founder of naked leader
Lost or Found
Time to Unite Mummy and Baby – Can you beat 3 minutes?
Time to Listen –
Lost and Found
The greater the maze of confusion in an organisation, the greater the need to bring elephants into the room.
With love
David
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Great graphics!
Love the maze aspect of the graphic.
And so true.
We have so many issues that aren’t dealt with and it is great to air them and get the dirty washing cleaned in the presence of colleagues.
Very cleansing experience in a room full of people.
The confusion in a lot of companies can be sorted out in one fell swoop.
have a meeting, get the elephants in there and sort them out.
Communication I find is the worst aspect of management in some companies.
People don’t want to tell people anything for fear that they are passing on knowledge or power that think they are entitled too on their own.
As for problems. Air them, get them out in the open and deal with it.
Only then can people move on in unison.
Thank you for these comments – this is in advance of it going out as nl week on Monday 8th – David
Elephants in the room, isn’t that an outdated concept now?
Thanks Robert – the phrase is “outdated” in the sense that it’s history dates back to 1957! However it is certainly only just starting to be used in organisations…David
No, the elephant concept is current.
It is a fantastic way to air grievances and is tried and tested.
‘A picture is worth a thousand words’…as the saying goes. Great posting, along with the elephant sound bite, illustrating the heart of a serious subject and much underused tool.
Bring the truth in the room – the “elephant in the room”…these sessions always prove the most challenging, cathartic and useful during any Naked Leader team day.
http://archive.nakedleader.com/whats-on/elpsept/
The trouble is that is is often easier in the heat of the moment to leave the Elephant in the room and walk around it. Startled elephants on the rampage are often difficult to control once disturbed and it requires skill and time to deal with correctly.
In the the simple example given, You can reunite the elephants in less than 10 seconds by getting them walking around the outside of the room. – as many of us do with our own big issues that we choose to avoid dealing with at the time. Sometimes it is just easier that way!
We have used the Truth in the Room sessions and they are extremely effective in my organisation.
If you had a Hippo in the room it would be even more difficult to walk around, and so better to deal with the situation as the elephant can be smaller in some cases.
It’s that same old thing…procrastination.
Don’t put it off, get the problem out there and deal with it, the bigger the better.
Truth is a better word…although if I was confronted by an elephant I would want to tell the truth too!
As long as the issue is resolved that is the key.
Thanks Harry – yes “elephant” = “truth” although too often “truth” is used as an excuse for rudeness and even bullying. Needs very strong facilitation. David