A manager sends a routine decision up to their boss. The boss answers in two minutes. The decision waited two days.
If this happens often in your company, senior leaders are spending their week on decisions someone closer to the work could make.
Escalation means sending a decision or problem to a higher level for the answer. It is useful for real exceptions. It becomes a problem when it is the default.
Why managers escalate
The cause is usually not weak managers. It is one of three conditions:
- Unclear limits. Managers do not know where their authority ends, so they ask to be safe.
- Fear of blame. A past decision went wrong and someone was criticized. Asking first now feels safer than deciding.
- Bosses who always answer. Every time a senior leader gives the answer, the habit of asking gets a reward.
What it costs
Decisions wait. Customers wait. Senior leaders lose time they need for bigger problems. And managers never build judgment, because they never get to use it.
Four steps to fix it
- Find the decisions that go up most often. Ask senior leaders to keep a simple tally for two weeks.
- Sort each decision into one of three groups. Decide alone. Decide, then tell the boss. Ask first. Write the limits in numbers where you can. For example, a manager may approve refunds up to a set amount or overtime up to a set number of hours without asking.
- Change what the boss says. When a manager brings a problem, the boss asks: “What do you recommend?” Over time, managers arrive with a problem and an answer.
- Track two numbers. The number of escalations each week, and the days a decision takes. Review them monthly.
Where training fits
Managers do need practice in making and explaining decisions. But training alone will not help if the limits are unclear, because managers will go back to asking. Fix the limits first, then train.
Reducing slow or unnecessary escalation is one of the business priorities we build a 90-day pilot around at POC Management Execution. A pilot is a small trial with one group of managers, run before a change goes company-wide.
Managers escalate less when they know exactly what they can decide.
Which three decisions go up to your senior leaders most often, and could a manager make them with clear limits?
If you want to work this out for your company, message me and we can brainstorm it together.
Further reading on jordanimutan.com:
• How to Keep the Results of a Leadership Program After the Program Ends: https://jordanimutan.com/2026/10/21/how-to-keep-the-results-of-a-leadership-program-after-the-program-ends/
• How to Choose One Business Priority Before You Start a Manager Development Program: https://jordanimutan.com/2026/10/16/how-to-choose-one-business-priority-before-you-start-a-manager-development-program/
#DecisionMaking #ManagerEffectiveness #LeadershipDevelopment #HRLeadership #OperationalExcellence
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