Simple tip to face the 'elephant in the room'

When there is an 'elephant in the room' get the team to ZOUD!

We've all been there - sat in a room with colleagues and everyone knows there is an 'elephant in the room'. You might have experienced people ‘backing off’ or avoiding the critical question. You know, the one question that is really important for the future of the business but is put in the ‘too difficult box’. You walked out with mixed emotions - breathing an internal sigh of relief that the meeting was over without the uncomfortable debate, yet frustrated that the real problem wasn’t addressed.

A really simple tip is for the team to “ZOUD”. That stands for ‘Zone of Uncomfortable Debate’. Next time you meet, discuss this simple technique with your colleagues. Recognise that there are going to be difficult debates and agree as a team that you will stay in that uncomfortable zone until a resolution is achieved. When the need arises, you flag that ‘We need to ZOUD’. If people start to back off or there is no resolution, restate the point.

ZOUD is such a powerful technique because it is so simple, yet allows everyone to find common ground - a joint recognition that this debate is going to be very difficult. I have used this many times to successfully reach resolution on the ‘elephant in the room’ issue.

Has anyone else tried this technique? What are your experiences? Do you have any other tips to face 'the elephant in the room'?