Challenging Negative Gossip in the workplace

Andy McComments off.

Gossip is defined as casual or unconstrained conversation or reports about other people, typically involving details which are not confirmed as true. and is usually considered to be negative.  Gossiping in the workplace is usually prominent when formal communication between Executive and Leadership teams, middle management and colleagues is lacking or dysfunctional.  We can easily gauge whether an organisation is successful in colleague engagement and communication or not, via the amount of rumor and gossip during ambiguous times of change (promotions, team changes, leavers, transfers etc)

Gossip serves three direct purposes: informational, emotional, and interpersonal.

• It is a valued source of information for those who mistrust formal channels or when communication channels are poor. “I heard that your manager is leaving and there is someone new coming in.” It’s also the most common way of gaining valued information about our most important social systems. “Don’t have Jason do the IT for that project if you want it to work on time!.”

 

• It sometimes serves as an emotional release for anger or frustration. “Anna had a go at us for no reason and made us look like idiots in the project review today. I was so p*ss*d off!”

 

• It is used as an indirect way of surfacing or engaging in interpersonal conflicts. “I heard Brett slammed your project requests—and mine—in the steering group. I see no reason to keep dealing with his requests with the same urgency.”

 

The ramifications of these purposes of gossip within a workplace can be very damaging. It can disrupt teamwork, reduce productivity, hurt feelings, diminish morale and damage reputations, which all lead to a dispirited team and eventually, high staff turnover.  Gossip is an effective way of achieving these goals in an unhealthy social environment.

Individuals engage in gossip when they lack trust or efficacy. We become consumers of gossip when we don’t trust formal channels — turning to trusted colleagues rather than doubtful leaders. We become purveyors of it when we feel we can’t raise sensitive issues more directly with leadership — so we gossip with colleagues rather than risking the wrath of those higher up in the leadership levels, despite those being the individuals whom should be ensuring effective communication negates the need for gossip.

There is a need to understand that gossip will never be completely eradicated, one of the main issues with gossip is the lack of management of it.  Gossip reinforces the negatives that generate it. It’s pernicious because it’s based on a self-fulfilling prophecy. If there is a lack trust or efficacy, then Gossip is engaged — which then robs individuals of the opportunity to test this mistrust or inefficacy. The more Gossip is used, the more the need to Gossip is reinforced.

But if malicious gossip builds silos and weakens relationships, well-managed gossip type behaviours can be a positive for leaders and their teams.  In addition to ensuring clear, timely and honest communication, there are a clear set of guidesw that can be referred to to ensure that leaders are not caught up in a negative gossip culture.

1. If the person you are talking about is in the vicinity and you have to whisper, it’s probably malicious.
2. Strive to make something better, how can a situation be improved?
3. Focus on something that actually happened – remove the personal noise and don’t try to explore motives.
4. Focus on behaviours not character.
5. Discuss an action plan with a trusted adviser, coach, or mentor.
6. Help someone self-reflect, not speculate about others.
   • How do YOU feel?
   • What is your intent?
   • What’s next?
7. Focus on the future, rather than looking backwards.

 Gossip is the opiate of the oppressed. —Erica Jong

 

Once these leadership behaviours are embedded, there are many steps which leaders should consider taking when striving for a healthier and happier team and culture.

Have clear, frequent and formal meetings to communicate the activity and news within the business

As we have intimated, gossip increases during times of ambiguous change within the workplace, it is important to fully inform colleagues of new changes, and keep the door open for people to express their concerns or opinions.  Gossip can heighten when employees concerns are not considered and thoughts and ideas are not addressed. For example, “Did you hear that in tha meeting? He didn’t even listen to me!”.

Everyone’s viewpoints need to be responded to with respect, ensuring employees feel like they are a valuable and important part of the team, and that their concern can or will be addressed.  Certain cliques whom are closer than other colleagues with the leadership and executive teams should not be perceived as having more impact or influence than other colleagues – Workplaces are not playgrounds.

Create a culture of civility

Incivility is the practice of adopting inconsiderate conversations that go against workplace values and norms. Basically, it is when an individual has bad manners and lacks compassion towards other people.  Some examples of incivility are; being condescending towards others, blaming others for mistakes and throwing tantrums when you don’t get your way. These habits can rapidly spread through an organisation, particularly if demonstrated by the leadership /executive teams

These textbook characteristics of incivility can be diminished via establishing the values of the business (honesty, respect etc but only if these are real values and not meaningless words), run training programs on how to deal with difficult people, and how to communicate effectively.

An effective 360-degree survey (employees reviewing other employees) may also be beneficial as the management team can review the strengths and weaknesses of each employee’s performance, and work together to improve and prosper.  However, this needs to be structured and data-based rather than a half-hearted open forum in which people give the feedback they want to recieve.

Career Development and Goal Setting

Leaders can motivate colleagues to set challenging goals in order to keep them focused and content in their role, feeling like they are moving forward and aren’t stagnating.  Colleagues should feel a sense of responsibility for their own development, but ultimately the responsibility os on the leader.   If a colleague isn’t feeling focussed or appreciated, they are more inclined to talk to other colleagues about the problems they are having in their role and a negativity sets in.

It is best to first and foremost, to communicate with an individual’s direct leader should any issues arise. It is recommended to set realistic goals and review individual performance, to keep everyone on the same page and to progress teams further. Whilst doing this, it is important to focus predominantly on strengths of colleagues and build confidence and contentment. If a problematic behaviour is discussed, it is vital for leaders to comment and focus on the behaviour itself, not the individual.

Role Allocation

It is essential for each colleague to have a clearly defined role, and fully understand their own tasks enhancing responsibility and accountability. However a happy and focussed team will understand a need to be flexible in their role, and be willing to engage in teamwork when other departments need help.

 

Finally, leaders whom are not enabling a malicious gossip culture – or worse still, promoting a negative culture  by role modeling bad behaviours, need to answer gossips forcefully and transparently.

Fours simple sentences to address gossips:

“You seem to think things are bad. If things were better, what would be true for you and what would this look like?”

“What is it you are wanting me to think when you are talking about “Jane” in this way?

“I’m just wondering what you’re trying to accomplish by telling me this?”

“I’m curious. What exactly would you like to do about this, or would you expect me to do?

 

 

“Great minds discuss ideas. Average minds discuss events. Small minds discuss people.” 
– Henry Thomas Buckle

 

 

 

authentic leadership, communication, gossip, leaders, leadership Posted in: Culture, Leadership