Identifying how your employees fit within your organization
Highlighting common areas of conflict within groups
Avoiding negative group behaviors
Put two or more people in a work setting and you're bound to have conflict. The conflicts can range from minor squabbles about who drank the last cup of coffee to major disputes involving discrimination or sexual harassment. Anytime people interact, disagreements and disputes can result.
Whether you wear a white tie, a blue shirt, or a uniform, your workplace has naturally and artificially formed groups that add characteristics to the work environment and, ultimately, to conflict. You've probably heard phrases like group think and mob mentality used to describe what can happen when people get together. And with terms like these floating around, it's natural to assume that groups are bad. But, as a manager, you know that groups are essential!
Created based on similar job assignments (like the accounting department) or pulled together based on skill sets (like a selected task force), groups are required to get the work done. Teams can work like well-oiled machines that win awards, exceed sales projections, solve what seem like insurmountable problems, and build elaborate buildings in record time. So if groups have the capacity to do such great things, what is it about them that causes conflict?
In this chapter, I share how the company, its culture, and the phenomenon of group dynamics all have the potential to turn an otherwise functioning group into a fragmented team of distracted individuals.
Conflict between two employees is one thing, but when conflict is between employees and the organization it's a whole other issue. When employees are up in arms, consider how the organization itself may be contributing to conflict. Start by looking at your enterprise and consider its culture.
Your organization's culture is made up of its philosophies, customs, and ethos, as well as the written and unwritten rules regarding policies, procedures, protocol, and conduct. These components are the basis for your establishment's culture and are evident in the organization's focus, how it hires and promotes employees, and how it adapts to change. Some examples of different kinds of workplace cultures include:
Top-down, military-style organizations, which often have a very clear hierarchy. They stress the importance of structure and protocol, and decisions are made by those with power and rank. A structured company is a difficult work environment for people who prefer a more relaxed and flexible workplace or find value in the discussions that take place before decisions are made.
Production or assembly-line companies, which focus on the individual and her role in the company. Like cogs in a wheel, employees are responsible for completing their part of a task so that everything continues to function properly. Employees who value creativity and like to do new and different things every day often don't appreciate this way of doing business and may feel stifled and unappreciated.
Organizations with a looser configuration of employees, which put less emphasis on teamwork and more on individual achievement. Companies that have independent salespeople, for example, provide a lot of autonomy to their employees and focus more on the end goal than how the goal is achieved. This kind of environment doesn't work well for people who are motivated by collaboration and structure.
Establishments that prioritize people and ideas over products. In these companies, titles and rank aren't important, and everyone has a vote in what happens. These environments don't work well for people who want to work independently or who don't appreciate a 20-minute discussion every time a decision needs to be made.
In addition to your company's culture, it has a distinct personality that's a combination of the culture and the unique personalities of its employees at any given time. Look at your establishment and consider what traits or characteristics you'd assign to the work environment. Have the majority of the employees created a fun, flexible, open-minded, creative, boisterous, ambitious, principled, driven, strict, friendly, spirited, serious, or conservative place to work? Conflict comes into play when the culture and organizational personality don't fit with the values or needs of one or more staff members.
Some employees expend a lot of energy trying to either fit into a workplace or make the workplace fit them. When neither possibility works, they have two options: create a change to meet their needs, or live within the structure that exists. If the conflict over culture is extreme and unworkable, then the company may not be the right one for that employee — and that's okay.
Your organization has a goal, which is also called its purpose or mission statement — essentially, its reason for existing. This focus could be related to the kind of work environment you're in — corporate, business, government, nonprofit, public service, and so on — or it could depend on the philosophies and strategies of the leadership within your company, the management team, the board of directors, or the advisory council.
Each employee in your organization also has goals or reasons for going to work every day. How the goal of the whole organization fits with the goals of individual employees can explain why some employees stay with a company for 40 years and others high-tail it out in the first week. The difference in focus can be one source of conflict between employees and the organization.
Note
For example, I mediated a case in which a handful of teachers had relocated to take positions with a small school district because it was the ideal place for them to create and grow a specialized learning curriculum. As the district grew, its focus changed and the teachers found themselves at odds with many of the employees who had been hired under the new regime. The old guard and the new guard both wanted what was best for the students, but the two groups couldn't see eye to eye on how best to achieve their goals. The powers that be, who were focused on new goals, sided with the newer employees, which caused conflict for everyone involved.
The scope of your company can also cause conflict. If the focus is too broad, some employees may become confused and uncertain about what direction the company is going. A nonprofit that wants to help everyone in the community with every need will end up with tired and overwhelmed employees. Equally, if the focus is too narrow, it can limit employee potential and miss out on ideas that contribute to its prosperity. A business that wants to sell only picture frames may miss out on opportunities if it dismisses an employee's suggestions to expand into the mirror market, leaving the employee feeling unsatisfied and looking for a company that'll appreciate her forward thinking.
In a perfect world, every one of your staff would be a 100-percent perfect match to her job. All your employees would have the education, experience, and personality traits required to do their jobs better than anyone else. But this isn't a perfect world, and not everyone hired or promoted is a good fit. Because the organization, via HR or management, does the hiring and promoting, a misstep in personnel is considered the organization's fault.
