19 episodes
From Gossip to Growth | Eradicate Workplace Gossip Rika Whelan | Workplace Gossip Strategist
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- Business
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4.8 • 4 Ratings
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Is gossip rampant in your department, organisation or company?
Have you tried multiple different strategies, but nothing seems to work?
I’ve been there before! Hi, I’m Rika Whelan, Workplace Gossip Strategist.
I started as the gossiper, following the ’unwritten rules’ of the organisation I was working at where gossip was the norm. I was never spoken to by a leader for gossiping, & I’ve often wondered why it was tolerated.
After changing employers, I decided to not be part of the office gossip problem anymore... I wasn’t going to gossip!
As gossip was rampant in this working environment, I soon became a victim of gossip for my lack of sharing the gossiping sentiment.
I stuck to my guns and refused to participate. I became somewhat of an outsider, but I stuck it out.
Although I was building internal resilience & getting to know how strong I (really) was, I became resentful towards the leaders for the lack of accountability towards staff, lack of care for the working environment that we were in & the fact that they were part of the problem.
Fast forward a couple of years & I found myself in a leadership role where I led a relatively new department. Within 3 months, gossip had taken over & there was a huge problem!
I pulled up my sleeves & declared battle! Gossip would not have a place in my team!
I set out to find the solution to eradicating workplace gossip. But no one had the exact answer. A lot of great leaders offered their advice & slowly but surely, I had to put the pieces of the puzzle together.
I implemented what is now known as the RESPECT framework, which is the steps I took, very clunky and making A LOT of mistakes along the way, to eradicate workplace gossip & create a thriving workplace culture.
It took me 12 months to implement these steps, but I did it!
Along with my leadership team, we eradicated gossip & experienced first-hand what it felt like to work in a gossip-free zone! It felt good! It felt amazing & it was worth all the effort, trials and tribulations.
By eradicating gossip, my team:
-＞ Increased productivity
-＞ Managed their time better
-＞ Stopped wasting valuable time
-＞ Started working autonomously
-＞ Started trusting each other
-＞ Experienced less conflict
-＞ Gained a growth mindset and left the fixed mindset behind
-＞ Offered a better customer experience
As a result of eradicating office gossip, the leadership team:
-＞ Gained back valuable time, usually wasted on mediating unnecessary conflict
-＞ Could focus on strategy instead of on bad and negative employee behaviour
-＞ Could focus on activities that affect the bottom line
-＞ Could focus on offering a better and more positive working environment for all employees.
Now I’m on a mission, to share these strategies with leaders who are also ready to eradicate workplace gossip and get their department or organisation back on track.
Together, we’ll break the cycle of gossip with transformative leadership strategies!
Next steps:
Head to https://www.gossiptogrowth.com where you’ll be able to:
1. Join the Free Facebook Community or simply head to Facebook and search “Leaders Breaking the Cycle of Workplace Gossip (From Gossip to Growth)”
2. Download the free copy of the RESPECT framework
3. Join the book launch team for my new book “From Gossip to Growth”
4. Contribute to my new book by filling out a survey
5. Book a free gossip strategy call with me.
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018 | When Leaders Gossip in Your Organisation - Your Role as a Fellow Leader
What should you do when one of your employees are not actually the problem at work, but rather a fellow leader or even your line manager or 2-up?
In this episode, I'll discuss my first-hand experience of dealing with a situation like this with you and suggest some ways that you can go about solving this problem.
Being in a leadership role can be tough. We have multiple different challenges every single day and problems that we have to solve. We're also pushed out of our comfort zone often!
One of those uncomfortable situations, could be having a crucial or tough conversation with someone.
We often avoid having tough conversations because we don't know how the other person is going to react.
But their reaction is on them... it's not your responsibility. What you can control and what is your responsibility is your actions, your words and controlling your emotions.
1. Make an appointment to speak with this person
2. Prepare well, write down some key words or phrases that you can take with you (in case you freeze up)
3. Approach the person calmly, instead of going in guns blazing ready to defend and attack.
4. Address the issue as a collective issue, saying that you are concerned for the gossip culture and that other employees are worried as well.
5. If they get defensive, state the facts. Stick to the facts and do not take it personal. It's personal to them, not to you.
6. Follow up after the meeting
7. Get other leaders, line managers involved and committed to a gossip-free environment.
Mentioned in the Episode
John Maxwell - 360° Leadership (from Amazon)
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017 | 5 Stages Every Team Will Navigate and How to Manage It Successfully
Download the show notes here
In this episode, I’ll be running you through Bruce Tuckman's 5 Stages of Team Development. Let’s see if you can identify which your team is in…
Why is it that some teams in your organisation get along so well and constantly meet their goals but others don’t?
A couple of years ago, it all clicked when I learnt about Bruce Tuckman’s 5 stages of team development model.
His theory is that every team go through 5 stages. The 5 phases are:
Phase 1 - The Forming Phase
Phase 2 - The Storming phase
Phase 3 - The Norming phase
Phase 4 - The Performing phase
Phase 5 - The Adjourning phase
Listen as I discuss when each phase commences, the traits of teams in every phase and the leader's role in every phase
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016 | As a Leader, Your Job is to Inspire Your Culture and Battle the Perceptions of Gossip - With Brandon Gano
Podcast announcement! Listen to the end for a special announcement!
