Gossip. Most of us have either done it or been the subject of it. Most of us know that it’s not good form, that it causes problems down the road from destroyed relationships to lost hours of productivity to a general sense of mistrust. So why do we still do it?
One underlying reason we gossip is because we want to feel connected. When we come to someone with gossip, it says I’m valuable. I’m important. I’m connecting to somebody. But in that moment, we don’t see that we are connecting at the expense of somebody else. We don’t realize that gossip makes people ineffective. And we forget that when we believe the gossip to be true, we aren’t hearing the whole story.
As leaders, we want to be careful about engaging in gossip.
When you have the desire to gossip, center yourself. Hold that desire and recognize what’s behind it. Do you want to feel important? Make a connection? Feel valued? Once you recognize this, observe how it feels to not to speak the gossip.
With practice and time, you’ll find that your workplace is a more harmonious place.