Knowing when and when not to elevate an issue or problem to those above you is a critical competence in any workplace.
To establish long-term trust and credibility, it is essential for leaders and team members to make good decisions regarding when to raise an issue or solve it on their own.
Making the wrong call can destroy credibility and undermine the trust leaders place in people. Although every situation and circumstance has its own nuances influencing the choice to elevate, there are several guidelines to consider.
Here are the 5 major reasons to elevate an issue or problem:
The issue potentially jeopardizes deadlines, budgets, or the organization’s reputation.
• Multiple stakeholders or team members are affected, thereby requiring cross-functional approval or awareness.
• Attempts to resolve the problem have failed after a reasonable time and effort.
• The risk of immediate inaction is materially high, such as with customer complaints, compliance issues, and security breaches.
• The leader’s leader is involved or has asserted themselves in the issue or problem.
Most leaders expect their direct reports to elevate any issue or problem that matches one of those guidelines. The failure to do so can have long-term ramifications for how much trust the leaders place in the team member.
With that said, elevating an issue that doesn’t need to be suggests a team member who is overly reliant on the leader and can’t solve problems on their own.
Here are the 3 practical reasons not to elevate the issue or problem:
- You possess the necessary experience, skills, and resources to resolve it independently, and the risk of failure is low.
- The problem is minor, isolated, and has limited impact on team goals.
- The situation is routine, common, and has been previously encountered without an issue.
Overwhelmingly, most of the problems and issues a team member faces can be comfortably handled without involving their leader. But on those occasions and situations where it makes sense to elevate the matter, good team members don’t hesitate.
They know that the maxim “asking for forgiveness and not permission” doesn’t apply when the risk is sky high.
