Gossip Requires a Direct Approach

It is unfortunate that in every workplace, and in every business, gossip is an element that impacts the health and welfare of the organization.   I am keen on reminding teams that the workplace culture is not the responsibility of the leadership; it is the responsibility of everyone employed.  It’s a daily engagement and obligation by everyone to keep gossip and other unhealthy behaviors at bay.  

Yes, it is human nature to talk about your fellow  teammates.  It’s a joy to celebrate their work anniversaries, promotions, their individual successes, and their family news.  The toxic behavior of gossip is something we are acquainted with in our own past statements about colleagues. Worse yet, we have stood by and allowed someone else to say something negative or untrue and didn’t challenge these comments in support of a healthy workplace culture.  

What I know to be true is that eliminating gossip completely in the workplace is impossible.  What is possible is addressing it with those involved in a timely manner.  This is not about shaming or blaming.  This is about being bold, kind, and direct because the protection of the workplace culture is paramount to a healthy organization.  When a leader avoids this obligation, they are not only part of the problem, but they also become the problem because gossip will not go away, it will only grow without their intervention.

In a coaching call this morning, I addressed this with a leader who is the target of gossip.  I reminded them to acknowledge the bad behavior for what it was and address it in a manner that doesn’t match the dysfunction of what was used against them.  To make the point, I shared the famous quote of First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. “Great minds talk about ideas. Average minds talk about events. Small minds talk about people.”  Be the great leadership mind that shares the virtue that the idea of gossip is wrong and needs to be addressed immediately.