There is an elephant in the room. It’s big and consumes most of the space. It eats most of the food. And it smells. But no one wants to acknowledge its presence. So everyone attempts to do their job and get enough to eat while working around the elephant. Why is this so?

The problem is that acknowledging the elephant is risky. It may be that the boss is the person who invited the elephant into the room in the first place. Or the elephant may be someone’s pet, or best friend. Or maybe everyone is afraid to offend the elephant – after all, it’s pretty big and who knows what might happen if it got angry? So everyone pretends that the elephant isn’t there, even though it has become quite a problem.

Organizations all have elephants in the room that need to be acknowledged and removed. But someone has to have the courage to acknowledge the elephant (the emperor has no clothes!) and suggest that it is time to remove it. That is the essence of managerial courage.

Situations Requiring Managerial Courage

There are four types of elephants that impact the performance – or dysfunctionality – of an organization.

• Interpersonal.  This is by far the most common. Managers are frequently unwilling to address employee performance or behavioral issues – even when they are causing widespread pain. In some cases the manager fears the employee’s reaction – anger and defensiveness on one hand or disbelief and emotional fallout on the other. Since the manager feels ill-equipped to handle a potentially difficult emotional situation – and fears that the result might be even worse after the conversation – the manager says nothing. Other employees take on the extra work and are resentful. Or, in the case of a behavioral issue, the employee continues to create ill will and havoc – with colleagues and customers. If managers do not address interpersonal issues they are condoning unacceptable behavior and driving the organization toward mediocrity.

• Organizational. In some instances, one part of the organization uses its functional position or power base to protect its own position, which can prevent progress or cross-functional cooperation. For example, sales may withhold information that prevents marketing or new product development from enhancing its products. Finance may use the power of the budget to control expenses, and unintentionally retard organizational growth. Customer service may be chasing customers away faster than sales can replace them. Engineering may stifle new product development because it threatens existing product designs. The examples abound, and vary from one organization to the other. The core issue occurs when any functional area believes that it “owns” its piece of the business and is unwilling to open its doors to feedback. Other areas don’t say anything because they don’t want to start an internal war. So the issues remain unresolved, everyone grumbles, and organizational productivity and performance are impacted.

• Product/Service. Some organizations refuse to acknowledge issues with their product or service. They deny the truth – to their customers, to the public and even to themselves. They blame declining market share on the economy or their own sales organization. They are unwilling to acknowledge that competitors have built a better mousetrap and they need to catch up. Or, they are unwilling to be honest with their customers. The effect over time is loss of competitive positioning.

• Performance Results. Some organizations make excuses and rationalize their overall organizational performance. Poor sales results are blamed on the economy. Loss of market share is blamed on competitors who are “buying” share. Major losses in competitive bids are blamed on unfair practices by competitors or politics. Performance issues are blamed on senior management or the Board for under-funding capital investments. The outcome is the same: an unwillingness to look in the mirror, accept responsibility for the performance issues and address the changes that need to be made.

What causes this dysfunctional behavior? Some of it is fear to speak out. Managers do not want to appear to be less than a loyal team player. Sometimes it is fear of repercussions – the “career limiting” disclosure. Sometimes it is driven by an organizational culture that is defensive and does not encourage open and honest dialogue. Regardless of the reason, the outcomes can be disastrous.

Many managers fear that speaking out will damage their reputation or career potential. “That’s a good way to lose your job” is a common expression. In most cases no one can remember anyone who actually was harmed by speaking out – yet the fear remains.

If organizations are to develop a culture of managerial courage they must do the following:

• Ensure that their culture is one of openness, and honesty. Encourage people to speak out and be sure that comments are heard without blame or defensiveness.
• Take action when required.
• Provide managers with the training and support to speak out, and then hold them accountable for doing so.

Organizations that encourage and develop a culture of managerial courage establish the ability to look at themselves honestly, and thereby create a culture of continuous improvement that will impact the bottom line.