The Elephant in the Room

Or, beating about the bush as my mother would have said. It is often difficult to address an issue directly because we fear the reaction that others may have to the subject being raised. This fear can lead us to ignore problems or live in hope that these problems will go away. A 'do nothing' strategy can of course, be useful if there is a chance that the problem will resolve itself, however, for other issues we really do need to confront and contain. This does not need to cause distress to yourself or to other people. In fact if worked through well, confronting problems can make the team and team working more productive. Stating your case and giving other people the opportunity to state theirs is a good stating point. From here a discussion can begin around why an issue is a 'problem' for some and how it might be resolved. In real life we often forget to ask others how we impact on them or take time to observe the affect we have on others. We are all busy with complex lives and so don't see that how we work or what we say can have a negative affect on those around us. Being self aware is an important attribute and we should all try to develop this while working to support colleagues to do the same. Getting into the habit at team meetings of asking if there are any 'Elephants in the Room' that need to be addressed can be one way of tackling niggling issues. Remember if you do adopt this approach don't let it become an opportunity for people to cause distress but make it a positive opportunity for discussion and progress. Remeber to keep personal issues for private discussion and don't use team meetings to expose individuals to the criticism of others.