Today, we have our first guest on the show - Brandon Gano!
Brandon is a visionary entrepreneur who turned frustration into a successful business, which he built, franchised, and later sold for a significant profit. Now, with his business partner and friend Sean Delaney, he's pioneering an unprecedented approach to educate and empower small business owners to achieve business growth like never before.
Listen as we discuss:
Ways in which gossip can be detrimental to an organisation, a business or to a team
What processes are or are not in place that allows gossip to fester
His reason for not tackling gossip sooner
The process of tackling gossip
The frustration that gossip causes leaders
Battling the perceptions of gossip
The importance of leadership
Connect With Brandon
Podcast: Harmonious at Lunch
On Apple
On Spotify
Website
Free Assessment to get Clarity into your business and Confidence in what you need to do next to grow.
CLICK HERE to access the website
NEXT STEPS
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015 | 10 ways to build gossip-resilient teams Part 2
Welcome to Part 2 of our series 10 ways to build gossip-resilient teams. If you haven't, listen to episode 14, where we covered ways 1-5.
In this episode, we'll be covering ways 6-10.
6. Training and Education: Provide regular training to your team about growth mindset, the importance of a positive workplace culture, how to create a positive workplace culture and environment, team building opportunities
7. Conflict Resolution Skills: Implement strategies for resolving conflicts constructively, which can reduce the spread of gossip that often stems from misunderstandings or disputes. Things like having a key phrase to prompt the person that you’ll be speaking to them about a conflict now or asking to speak to them privately. Understanding why the conflict occurred (difference of opinion, goal or upbringing/culture/personality). Seeking support from a line manager, for example the line manager can coach the person prior to speaking to the other person about the conflict.
8. Encouraging Personal Responsibility/Accountability: Encouraging team members to take personal responsibility for their part in gossip and to actively work towards a more positive communication style. Encourage team not to get defensive, put their walls up, but rather to be truthful with themselves and their teammates.
9. Creating Support Systems: Create support systems within the team, like mentorship programs, peer support groups, or coaching, to help team members feel more connected and less inclined to engage in gossip, engage in conflict resolution. This will also reduce the fear of conflict and give employees more confidence.
10. Monitoring and Feedback: Monitor the workplace environment for signs of gossip and provide feedback or take corrective actions when necessary. Complete surveys, speak to team members, seek feedback from new and old employees, have regular check-ins.
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014 | 10 ways to build gossip-resilient teams Part 1
Come and learn the strategies you must implement to ensure your teams don't gossip.
In this 2-part series, I'll be sharing 10 ways that you can build gossip-resilient teams:
Understanding the Impact of Gossip: Have discussions with your team about the impact of gossip on the team, individuals and the organisation as a whole. Human Resources, Financial, Reputation, Culture
Identifying Gossip Triggers: There are common triggers to gossip. As a team, sit down and discuss what these are for people. It could be jealousy, a lack of information (therefore filling the gaps with gossip), lack of communication, speculation occurring, being upset with someone and discussing it with others instead of directly with that person (fear of conflict) etc.
Fostering Open Communication: Open channels of communication, going directly to the person instead of discussing it with others, not conveying another person’s personal information to others, feedback culture, giving feedback and taking it as that, not getting frustrated and then sharing your frustration with others,
Setting Clear Expectations and Policies: Set clear expectations with your team through policies and procedures, clear expectations before projects, about gossip etc. Your team can’t stay within the boundaries if they don’t know where the boundaries are.
Leading by Example: A leader’s role in setting the tone for the team's culture, is crucial. A leader’s behaviour and attitudes towards gossip can influence the entire team. They can’t expect their team to not gossip if they gossip.
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013 | 8 ways to gossip-proof your onboarding process
How can you ensure that new employees don’t gossip?
Imagine this: you have a completely gossip-free environment, a positive company culture, and great team communication, and then… a new employee comes along and ruins it.
Within weeks of them starting in your department/organisation, you notice a drastic decline in team morale, there’s misunderstanding upon misunderstanding.
You decide to ignore it because they must still be fitting in and you had such a great interview with this new employee, you feel you just want to give them a fair chance.
What would you do?
According to the Tuckman model (tune in to an upcoming episode where I'll explain this in detail), all teams will go through a storming phase when a new employee comes along as they learn to work together.
However, when does this become concerning?
When it comes to gossip and negative attitudes and spread to other employees, you should always take it seriously and ensure you speak to your team, no matter how short or long they’ve been there, no matter what they’re working through in their personal lives, gossip and negative attitudes should not be taken lightly.
It can cause a lot of damage in a very short amount of time, and you’ll have to spend a significant amount of time repairing the damage.
So how can you ensure that this doesn’t happen?
You gossip-proof your onboarding process.
Discuss no-gossip policies and expectations in interviews.
Onboarding documentation - must be clear regarding the expectations!
Onboarding Training - must be clear regarding the expectations!
No-gossip pledges or value statements.
Open channels of communication.
Follow-up meetings at 3 & 6 weeks and 3&6 months.
Make necessary changes to onboarding programs.
Accountability
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Customer Reviews
Yay for this podcast!
The world needs to hear this message. Gossip is so toxic and so hard to abstain from delicately. It’s been a decade long journey for me. I wish this podcast existed ten years ago it would have made that learning curve so much easier
Much needed
This is such a great topic and love the simple & practical steps to take with you teams!