Failureship and Escalations

Escalations are not just emergency signals; they are a cultural lever that validates senior power and reinforces a risk-averse failureship. By turning attention to present crises, leaders get a status boost while the organization's ability to plan and improve is crippled.

Jabe Bloom's take on organisational levels shows senior executives operate far into the future, whereas escalations give them a rare chance to demonstrate influence in the present. This dynamic fuels a toxic feedback loop where power distance widens and improvement initiatives are consistently blocked.

The article lists concrete dysfunctions: poor planning leads to reactive escalations, turning every interruption into wasteful task-switching; the stress of constantly dropping work mirrors severe incident response, driving burnout and high turnover; relationships erode when escalations feel unfair, and the whole system becomes incapable of delivering value.

To break the cycle, treat each escalation as a high-severity event and run a root-cause analysis. Build proper risk registers, use real-options and scenario planning for anticipated external events, and maintain a skills matrix to mitigate key-person dependencies. Remove incentives by denying pay-rise or promotion to anyone who raises or sanctions needless escalations.

Ultimately, eradicating escalations requires holding leaders accountable, coaching them in genuine risk management, and shifting the culture away from ego-driven power displays toward sustainable, future-focused planning.