Follow Up on Gossip

Good or bad, if your folks have rumors swirling about the office, follow up on them.

Have you ever been walking down the hall at work and overheard a co-worker speaking about one of your team members?  You couldn’t help but slow down a little bit could you?  Maybe you even found something to do so you could stop and listen in.

Officially, stop it!  You shouldn’t be eavesdropping on another person’s conversation.  On the other hand, they are speaking loud enough for others to hear and it is an open office, so leaning your ear in a bit isn’t all that bad is it?  Other times, a co-worker might be talking about your team member in a meeting, or they may just come to you, straight away, with certain information.

These little rumors may be good in that the co-worker is praising or talking highly of the team member.  The gossip could also be bad in that the team member could have upset someone or did something legally or ethically questionable.  Either way, this is good intel to help you, the manager, manage and lead your team.

First and foremost, you must have respect and courage to follow up on the gossip.  You must respect all parties involved to follow up and not take any one person’s side.  This is particularly true for bad gossip.  It is your responsibility to get all of the information and data first.  Speak to as many people involved as possible and be open and listen to all the information.

This takes courage because if you did happen upon the conversation by chance, you will need to confess to a level of eavesdropping.  It is in the best interest of the team and the business that you lead to resolve the negative feelings, so use courage to respectfully get to the bottom of issues.  Get all sides of the story, so you may even need to hold meetings with the folks.  Keep in mind that getting to the bottom of an issue may take a little bit of time.  You may have to circle back to talk to someone at an opportune time.

Closing out bad gossip is important to resolve any conflict that may be rising up between team members and co-workers.  This rumor may have been the first time you heard about the issue, but the conflict may have been brewing for some time before.  As leader, it is your obligation to lead a successful team.  Negative conflict always hampers success, so take care if it.

Understanding good gossip is the fun part.  You get to share it!  After understanding the positive rumors, you get to address it with the related team member.  “I recently found out you did this…  That is fantastic, and thank you very much!”  After speaking to them, ask to spread that news further:  with the rest of the team, the company, or even just upper management.  Whatever the case, let the person know of your appreciation.

Not all gossip is bad.  If it is, it is your job to understand the facts and lead to resolve the issues.  If it is good, use that news to show your appreciation to that team member.  Either way, get to the bottom of and follow up on office gossip.