You're in a meeting and everyone is talking, but you feel as though they are holding back. It has become performative, rather than honest.

Do you recognise that? I've seen it lots of times. Often you spot it when you realise there are lots of urgent conversations in the corridor after the meeting. And you don't know why people didn't speak in the meeting.

It probably is a sign that people are uncertain. That they are trying to read signs to know what they ought to do, say or think, but those signs are unclear.

Someone told me a long time ago that there is only one correct thing to do when there is an elephant in the room. That's to point at it and say, "THERE'S AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM." Because everyone is thinking it, just nobody is willing to say it.

And so, pointing it out is a courageous act of leadership. But what if there is no elephant and people are still holding back?

The cause of this can be obvious if there's a restructure, or a particularly stressful project. But if that's not the case, how do you know what's going on?

That's one of the ways the Complexity Pressure Check can help. It coaches you (in just a few minutes) to think about the issues under the surface in your team or organisation.

Once you see those, you can finally start to resolve them.

Stephen

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If you’re curious whether coaching could help you find more clarity or direction, book a free 15-minute Clarity Call and we’ll explore it together.

If you want help to think about where problems might be arising in your organisation, try my Complexity Pressure Check.

For anything else, hit reply. I answer every email personally.