to kick issues upstairs
- phrasal verb
- Jargon
:
elevar el problema
- Many employees feel frustrated when leaders continually kick issues upstairs instead of providing clear solutions.
Examples
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Whenever difficult problems arise, the manager tends to kick issues upstairs rather than handle them directly.
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The manager often kicks issues upstairs to avoid responsibility.
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Instead of making a decision, the committee chose to kick issues upstairs.
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Don't kick issues upstairs without discussing them first!
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Instead of making a decision, the committee chose to kick issues upstairs.
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Many employees feel frustrated when leaders continually kick issues upstairs instead of providing clear solutions.
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Whenever difficult problems arise, the manager tends to kick issues upstairs rather than handle them directly.
Synonyms
Send a problem to someone more senior to decide
To let someone else decide what to do next
Antonyms
How Escalated
Surface Forms
Morphology
The literal parts — 'kick' (move/force), 'issues' (problems) and 'upstairs' (to a higher place) — combine to suggest moving a problem to a higher level, so there is a clear compositional basis. However, the business/organizational meaning 'pass responsibility to higher authority' is a metaphorical/idiomatic extension of that motion image and may not be fully predictable to a B1 learner without prior exposure.
Etymology
Kick issues upstairs paints a clear picture: imagine you kick a small problem up the stairs into your boss's office at the top. That's why it means 'to pass the problem or decision to someone higher'.