Stalking the Elephant in the Room: II

Because we cannot fix what we cannot talk about, the "elephant in the room" can remain at large indefinitely, causing organizational difficulty, creating stress, raising costs and even creating catastrophes. Often, the elephant becomes discussible only after the damage becomes so obvious as to become undeniable.

Here's Part II of a set of indicators that a group or organization may be harboring elephants. This part emphasizes organizational attributes and policies. See "Stalking the Elephant in the Room: I," Point Lookout for June 9, 2010, for some indicators related to personal behavior.

Messengers have been "killed"

Some of those with power have occasionally "killed the messenger" as retribution for delivering bad news. This practice encourages others to withhold bad news, or to misrepresent situations as benign when they are not, which provides cover for elephants. To provide cover for elephants, metaphorically killing messengers isn't necessary; metaphorically wounding one now and then is almost as effective.

High prices for asking for what you need

When resources are inadequate, those who ask for what they actually need to carry out their responsibilities pay a high price. Their integrity is questioned, they might be relieved of their responsibilities, or they might find future assignments unappealing or degrading. This practice deters others from asking for what they need, and encourages people to believe the unbelievable.

You've definitely found one elephant

Elephants like to travel in small herds. An organization capable of tiptoeing around one elephant can probably find the means to tiptoe around several.

Love-hate relationships

In the Love form, We cannot fix what
we cannot talk aboutwhenever A speaks, B supports A, even if A is withdrawing a statement previously supported by B. In the Hate form, B opposes A, no matter what. No one ever comments about this pattern.

Unresolved feuds

A feud is a Hate relationship involving more than two individuals. Several different factions might be involved in a long-running feud.

Abrupt, mysterious turnover

Someone recently quit or was "terminated." The departed provides no satisfactory reason for leaving, and we sometimes don't even know whether the departure was voluntary.

The existence of organizational black holes

When organizational problems are reported through appropriate channels to the appropriate people in appropriate ways, there's no evidence of investigation or corrective action of any kind. The report simply disappears as if into a black hole.

Deft use of "spin"

When the leaders of an organization deftly use "spin" to mitigate the organizational impact of bad news, either internally or externally, they model that pattern for everyone else. People learn to see what is not there, and to not see what is there. These skills are essential to organizations that harbor elephants.

The items in both parts of this catalog are merely indicators of the possibility of elephants roaming about. Noticing them once in a while isn't proof of elephants, but the more frequently the indicators do occur, the stronger the possibility of elephants. First in this series   Top    Next Issue

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Coming October 5: Downscoping Under Pressure: I

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And on October 12: Downscoping Under Pressure: II

We sometimes "downscope" projects to bring them back on budget and schedule when they're headed for overruns. Downscoping doesn't always work. Cognitive biases like the sunk cost effect and confirmation bias can distort decisions about how to downscope. Available here and by RSS on October 12.

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