How many times have you been in a situation, where you knew things were going to go badly, yet no one had the guts to tell the person in charge? It’s the elephant in the room. Everyone can hear it bellowing, except the boss. I was recently working with an organization where the employees knew that the big project deadlines where totally unrealistic. There was no way it was going to be completed on time. Yet senior leadership was still telling the executive board that the project was on track. It’s easy to place the blame on the leaders for setting unrealistic goals, but I believe the responsibility goes both ways. Employees, who often have a more accurate lens on things, have a responsibility to alert leaders about potential problems. Here are three common reasons people don’t broach touchy subjects and how to well up your courage: Fear of an uncomfortable conversationYears ago, my husband and I bought a business that wound up failing. Badly.  We lost tons of money, spent two years of misery, and almost sunk our entire family.After we threw in the towel, a friend said, “ You know, I had some concerns when you were buying this.” I asked her why she didn’t say anything. Her response?  “You two seemed so enthusiastic, I didn’t want to burst your bubble.”I was devastated, and to be honest, the friendship was never the same. I felt a real friend would have welled up the guts to share her concerns before I made the mistake. Sure, I might have ignored her, or even gotten defensive, but one uncomfortable conversation might have been enough to make ask questions that could have saved my family a pile http://www.mcleodandmore.com/2013/12/30/why-lack-of-managerial-courage-ruins-everything/