Role of escalations in a product organization
For those who don’t know, I started my career as a software engineer before moving to product management. (I know, so unique right?). I have worked in companies at all scales practically, from seed-funded startups to a Fortune 5 MNC. My transition from an engineer to the PM however happened at Flipkart.
Now when I just started as a young (and relatively naive) engineer at Flipkart, I used to view escalations very differently. They felt like a signal of my inefficiencies, a sign of weakness that I was not able to fulfill my responsibilities or even a potential attack on my work ethic. However, when I moved into a product role my perspective changed drastically.
One of the first problem statements, I was working on at Flipkart as a PM was the expansion of the AGV Robots fleet in a sortation hub for the Big Billion Day sale. I remember my manager receiving multiple escalations for me being a newbie product manager as well as the sheer complexity of our endeavor and the ticking clock. We did eventually conquer those stiles and were able to have a successful sale like always. However, later I discussed these escalations with one of my mentors then who was a product leader at Flipkart and I remember distinctly what he said, “This was not as bad as you think, as a product manager you will be handling multiple things and you won’t be able to be at all place during all times. This has just established that you were needed and only because you add value”
This struck me hard; it was the first time I looked at “escalations” differently. Eventually, my product career taught me to see escalations as a collective productivity-boosting tool than a trepidation-causing weapon. Following are a few key lessons that I learned.
They are a sign of mature processes
In a good product company, people will always have more on their plate than they can chew, and often everything that one does might not be a priority for everyone and that is natural. On top of that communicating with unsaid norms in place is not the most comfortable experience.
Escalation management mechanisms (such as the RACI and RAPID matrices) enable teams and people to set expectations for their roles and their team and promote transparent communication within and across the teams.
Escalations help align and re-align high-priority goals
After working at multiple organizations, I believe that no organization is laser-focused, and the ones that are best in terms of alignment are the ones who stretch themselves enough to improve productivity but are constantly evaluating these alignments so that they don’t spread themselves too thin.
An ideal resolution mechanism for any escalation/call-out should evaluate its priority in the overall scheme of things and be aided by the right steps to address it. This helps improve the overall productivity and efficiency of the organization.
Surgeries need surgeons, not band-aids
I am a strong believer that the right issues should surface and be brought to the attention of your leaders. Often the breadth of view that they might possess can help with more long-term solutions. They can also help with more resources, commitment, and cross-team/cross-functional alignment or reform processes to avoid such situations in the future.
Escalate on a situation, not on a person
A good escalation should have three essential elements a “situation”, an “ask”, and the “impact”. Often one might not have immediate clarity on the right question to ask or what impact not addressing the situation can potentially have. But it should always aim to address a situation and the focus should be accordingly.
Don’t take it to your heart
You will spend at least 1/3rd of your day working and feeling demotivated, agitated, or affected in any other way emotionally is draining. While everyone juggles different challenges in their life and work they may get aggressive or you may get sensitive. Either way, it is important to be aware of what should you absorb from an escalation, and how should you address it.
To keep it simple, Acknowledge, Act or Redirect. Step 1, is to acknowledge the situation, and if you are clear with it and have (can get) all the information to take a call, Act on it. If it is beyond your scope or authority then you should redirect it to the right person.
The key takeaway is, that an effective escalation process can help your team be more focused and efficient. As a leader within an organization, it is crucial to set up such processes as you scale where escalations are not looked at in negative light and as an employee, it is vital to keep any emotions away from escalations and use them effectively prudently.
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