The Elephant in the Room Workshop

The Elephant in the Room is a bespoke facilitated workshop, shaped around your organisation’s current needs.

It may be a conversation that has been avoided, a recurring difficulty, or a sense that people are working hard without moving forward together. You do not need to arrive knowing exactly what the elephant is.

This is a facilitated process of reflection and shared learning. Participants bring their experience, questions and perspectives; I bring a clear structure, thoughtful questions and independent facilitation.

Together, we explore four interconnected areas.

1. Arrive and take stock

We begin by agreeing how we will work together, including listening, participation and confidentiality. Participants reflect on what is working, what feels difficult and what would make the workshop valuable.

We establish a shared starting point and identify what needs attention.

2. Understand the bigger picture

We explore how different experiences, roles, responsibilities and working relationships shape the situation. We consider the group’s purpose and how individual priorities connect with what the organisation needs.

We build a clearer understanding of the situation and the perspectives within it.

3. Name and explore what is difficult

We make space for the conversations that matter: unclear expectations, competing priorities, pressure, assumptions or patterns that may be affecting how people work together.

Through careful facilitation, participants can ask questions, listen to different perspectives and consider what needs to change.

We clarify the issues the group needs to address and explore possible ways forward.

4. Agree how to move forward

We bring the learning together and identify practical next steps. What can the group act on? What needs a decision elsewhere? Who will take responsibility, and when will progress be reviewed?

We finish with agreed priorities, actions and a way to follow through.

The four areas provide a clear structure, with room to respond to what emerges. Grounding, shared agreements and respectful conversation help create the conditions for psychological safety. Participants choose what they share.

When might this be useful?

Responsibilities or expectations are unclear.

Teams or departments are struggling to work together.

The same issue keeps returning without progress.

Change has left people with different understandings of the way forward.

Important questions are being avoided in meetings.

A board or leadership team needs time to reconnect with its shared purpose.

How the process works

An initial conversation
We explore what you are noticing, what you hope will change and who needs to be involved.

An agreed brief
We clarify the purpose, scope and intended outcomes, alongside participation, confidentiality and any reporting arrangements. Preparation may include participant questions or conversations where useful and agreed.

The facilitated workshop
A dedicated day moving through the four interconnected areas, using individual reflection, group dialogue and practical exercises tailored to the brief.

Follow-through
A meeting with the sponsor considers agreed learning, decisions and next steps. An optional written report can capture agreed collective themes and recommendations, within the confidentiality arrangements established beforehand.

What your group can take away:

A clearer understanding of what is affecting its work.

Greater awareness of different perspectives and responsibilities.

Shared priorities for what needs attention.

Practical actions, with agreed ownership and review points.

Clarity about decisions or support needed from elsewhere.