Lifescripts, 3rd Edition

83Putting an End to a Direct Report's Gossiping

STRATEGY

Gossip in the workplace is like an open jar of honey: everyone enjoys a small taste, a big gulp can make you sick, and getting the lid back on is sticky business. Unrelenting, focused attacks on a single worker create fear, resentment, and apprehension in all workers. The gossipmonger is rarely called to task by colleagues, protected by the silent shield of everyone's penchant to gossip. The result is the undermining of the equilibrium and effectiveness of the workforce. This script's goal is put an end to the pronouncements of your office gossip. Your willingness to acknowledge the problem, consider it seriously, and confront the source are the secrets to success.

TACTICS

• Attitude: Be firm and confident in your approach. No one will debate that gossip is a good thing. Stress that your intolerance and anger is for the activity, not the person.
• Preparation: Try to get actual examples of the gossip's bad‐mouthing. The strength of your documentation will determine if you can, in fact, confront a gossip as the problem, or must confront gossip itself as the problem. If direct reports come to you to complain, keep notes. Check with other supervisors too. Your own experiences of negative behavior are a key. Since direct reports may clam up when a supervisor is around, and probably won't snitch on a peer for an activity they have engaged in too, getting solid documentation may be tough. Still, every workplace has a body of ...