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# Escalation Protocol
- URL: https://www.theheadroomhq.com/escalation-protocol/
- Published: 2026-06-04T15:12:11.000Z
- Updated: 2026-09-01T17:12:05.000Z
- Description: This page explains Escalation Protocol and its relevance to business operations.
- Author: Headroom Editorial Team
- Tags: Glossary, D07 - Decision Rights Clarity, D08 - Meeting Design Quality, D04 - Team Structure Clarity

## D07 - Decision Rights Clarity

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### Definition

A written definition of the specific conditions that convert a Zone 2 decision into a Zone 3 decision by specifying what triggers escalation, who to contact, and within what timeframe, removing improvisation from time-sensitive decisions by defining the conditions, contact, and timeframe before those decisions arise.

Most escalations happen too late, to the wrong person, through the wrong channel, because the protocol was never written down. When something goes wrong under time pressure, people default to whoever is most senior, which is not always the right escalation path and consistently delays resolution.

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### Indicators

- An escalation in the last six months reached the wrong person first, adding delay.
- No written document defines who to escalate to, through what channel, and within what timeframe for your highest frequency exception types.
- People escalate by anxiety rather than protocol — "This feels big enough" rather than "This meets condition X".

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### Quick Win

- Name your most frequent exception type.
- Write the specific rule for when it escalates and to whom.
- If the rule doesn't exist in writing, people are probably escalating by anxiety, not by protocol.

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### Assess

- [Take the HQ Score Assessment](https://www.theheadroomhq.com/hq-score/)

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### Learn

- [OFA-03: Knight Capital](https://www.theheadroomhq.com/ofa-03-knight-capital/)

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### Apply

- [The Decision Boundary Map](https://theheadroomhq.gumroad.com/l/the-decision-boundary-map?ref=theheadroomhq.com)
- [Operations Team Review Agenda - The Constraint First Format](https://theheadroomhq.gumroad.com/l/operations-team-review-agenda-the-constraint-first-format??ref=theheadroomhq.com)

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### Related

- [Decision Rights](https://www.theheadroomhq.com/decision-rights/)
- [No-Carry-Over Rule](https://www.theheadroomhq.com/no-carry-over-rule/)
- [Zone 3 Decision](https://www.theheadroomhq.com/zone-3-decision/)