Communication is Caring

Gold scissors cutting through golden splatter.

Hi. I’ve taken over writing this blog for Stacie. She’ busy writing books about my adventures and my world. I am The Elephant Hunter. I hunt the elephant in the room and tag it for all to see. Together we’ll track it.

I wouldn’t exist if people within organizations consistently communicated effectively. Well, I do exist, and I’ve no shortage of work. Oh, the stories I could tell you of what I’ve seen. Well, Stacie’s taking care of that as we speak. You’ll be reading about those soon.

But back to our topic. I actually could put my feet up, kick my boots off and hang up my hat, because you know this already. You could write why communication is caring and why lack of communication demonstrates a lack of caring. Conscious intent is not the issue today, just the facts about the feelings. After all, we elephant hunters study feelings…and their waste products at work. We’ve seen what you feel like when you are not in the informational loop; when you have a need to know but others don’t see it that way; when you could provide critical insight, but are prevented from sharing, from being heard. You’ve seen these symptoms of the elephant in the room I call out today. You’ve heard them and felt then more times than you’d like to recall. You know that communication is caring…and both are scarce in the organizational wild™.

So how can we cut this particular crap in organizations? As an elephant hunter, I’m compelled to wade through this organizational waste and break down its ownership. These are the four crap-factors we elephant hunters track and map: My Crap, Your Crap, Our Crap, and Everybody’s Crap.

On every organizational safari ™ I’ve been on, the tendency is to hone in on the “Your Crap” category. That seems safest (as all “buck-passing” initially appears). But really, who can control another person’s behavior”? All you can do is motivate and inspire through your own behavior. (Uh oh! You’ve guessed where I’m going!😉) You see, the “Our Crap” and “Everybody’s Crap” categories are not a collection of “Your Crap”…they are huge steaming piles of “My Crap.” That is, everyone’s personal beliefs, biases, blind spots, fears, and foibles. Yikes! We can only cut the crap at our locus of control—“My Crap”. That’s the good and the bad news rolled into one. How does one cut this odiferous crap, you ask? Communicate that you care:

In every crappy situation,

• determine what needs to be said that isn’t;

• what information needs to be revealed that isn’t;

• and share your perspective on the situation.

Perspectives are never wrong; they’re either accepted or dismissed. How they are used is another matter. You’ve done your part. I’ll make an elephant hunter out of you yet.

Don’t forget to FOLLOW ME on:

Twitter @TheElephantHun1 – I’m tweeting musings on my adventures every week.

Instagram @IamTheElephantHunter – Peek into my world through my visual travel log.

© 2021 Stacie L L Morgan