I love this expression – because it is so visual! The Elephant in the Room is the thing that is there but that no one talks about – and it could be the thing holding back your business.
It’s a big thing but for some reason it may have become hidden, perhaps by all the smaller, less important things.
It may be hidden simply because the CEO is burying his/her head in the sand and simply does not want to handle it!
It may be there because in your business there is a culture of not discussing issues. Staff may feel that they can not be honest about some major aspect of the company.
For most of us in business we are so occupied there is often not time to deal with every issue – but the Elephant in the Room has to be dealt with.
It could be a major strategic issue, or it could be an issue around culture. Whatever the issue is, it may take someone quite brave to raise the matter.
I feel that is the CEO who has to identify either the issue itself or create an environment where the Elephant in the Room can be indentified by any member of the team.
It is said you get what you avoid in life and personally I have found that to be true – a number of times in life and business I wish that I had raised issues before I did.
Each time I have avoided raising issues that I needed to, or avoided making a decision I needed to, I have lived to regret that.
You will notice that in most successful businesses there is an atmosphere of openness. Openness to admit to mistakes so that they can be more easily fixed – even that elephant can be dealt with.
I had a great CEO friend who dealt with the elephants in his business by holding a Monday morning meeting where there was the opportunity for all staff to say what they felt like saying.
I am told there were some pretty interesting issues raised, but he had a fantastic team of really dedicated people, so obviously their Monday session worked for them!
In our business Griffin+row, my business partner and I deal with elephants by talking daily, meeting frequently and tuning in so that we are both on the same track.
We know that we are not always going to handle things in the same way. We know that we will not agree about everything, but at least if we have agreed outcomes we can remove or deal with any unwanted elephants!
It seems to me that no matter how great a strategy you have for your business, if you have an elephant that prevents people from communicating openly and honestly this big elephant can cause a lot of pain.
It may be worth asking your team or yourself:
Well done to you if your life and business look elephant free. But please take it from me that the more you feel free to address the big issues, the better you will achieve more success with less stress!
To read more Marcia Griffin expert advice, click here.
Marcia’s latest book, High Heeled Success (pictured left), and is a frank account of building a business from a solitary sales person to a multi-million dollar business with 4700 sales consultants around Australia and New Zealand. Contact Marcia to purchase. Marcia’s latest venture is skin care company griffin+row.
James was the editor and publisher of SmartCompany and LeadingCompany for five years. He is now the Australian Financial Review‘s companies & markets editor, and a former BRW editor.
