Need to Slow Down the Rumor Mill? Ask Yogesh Sood
Dear Yogesh,
I manage a team of ten-plus members at a multinational bank which I’ve been leading for the past 6 years. I had some new members replace some old ones, and since Covid, it has been a topsy-turvy situation. With all the changes that we are trying to incorporate into the system. We had to set up a hybrid model and decide who would work under what conditions. 50% of my time is spent working from home, the rest 50 is in a hybrid model.
Recently, our CEO resigned, and we have a new executive team that joined. Things were getting back into place when I started hearing some odd things in the office. The weird gossip and rumors were not only unpleasant to hear but also disheartening for me.
One rumor was that we were selling a whole department of the office, and another was that I would resign due to ongoing problems. None of it is true. The truth is that people are getting wrong ideas which are eventually hampering their performance, and it is not good.
I am feeling helpless.
Kindly suggest how I can respond to this.
Chirag
Dear Chirag,
Everybody hates gossip unless they are the ones doing it. It is part of who we are and is imbibed in our nature. When we look into our past and understand what gossip really is, we find out that it is a part of us that evolved with us and is here to stay. And I also believe that it has become a survival mechanism for us, a way to manage things that are uncertain and pave our path through situations we do not fully understand.
And not just that, it is also how we create relationships. Our brain loves to gossip as it releases a little rush of dopamine which is just like a rewarding rush that we get when we consume chocolate, drugs, or receive compliments. Which also implies that gossip can be addictive. We as humans gossip because it releases strong emotions and provokes strong feelings. This can invoke a feeling of ‘Us’ with the person we gossip with and help create intangible bonds for people.
Therefore, shutting down all the gossip is next to impossible, but putting a leash on it can still be achieved. So, what I suggest you do is tackle the situation head-on. You can directly have a conversation with your team and confront them that there have been some rumors that came to your attention. It is best to communicate with them directly and make them understand the people inside and outside the team are spreading rumors that are not true. Explain to them how this is leading to negativity and misconceptions and is causing enormous distraction and damage to the team and work.
Try to politely convey your message and if you hear something that you think should not be talked about, try to say something like:
- Do not indulge in conversations that you feel are not 100% true.
- If you think something might happen that can affect you in the process, talk to me, and I’ll clear it out.
- Do not encourage rumors, as it creates a divide in the team.
- If you see a bunch of people talking about someone who is not present there, try and ask them to contact that particular person who they are talking about rather than talking amongst themselves.
- And, if someone tries to reach out to you with something he/she heard, try to thank him rather than discourage them.
Finally, I also believe that what gives heat to rumors is a rapidly changing environment and the stress of extreme discrepancies. In a situation like this, you can be a role model by holding a safe place for people to share their fears and feelings, which will help them feel more settled and focused.
Yogesh
The above is inspired by a blog written by Madeleine Homan Blanchard on SEPTEMBER 18, 2021: