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In the aftermath of a very public system failure or a project going significantly over-budget, a key question that’s often asked is: “Why didn’t anyone bring this to our attention?” The root causes of why people fail to escalate issues (even when they know it’s the right thing to do) fall into both organizational and systemic categories. Among them are the lack of a culture of trust, poor communications, ineffective feedback, and valuing IQ over EQ. Ultimately, the success of a technical project requires that issues are escalated as they arise. Creating an environment that fosters the ability to recognize that escalation is a “need to have” not a “nice to have” and setting expectations accordingly with project teams will help to ensure your technical project’s success. Building on a foundation of psychological safety, clear communications, effective feedback, and heightened emotional intelligence, you’ll be able to nip problems in the bud. This article covers how to encourage and build a culture where team members know how and when to escalate an issue — before it spirals out of control.
Technical projects are often seen as transformational. That typically means new processes, new approaches, and new technologies — and with all that newness comes uncertainty. Whether the project is the construction of a wastewater treatment plant, the implementation of new software for commercial airplanes, or simply providing instructions on how to properly install an infant’s car seat, there is often a very small margin for error. If an issue is recognized, but not raised with others, the potential for real-world catastrophe increases.
