaders communicate under pressure
Escalations often carry a stigma.
They are treated as a sign that something has gone wrong.
In complex, high-tech programmes, the opposite is usually true.
Early, well-structured escalations are a sign of organisational maturity.
What slows organisations down is not escalation itself, but poor escalation communication — long emails, unclear asks, and leadership responses that create ambiguity instead of direction.
What effective escalation communication looks like
High-quality escalations are short, focused, and decision-oriented.
They typically answer five questions — ideally on one page:
What is happening?
Why does it matter now?
What options exist?
What is the recommendation?
What decision is needed by when?
This structure enables leaders to act quickly without multiple clarification loops. Over time, the quality of escalations becomes a reliable indicator of how well the organisation communicates under pressure.
Leadership response is half the escalation process
Teams learn very quickly how safe it is to escalate.
If escalations are met with silence, vague replies, or political deflection, people stop raising issues early. If escalations receive timely, clear decisions — even when the answer is “no” — teams lean in.
Effective leaders respond by:
confirming understanding
restating the decision criteria (risk, customer impact, compliance)
making a clear call
communicating how the decision will be shared
This closes the loop. It protects teams from second-guessing and builds trust in the escalation mechanism.
Escalation culture is leadership communication culture
Project-driven cultures treat escalation as a normal part of serious work. Leaders openly acknowledge and reward early escalation — even when the message is uncomfortable.
This behaviour reinforces psychological safety and prevents small issues from turning into crises. More importantly, it signals that leadership values truth over reassurance.
A 30-day leadership reset
Try this for one month:
introduce a standard one-page escalation format
commit as a leadership team to responding within 24–48 hours
review decision speed and clarity at the end of the month
Most leadership teams are surprised by how quickly communication quality — and execution speed — improves.
