I am always amazed at how quickly rumors spread in a team or organization. Rumors are but one type of information transmitted through gossiping. Other types include venting or fingerpointing at people. All the same, gossiping can be a very toxic form of communication within your team.

So what does it mean for me as a leader? What should I do about it?

First of all, it is critical to recognize that gossiping is essentially information. For all its bad, it also has positive value for you as a leader: Gossiping gives you clues about what is happening, what is being said so you can tap into it. A few years back, I addressed a performance problem in my team because gossips about it gave me clues as to what the exact issue was. Without that information, I would have tackled that performance issue from a completely different perspective and would have failed to resolve it.

Letting gossiping happen is obviously not really good. But this is usually the way the team has to deal with things that are taboos to talk openly. For people, it can feel safe to gossip.

What I am suggesting then is that a leader should find ways to create a safe environment for people to talk: For instance by making it clear in meetings that what is said in the room stays in the room; or by using regular one-on-ones with your team members to ask them what is on their mind or how they feel about a particular topic. By doing this, you may reduce the need for people to gossip.

What do you think? How are you dealing with gossiping on your team?

For comments or questions, please visit my website or contact me at pascal@p-m-coaching.com