What Foxes are Lurking in Your Backyard? 

Written by Tyler Head

A few weeks back, in a client meeting with a small leadership team discussing areas of growth—both as individual leaders and as an aligned team—one of the participants mentioned foxes in the backyard.

This got me thinking.

Foxes inherently are not a threat to human beings. They are known to be cunning, strategic in their actions, and hard to track down. Furthermore, I don’t see them often here in the Ozarks, but I know they’re there. As I thought more about this image of a cunning, stealthy, yet intentional creature that often goes unseen, I began to wonder:

What foxes are lurking in growing organizations?

Later in the discussion, the participant elaborated on her metaphor of foxes in the backyard, providing more opportunity to understand its parallels to organizational growth. She told a story about being away from home for the weekend and worrying that the foxes in the backyard might steal her chickens. This had been a persistent problem around her home, but she and her husband had worked together to mitigate the risk of a fox invasion.

Naturally, I dug in:
“How did you mitigate this risk?”

She smiled wryly and responded simply:
“We talked about it.”

It’s as simple as that.

This brilliant woman and her teammate identified a threat, discussed why it was a threat, and decided what they wanted to do about it.

Collaboration. Clarity. Commitment.

Three powerful elements of teamwork that enable organizations to identify both opportunities and threats—and then take action.

Organizational development doesn’t have to be overly complex, especially when you foster a culture of collaboration, clarity, and commitment.

Not all foxes are threats—some might represent opportunities or areas for strategic focus. But whether they are threats or opportunities, one thing is certain: addressing them head on surely won’t harm your organization. 

What foxes are lurking in your backyard?
Will you talk about them? Or wait until they attack?