Over-Escalation (aka Risk Offloading)

Decisions and problems are pushed upward not because they require senior judgment, but to transfer accountability.

Escalation becomes a defensive maneuver rather than an exception path. The organization treats senior leaders as risk sinks instead of decision accelerators.

Distributed judgment at the point of action.

Organizations punish visible mistakes more than delayed outcomes. Escalation becomes career protection.

• Framed as transparency
• Reinforced by executive responsiveness
• Normalized through precedent
• Praised as diligence

The system rewards escalation behavior.

• Strong governance
• Leader engagement
• Risk management
• Accountability

In reality, it is systemic fear.

• Executives involved in routine decisions
• Escalations without new information
• "Just want to sanity-check this" language
• Decisions framed to force sign-off
• Leaders acting as traffic cops

If escalation feels frequent and precautionary, authority is already broken.

• "Leaders want visibility"
• "This is a high-risk issue"
• "We're being cautious"
• "We need executive sign-off"
• "Better safe than sorry"

Core error: Escalation is framed as responsibility when it is actually *avoidance*.

Clear escalation thresholds and protected decision rights.

Not:

• Faster executive response
• More leadership meetings
• Better documentation

But:

• Explicit "do not escalate" zones
• Leaders refusing unnecessary decisions
• Clear error budgets
• Visible support for local judgment

If escalation is always safe, decision-making will never be.

Risk ownership is pushed back down with guardrails.

Return decision to lowest competent level.

Upstream: FM-03 Responsibility Without Authority, FM-08 Decision Latency

Downstream: FM-06 Exception Inflation, FM-10 Leadership Saturation