A good friend has a term he uses when he coaches people on how to be a better direct report. He calls it “show the ramp.”
The idea is simple. Don’t go from “everything is okay” one day to blindsiding your manager the next. Showing the ramp means your manager can see you move from okay, to here are some reasons to be upset, to actually being upset. It gives them a chance to react while there’s still time to do something about it.
People value predictability. A problem that goes from calm to five-alarm fire with no warning is jarring, even if the problem itself was always there.
It’s advice for managing up, but it applies to any healthy relationship. Showing the ramp is just what being a good counterpart looks like.
