Career Success - How to Deal With Office Rumours and Gossip
As we all know there is office gossip and rumours that abound in the workplace. Some of them start as a joke and some as a result of overheard misinterpretation of a conversation. What we need to remember is that rumours hold no power on their own, it is the person that is passing it on that lends it credence. Now we do not want to allow us to stoop to their levels of unprofessionalism, but as it is your reputation that is being tarnished you need to address this as soon as possible. We do need to make sure that the rumour has no credibility, so before we go and address this with the person we need to be objective in our view of what we have heard. Are there any circumstances under which this could be considered true? Most likely not, but it is definitely worth the effort to make sure you seeing yourself in others eyes.
By Lori Smith
So
now lets try and establish how the rumour started, was it because someone
just does not like you, or was it because of a misunderstanding. Either
way if we can establish the source of the rumour then we should go to them
and request to speak with them in person. If you are unsure of your ability
to remain calm in the conversation you may request that someone else be
present to mediate, this would preferably be a supervisor or someone to
whom you are inclined to listen if you are getting carried away. Now you
have the opportunity to explain to them what you know and why you are addressing
it with them, remember this – they may not be the source of the rumour.
At this stage you are on a fact finding mission, so you may want to start
the conversation with something reasonably neutral and unaccusing such
as: " As you may know there is a rumour regarding me going around. I was
told that you may have some information in this regard and was hoping you
could help me get to the bottom of this issue." This gives them the opportunity
to be honest and tell you what they do know about it. Obviously they may
lie to you at this stage, however you have established your credibility.
If they deny any knowledge you can end the conversation by asking them
to let you know if they hear anything else. At no time should you tell
them where you heard that they know some information. This puts your source
in a bad light and may prevent you from getting to the bottom of the issue
as they could immediately start to attack your source.
You may give them details of the rumour if they request it, as this may be totally different from what they said, as we all know messages and rumours get elaborated on every time that they are passed on to the next person, so by the time you have become aware of it, it could be totally different from how it started out.
Lastly you should also advise them that you don't appreciate that people talk about you in a manner different from how they would speak to you. Basically you are telling them that if they have an issue with you to at least say it to your face so that you can deal with it.
Lori Smith is a professional coach, consultant and founder of Foundation Coaching, HyperClique Career Coaching and Pure Infusion Leadership Coaching.
She shares what she learned after 8 years in the IT Service Desk support arena. Where she started as an help desk analyst and worked her way up to be a Technical Team Lead. She shares her knowledge and experience of both being in the trenches and being a tortured Mid-manager stuck in the middle of Head Office and employees. She shares her experience of breaking free of the old Corp world and following her true passion.
