MYTH: "Good operators don't escalate."

The correction: silent struggling is the expensive version. The skill isn't avoiding escalation, it's escalating on a defined trigger before the deadline burns. Build the rule, remove the judgment call.

SOP: Escalation trigger
Run this whenever you set up any owned task with a deadline.

Stage 1 — Set the line
— ☐ Define the blocked-time that auto-triggers escalation (e.g. stuck 2 hours, or 30% of buffer gone). (Owner: task owner)
— ☐ Name exactly who you escalate to. (Owner: task owner)

Stage 2 — Pack the ask
— ☐ Escalation message states: what's blocked, what you tried, what you need decided. (Owner: task owner)
— ☐ No open-ended "help?"; give the decider options. (Owner: task owner)

Stage 3 — Log
— ☐ Record what unblocked it so the trigger improves. (Owner: task owner)

Owner: task owner. Trigger: blocked past the defined line. Done-when: escalation fires on the rule, not on a hunch.

Save this. Run it every time.