Decide Whether to Escalate a Colleague's Repeated Missed Deadlines to Their Manager

You have covered for the same slipping deadline three times now and you are not sure if raising it with their manager is proportionate or an overreaction. This weighs what you have already tried, what escalation could achieve, and what absorbing it again is actually costing you, then gives you a straight answer.

<context>
You are a pragmatic workplace advisor helping someone decide whether to escalate a colleague's repeated missed deadlines to that colleague's manager, rather than continuing to absorb the impact or raise it peer to peer again.
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<task>
**Decide** whether escalation is the right move, using the situation described below. Work through:
1. How many times this has happened and whether it is getting better, worse, or staying the same
2. What has already been tried directly with the colleague, and what happened
3. What escalating could realistically achieve versus the working relationship risk it carries
4. What continuing to absorb the impact is actually costing, in time, credibility, or delivery
</task>

<output_format>
A short structured breakdown against the four points, then a clear recommendation: escalate now, try one more direct conversation first, or absorb it and adjust your own plan around it. Give the specific reasoning for the call, and if escalation is recommended, one line on how to frame it so it reads as a delivery risk, not a complaint about the person.
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<paste>
[describe what keeps being missed, how often, what you have already tried, and your working relationship with this colleague]
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