On The Upside of Gossip

This Week’s Topic: Gossip

1 Strategy 🎯 

Early in my career, I worked with a colleague that I could not get along with.

I didn’t trust them, I didn’t think they pulled their weight on the team, and they frequently threw unnecessary wrenches into my projects.

I would vent my frustration to anyone and everyone…except the individual I was frustrated with.

I was a card-carrying gossip.

On one occasion, the person overheard me talking about them and confronted me. The exchange was heated and awkward.

I mended the relationship as best I could, but all these years later, I still cringe at the way I handled that situation.

A couple years later I gossiped again.

Our company was being acquired and while I was pretty confident that my job was secure ahead of the acquisition, I worked closely with a very talented Financial Analyst who I knew was on the chopping block.

When I was interviewed by an executive from the acquiring company about why my job was essential (a fairly high-stress conversation), I used a portion of that time to make a strong case for why my Finance partner was also an invaluable contributor to the success of the company.

A few weeks later the analyst stopped by my desk and handed me a thank you note with a $100 gift card to a local steak house.

His job was safe and he had heard through the grapevine that I had put in a good word for him.

In this case, gossip was a force for good…

• My colleague kept his job

• I cultivated an important relationship

Gossip is a communication tool.

We can use it to build people up.

Or we can use it to tear people down.

The next time you notice that a conversation about someone is taking a turn for the negative, consider pausing and asking yourself the following questions:

1. Is it True?

2. Is it Necessary?

3. Is it Kind?

If the answer is “no”, it might be best to switch topics.

Reply to this email and let me know how it goes! I look forward to hearing from you.

See you next Wednesday,

Darin

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