I've been coaching leaders now for over a decade, and the number one surprise in that time is the lack of courage I have seen from leaders to address real issues with the people they are leading.
"Turd on the Table" may be a gross analogy, but I haven't been able to come up with anything that more accurately describes the truth of the situation. You see, I believe it is very much like we are all carrying around these hot, steaming turds in our pockets all throughout the day, and yet we are unwilling to pull them out and put them on the table with the people we need to.
These turds, of course, refer to feedback we have for others that would be uncomfortable to address — an issue, a frustration, even just an observation. And yet the best thing we can do for the other person is pull the turd out of our pocket and put it on the table.
Many times, we have to play in the mess together to clean it up for good. Yes, it will be messy. Yes, it will stink. And no, it will not be fun. But these turds won't go away. They won't get better unless we have the courage to put them on the table and deal with them together.
So — do you have any turds in your pocket? Your organization and your people won't get better until you find the courage to put the turd on the table.