In Monday’s Blog we addressed the issue of undiscussables in organizations. In our experience, this is a topic we do not hear discussed much (no humor intended), but it should be. In fact to improve performance and respond positively and quickly to competitive challenges, it must be.
So how do you address the undiscussables in organizations when these issues are undiscussable – through evidence and gentle persistence.
If you are the CEO and wonder or are concerned that the inability to discuss certain issues exists in your organization, we suggest that you test your assumption.
You do this by:
- Determining how you’re positioned in the marketplace
- Assessing how well your internal processes function
- Conducting a financial risk assessment
- Conducting an employee survey
This will provide you with objective evidence on how your company is performing. And for obvious reasons this should not be done by anyone working within your organizations or by anyone who would like to work in your organization. In truth, doing this takes courage – courage to face what you may not have been willing to face in the past.
If you are not the CEO or owner, your approach will be different. But you have a responsibility (if you believe that the organization is not performing nearly as well as it could) to step forward and raise awareness.
You do this by:
- Presenting your ideas, plans, recommendations and suggestions with solid evidence to support your position
- Not openly challenging your boss or the other senior people in the company
- Being respectfully persistent
This will enable you to demonstrate improvement opportunities. We advise being respectful, persistent and not challenging leadership openly for obvious reasons. Senior people get to senior positions in all organizations because they represent the culture. And if the culture supports the undiscussables, challenging it openly can be dangerous to your career. Educating the senior leaders with facts has a chance for success.
Not all leaders will want to do what it takes to succeed. That is simply a business fact. But others will, and they will be the ones that do not tolerate undiscussables in their organization.
Copyright 2010 Kubica and LaForest
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