Discourage Triangulation and Inappropriate Escalations
Triangulation happens in every company, every department, and every field in business. It’s not unique to information technology. However, because of the nature of IT as a support function, inappropriate escalations are far more common in our field than most other disciplines and departments within a typical company. And inappropriate escalations can quickly turn into a culture of triangulation.
In the business world, triangulation is when one party (person A) has an objection or disagreement with another (person B), but instead of expressing their opinion directly to person A, they complain to a third party (person C). This is problematic because it does not allow for an actual resolution of the disagreement, but more importantly, it creates animosity and resentment between the parties when person B inevitably learns about the complaints indirectly. When person C is a person of authority, especially when they are the manager of person B, it becomes even more detrimental to team relationships. If triangulation is allowed to continue unchecked, it can run rampant through an organization and seriously damage the culture.
Inappropriate escalations happen when a user has an unresolved technology issue that they escalate one or more levels above the appropriate tech support channel. There may be several reasons or ways this happens.
Often, a user feels they have already exhausted the appropriate channels and not gotten a satisfactory result, so they escalate their issue to the business leadership above the IT department. Or, they may feel their issue is so critical that it warrants an immediate escalation. This often happens when the technology issue is preventing them from achieving one of their business objectives and they fear being held accountable for something that is not in their control. Some people may skip the help desk altogether and immediately report their problem to someone higher in the chain of command. It might be an IT leader or even a business leader to whom IT reports.
Some of the worst examples of this that I have actually witnessed are when a business user escalates an issue up to their manager, who escalates it up to their director, who escalates it up to their VP, who then brings up the issue in the next executive committee meeting where the senior IT leader is caught completely unaware and is suddenly sitting in a room full of his peers and his boss expected to answer for why Adam in Accounting can’t print PDFs on 11x17 paper.
And then we all wonder why the average tenure of a CIO is so much shorter than that of other C-suite executives.
To be fair, there are times when escalations are needed and appropriate. I’m not saying they should never be allowed or acknowledged. But it is important to establish a culture of clear and direct communication at the lowest level within the organization that is capable of resolving an issue.
Often when a business leader receives an escalation (in the role of person C) they feel that they are helping by getting involved and facilitating the communication between the plaintiff (person A) and the IT department. Showboat leaders will happily jump into the triangle because they feel they can add value in helping to solve the problem. Not only will they pass along the complaint to their IT leader, but they will toss in a potential solution or two that they are certain hasn’t been considered.
The solution to inappropriate escalations is the same as the solution to triangulations in any business setting. Good business leaders must be adept at recognizing an inappropriate escalation and immediately cutting if off by asking one simple question: “Have you spoken to <person B or the appropriate channel> about this?” If they have, great. Then all the business leader needs to do is convey their confidence that it will be resolved as soon as resources and priorities allow. This is a great opportunity to set the example of how you want all departments to treat and talk about one another, and reinforces a culture of mutual respect.
If person A hasn’t spoken to person B (or the IT help desk) about their issue, then the business leader should encourage them to do so, and again communicate their confidence in the process and the technology team. Person A should hopefully receive the message that their escalation was inappropriate and learn from the experience. If not, they may need a few reminders or a more pointed education on the topic.
Cutting off inappropriate escalations of IT issues in your organization, and directing people back to the appropriate channels, will do so much to increase the feeling of trust between business leadership and IT, which will result in higher engagement of the IT staff and leadership.