In any important meeting there is always a point when the real issue....THE one everyone knows lies at the heart and soul of the performance, strategy or other organizational issue....either will or will not be addressed.  If not, the time invested will always be assessed as a waste.  A further consequence is that it reflects poorly on leadership's capability to effectively resolve those deeper problems.  Preparing for and working through that challenging moment is what our approach is fundamentally about.

Avoiding the Obvious?

We all know that the reluctance to discuss the "elephant" in the room cannot be explained away just as a matter of individuals being afraid to talk about a delicate matter.  Most of us are very willing to engage in tough conversations if certain conditions are met.  Difficult topics such as the lack of group trust, incompetence, poor follow-through, inappropriate behavior or lack of clear direction can be effectively aired even though many people are indeed reticent to say things that might hurt others' feelings. 

The most significant reason we have found blocking critical group conversation goes to the heart of an organization's culture, its strategy in approaching work, the way work gets done, and its leadership style.  These four areas comprise the glue that keeps the group talking and working effectively, or inhibits it.  When we facilitate group work we pay attention to whether or not participants are comfortable in conversing around these areas.  When THE issue needing to be discussed is being danced around - avoided, minimized, passed over, or explained away as no longer relevant- we stop the action right then and there, and bring attention to the conversation that is missing.

As consultants, we get clues to what's missing and needed to address the big issue because it showed up in either our mindset/performance scan or the vital elements of teamwork scan. Because the issue has already revealed itself in the scans, we can point to the data to draw out what is at stake behind the issue and what are the consequences to the group of it remaining unaddressed.

The important step is for team members to acknowledge the "elephant."  This  gives everyone a new platform from which to better air their real perspectives and feel understood then discover constructive ways to sort through facts, assessments and assumptions around the issue. Once there is acknowledged, shared sense of reality around the issue, true progress can be made....and usually quickly, with good energy and motivation to get back on track.  Then the new, available motivation to work on the remaining tasks of the group is always significantly higher and more productive, with much more satisfaction with the outcomes of the event.