Pssst: Gossip Is A Great Leadership Tool

Gossip can actually be good for your business, your customers, and the bottom line. But you need to know how to spread the right news in the right way.

Gossip gets a bad rap--and not without reason. We generally regard gossip as being untrue, or as involving personal information that should not be shared, whether it's true or not. As George Bernard Shaw once said, "The things most people want to know about are usually none of their business."

But a recent study suggests that workplace gossip may actually be a good thing. According to Stanford University researcher Dr. Matthew Feinberg, "Groups that allow their members to gossip sustain co-operation and deter selfishness better than those that don't."

What if you could put the power of gossip to work in your organization--in a positive way that builds people up rather than tears them down? You can. Here's how.

Catch your people doing something right

As one successful CEO notes, many bosses barely interact with their employees, unless it's to tell them that they did something wrong. While some good employees may tolerate this for a time, others will move on to greener pastures. Why not start some positive gossip in your office by telling your employees--face to face, or via email or personal notes--what a great job they did on a particular task or project, and how proud you are to have them as employees? Spread this kind of positive gossip in your office and it will be repaid many times over with happy, productive, and loyal employees.

Talk about the good things your business does

Chances are your company is doing a lot of good things out there in the world, and you should make sure your people hear all about it. Whether you're providing eldercare services in your community, or you have developed a patch that makes people invisible to mosquitos, or you sell a line of refreshing organic fruit juices through grocery stores throughout the region, your business deserves props. Spread the word and your people will soon be bursting with pride for the positive change they are helping make, and they will pass on the word to their friends, relatives, and colleagues.

Communicate positive customer stories widely

Your customers can be the very best source of positive gossip in your business, because they have experienced for themselves the benefits of your company's products and services. Be sure to tell positive customer stories to your people--individually, in teams, and in large-group meetings--and invite customers to stop by your offices or participate in team meetings to tell their own stories. This is an extremely powerful form of positive gossip, and everyone in your organization will benefit by hearing it.

Make gossip part of your company culture

Gossip isn't gossip if it isn't spread around. Make sure you let your people know that you not only approve positive gossip at work, but that you encourage it. Research shows that positive gossip has far-reaching and long-lasting benefits. Model the behavior you want others to emulate by engaging in frequent positive gossip yourself, and providing positive feedback to those employees who follow your example. Remember: You always get more of the behavior you reward!

via inc

Secret 37: What to Do If You've Screwed Up

Trying to do damage control too quickly will usually make a bad situation worse. Here's what to do instead.

Screwing up is part of life. Even great geniuses make mistakes. When you do screw up, however, what's important isn't the screwup (that's history) but what you do afterward. Here's a step-by-step approach:

1. Take a deep breath.

The moment you realize you've made a big mistake is usually not the best time to take action to correct it. Any action you take when you're in panic mode is likely to make the problem worse.

For example, suppose you blurt out in a meeting with your boss and Customer A that your company gave Customer B a huge discount. You immediately realize that bringing up that discount means Customer A will probably demand a similar discount.

Trying to recover on the spot is a bad idea. If you tell the customer, "Of course, big discounts aren't our usual policy," you'll only call more attention to the discount. Same thing if you apologize to your boss the moment the two of you leave the meeting.

So take a deep breath, shake yourself out, maybe go for a short walk. Get a little distance from the situation before you react.

2. Take a dose of perspective.

Although your blunder may seem monumental to you, it may be far less significant to the other people involved.

If your mistake is uncharacteristic, chances are that people who already know you will simply put it down to your having a bad day. That doesn't mean you don't need to make amends, but the situation may be less dire than you assume.

Remember that, in the grand scheme of things, your huge, embarrassing mistake is insignificant.

3. Do a reality check.

Now that you've gotten some distance and perspective, revisit your blunder with the other people who witnessed it. Find out how much damage has been done by putting your inquiry in the form of a question, like:

• "John, when I reacted negatively to your idea earlier today, I think I might have been overly harsh. I want to make certain you know that I'm not trying to be a pill and that my heart is in the right place."

Reality checks are best delivered via email rather than in person, because email gives everyone the opportunity to cool down.

4. Apologize and address the blowback.

The response that you get from your reality check in the previous step lets you gauge what you'll need to do to get beyond the mistake. For example, if the response is something like "You screwed up badly, you jerk," some groveling may be in order.

On the other hand, if the response is more like "Yeah, I was offended/angry/surprised, but it's no big deal," your apology can be more perfunctory:

• "John, I'm really sorry that I overreacted and would like to meet with you to apologize in person and make a commitment to never allow myself to act that way in the future."

Shortcut: When you've screwed up

• DON'T try to fix things immediately; take some time to think.
• REMEMBER that eventually nobody will care what happened.
• FIND out how seriously you screwed up.
• MAKE apologies but focus on fixing the results.

via inc