Bring it Up! Courageously to avoid the Ugly Downside

Help us with the 4 Ups! Survey
March 24, 2014
Talk it Up! Candidly with 3 kinds of questions
April 7, 2014

It takes guts to deal with issues that tie a knot in your stomach. It takes courage to confront the people involved in those issues. But the rewards of resolving issues and helping employees meet your expectations more than make up for the difficulty. And as you get the hang of it, you’ll find it just gets easier and easier find the courage to Bring it Up!

Some leaders are very good at introducing topics in conversation and coaching. Even those difficult or sensitive discussions seem to be easy for them to openly bring to the table.

How do they do it?

The first step in any challenge is always the most difficult. When you have little or no positive experience to look back on, you harbor more fear of failure.

Just remember this: You have the ability. You have the authority. As with any first step, you just have to do it. Of course, for motivation, you may want to consider the alternatives.

The Ugly Downside

Failing to address problems only makes them worse. The consequences of the uncorrected behavior often start to escalate. Your unaddressed resentment reveals itself, whether you think you show it or not. It hinders your employees’ ability to work together. No one improves as well as they could, including you. Before long, your team’s performance suffers, as your silence telegraphs to others that the unacceptable behavior is really okay.

In short, it gets uglier and uglier. And nothing gets better until somebody—that means you—musters the courage to Bring it Up!

A remarkable absence of candor in the workplace represents one of the most significant obstacles to companies’ success.
—Jack Welch

In our next three blog posts, we will give you specific steps to take to Talk it Up! Wrap it Up! and Follow it Up! As you apply these techniques, you will succeed in confronting issues and providing redirection feedback. Your success will make easier and easier for you to Bring it Up! as you continue on leader-as-coach journey.

To practice how to Bring it Up! and all of the 4 Ups, I invite you to join other leaders in our next, open-enrollment CoachQuest Leader-as-Coach Workshop. In the meantime, feel free to discuss Tenacity with me at info@align4profit.com or 972-608-0400.

Help Me Understand

What about you and your organization? I’m conducting a survey to really get to the bottom of what why and how the 4 Ups! give so many organizations so much difficulty. Just two questions. Take a few seconds to help out. Naturally I will share the results. 4 Ups! Survey


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Helanie Scott
Helanie Scott
Helanie (pronounced yeh-LAH-nee) Scott, CEO and founder of Align4Profit in Dallas, Texas, has driven stunning leadership and cultural transformations for an impressive list of organizations. She has mastered the ability to connect with her audiences in the boardroom, classroom, on stage, or in one-on-one coaching sessions. Helanie’s Align4Profit clients rave at the way her engaging programs freshen outdated mindsets and deliver results-oriented, aligned action.