Unless you write for National Enquirer, it’s hard to see how gossip can be a productive influence in your group of friends, employees, co-workers, etc. A recent Harvard Business Review article, The Antidote to Office Gossip, defines gossip as “casual and unconstrained conversation, about absent third parties, regarding information or events that cannot be confirmed as being true.” The article is aimed at managers, but just about anyone in any group can embrace the most important piece of advice:
“Employees look to their managers as role models and messengers of organizational values. It’s one thing to insist on conduct based on mutual regard and high character; it’s quite another to demonstrate it. Ethics and empathy should be the tandem directive for conduct. If you model integrity in what you say and do, your employees will likely follow suit.”
What if you modeled integrity in this way within your group? What effect would it have? And how much loyalty and respect would you engender? Worth giving it a try.
And here’s a past post about college admissions gossip and how to avoid it.