Working with the Elephant

Methods for Engaging with the Unsaid in Groups and Organizations

Lotte Svalgaard

• Publisher: Productivity Press
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781040345962
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Human Resource Management
• Index: Business

We've all been there. We are in a working group or at a meeting, discussing a topic or a challenge, and all the while, as a separate track running underneath our conversation, there is a subtext that no one explicitly addresses.

This is an example of 'the elephant in the room'. Most of us notice the elephant, it gets in the way, and it's difficult to deal with until someone points at it and says, 'There it is, let's take a look at it and reduce its impact.' With an engaging use of examples and questions, Lotte Svalgaard addresses how we can best deal with the elephant and thus promote job satisfaction, creativity and productivity. In the context of action, what we notice often recedes into the background and gradually slips out of focus until we eventually reconnect with our need to reflect and recreate a space for it. This book addresses the challenge of focusing on, holding onto and acting on what we notice 'in the middle of it all'. Maintaining a simultaneous focus on task and process – what we do and what we notice – is what the author defines as 'double awareness'. Double awareness is not only a core capacity but also a core challenge.

While the aim of The Elephant in the Room was to promote understanding and awareness of this core challenge and to inspire both reflection and action for anyone wishing to improve engagement in their workplaces, Working with the Elephant is taking this challenge a step further by providing ten core challenges in dealing with elephants in groups and organizations. It is a workbook about the difficult transition from avoidance to action. With help, support and tips, it guides readers to take action where it will make a difference for them, their group and the organization as a whole. It can be used as a workbook for The Elephant in the Room or it can be used independently.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-Title
• Title
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• About the Author
• Introduction
• Theoretical Cornerstones
• Challenge 1 What Do I Do When I Miss Important Signals?
• Challenge 2 What Do I Do When I Avoid Issues That Make Me Feel Insecure?
• Challenge 3 What Is My Next Step When I Have Entered Uncertainty and Decided To Stay with the Struggle?
• Challenge 4 How Do I Address Difficult Issues?
• Challenge 5 What Do I Do When There Is No Psychological Safety?
• Challenge 6 What Do I Do When Power Is Present in the Room?
• Challenge 7 How Do I Deal with Impression Management and Pretence?
• Challenge 8 What Do I Do if I Have Become the Designated Elephant Handler?
• Challenge 9 How Do I Approach the Big Elephants That Have Been Around for Much Too Long?
• Challenge 10 What Is the Right Timing and Dosage When I Want to Bring Up Elephants?
• Conclusion
• References
• Notes
• Index