2. Solopreneur or corporate executive, you can be
successful only if you look at your business
truthfully. So, as tempting as it
is to ignore those nasty little
problems that crop up in the
office, here’s why you need
to face them honestly and
never ignore the elephant
in your workplace.
3. Baby Elephants Grow up
If nature is anything to go by, a small elephant is
sure to become a bigger elephant in time. Your
problem isn’t going away. There will come a
time when you’ll have to deal with it, and you’re
better off doing it now. It will cost you less in
time and hassle if you treat the problem with
effective precision from the get-go.
4. Stampede
While you’ve been trying to ignore the elephant
in your office, you can be sure it hasn’t been
sitting still. It’s probably been gathering
momentum. Soon it may be out of control, and
a situation out of control is like a stampede,
destroying property and reputations as it hurtles
along. Ultimately it will be stopped, leaving a
disaster in its wake. Cleanup is going to cost you
heavily.
5. The Herd’s Morale
Depending on the nature of your own elephant,
you can be pretty certain that company morale
has been plummeting while you’ve been
ignoring the issue. Although your staff or
coworkers may not talk to you about the
problem, they’re definitely talking among
themselves. If you’re in a position of leadership
in a corporation, this can undermine your
authority; if you’re a small-business owner, you
simply can’t afford dissenting employees.
6. Elephant With Legs
This elephant has legs. Not taking care of it
immediately can damage a whole host of things:
staff relations, customer communications
and ultimately your bottom line.
It may get bigger; it may start
to affect other parts of your
business; it may even get you
into legal hot water.
7. Let’s face it: A business that can’t face its
problems and deal with them quickly and
efficiently doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence.
The cost will be to your profits and reputation.
8. Addressing the Pachyderm
Whatever shape or form your elephant may
come in, show leadership. If you’re dealing with
one or two individuals, you can address
the issue privately. If it’s a
wider problem or a client-
related issue, try collaborating
as a team. Set the bar by
showing your employees that you
are addressing the problem head-on.
Acknowledge that you have expectations of
them and tell them what they are.
9. This is a good time to solicit team concerns and
ask team members to propose solutions. You’ll
likely be impressed with the level of creativity
and input. The good news is this will teach you a
lot about your own team and also will help you
spot rising stars.
10. Lastly, if it’s a company wide issue,
communicate, communicate, communicate.
Particularly to your employees.
11. Try conducting a workshop to help people
understand the specific problem, how you
expect to deal with it and how to try to prevent
it happening again.