Or at least allowed to overstay their welcome.
Elephants are big, intimidating and comforting all at once. Elephants you want on your side to protect you.
Here is why they are allowed to stay in organizations-
- They are protection from change
- They are an affirmation of culture
- They separate silos
- They are humilities’ path
I find that the elephant is often called out by stakeholders. Those elephants in the room are usually obvious to all. What is interesting, and an important consideration in approaching change, is that they are often valued and protected. Because when they are, an avenue for avoiding change is reinforced. The elephant will make the change impossible… and we are not going to touch the elephant (a nice circular, insular and protective argument).
Plus, the elephant is part of who we are. To acknowledge and escort it away would make us something different than who we are. Our culture might just change. If our culture changes then each of us changes.
Elephants are social and tend to herd together as a group. Many organizations have an elephant in the conference room of each function. Those functional elephants in the room serve to create space between one function and another. You will have to acknowledge or remove our elephant if you want to collaborate.
It is so much easier to accept deficiencies when there is a scapegoat. The elephant is often the perfect illustration of the organizations’ and the stakeholders’ failings (or potential failings).
Calling out the elephants during the development of the end state description turns out to be a powerful tool. The exercise becomes a little like writing in third person when you are really talking about yourself. The “I have a friend who…” approach. Discussing the elephant in the room and being honest about comfort and hindrance can help to pave the way for a horizontal approach to change management.