Although there's no way to be absolutely certain you're hiring or promoting the right person, you need to consider a few intangible qualifications for a potential employee in order to keep possible conflicts at bay. Set aside the obvious criteria — like education, experience, and general ability to do the job — and then take some time to focus on how a new hire can affect a group.
Any change in personnel has a direct impact on a team. In a small business with only a handful of employees, everyone will be impacted by a change. In larger corporations, those who work most directly with the new employee are most affected. Whatever the situation, consider who's going to have the most contact or interaction with the new hire, and think about what traits in a potential employee are the most compatible with your current team.
Tip
Consider having your team's work styles assessed. You can easily find tools and assessments (online, in bookstores, or by hiring a specialist) to determine the strengths of each of your team members — and the exercise doesn't have to feel like a dreaded trip to the dentist. Not only will the assessment help you consider the traits and personalities you need from a new team member, but it also benefits employees, who need to work together on future projects.
Promoting an employee can be a little trickier than hiring someone new. You still want to consider the individual personality of the employee you're considering promoting, but you also need to be aware of how others will feel about the co-worker being promoted. Anger, jealousy, and disappointment are common reactions in employees who have not been chosen for promotions, and no matter how fair the decision may have been, those reactions may still be present no matter whom you choose to promote from within.
Note
Be available to help others process the change. You can listen to those who are disappointed without necessarily having to do anything about it. You aren't required to justify your decision or act on their concern, but giving them a chance to say they disagree may help them put the issue behind them. (If you're not sure how to listen without acting, practice some of the tips I give you in Chapter 7.)
Tip
When you're hiring or promoting, think about the strengths of the people on your team and think about what's missing. What could a new addition to the team bring that would complement and benefit everyone? Create a list and consider these qualities in your applicants. Enlist staff members to add to the list as a way to get a broader view of the team's needs and to gain buy-in on your hiring strategy early on.
Structure and leadership determine how your organization views change. Organizations range from those that resist change and prefer the comfort and security of tried-and-true methods to those that thrive on new and innovative ways to enhance and grow the business. Most companies experience some level of change over the years, whether it's a large merger of multiple organizations or smaller changes, like hiring a new employee.
The important thing for any manager to remember is how dramatic any change can be for a workplace. Recognize the impact and address it quickly and effectively. Change can bring up fear, uncertainty, and stress for employees who are concerned about how the decisions will directly impact them, and they're relying on the organization to provide them with accurate and up-to-date information when it's available. Do just that.
When a substantial change in the workplace is going to occur, consider the following:
Who will be affected by the change?
Who needs to be involved in the decision making?
How will those who are most affected have a voice in the decisions?
What can you do to minimize rumors and inaccurate information?
How much of what you know can you share with your team?
What is the best method for sharing information?
Note
After you determine what you can share and the best method for sharing, be consistent. You can create calm in the storm by keeping people informed on a regular basis. Even if nothing has changed since the last time you spoke with employees, you can keep them focused by letting them know that you'll tell them what you can, when you can, and that you're keeping them in mind during the transition.
From the opposite perspective, what happens when a group or team within an organization is more open and excited about change than the organization itself? Consider how an organization's resistance to change affects its employees. As staff create new and innovative ideas within an old, conservative structure, clashes can occur, valuable employees may leave, and others will be less willing to take on new projects or even give their best to existing assignments. If you're faced with such a position in a management role, acknowledge that you're in the middle. Do what you can to work within the structure that exists, listen to your team's concerns, and brainstorm with them to determine what you're willing to do on their behalf.
When you experience a conflict caused by change, prepare to do some damage control. Keep in mind that you're not 100 percent responsible for your employees' happiness, and pleasing everyone may not be possible, but consider a few of these ideas to help ease the tension:
Assess the fallout. Find out which employees have been negatively affected by the change and how they're taking it.
Give people a voice. Whether it's one unhappy employee or the whole bunch, give people a chance to voice their concerns. You can accomplish this in a variety of ways, including person-to-person meetings, anonymous surveys, suggestion boxes, and so on. (Chapter 12 gives you more details on creating a feedback loop for your employees.)
Address concerns whenever possible. Ignoring the impact or insincerely defending the company's actions just adds fuel to the fire. Listening to perspectives and acknowledging the reality of the situation is often enough to get people back on track.
Allow whatever control is possible. Employees who are upset by change likely want some control over what's happening. If they're asking for small, manageable changes that can be implemented, consider doing so. It'll help them feel heard and respected. It also demonstrates how your team can pull together in the midst of chaos.
Bring in a professional. If the change has caused more conflict than you or your organization can handle on its own, consider bringing in help. (See Chapter 14 for more information on how to choose outside experts and what to expect from them.)
When the members of a group or team work closely together, certain dynamics start to surface. Those dynamics can be positive and productive (for example, when everyone is on the same page and they blow deadlines out of the water) or negative and counterproductive (when a team doesn't see eye to eye and the work stops). A number of factors can affect the energy of your team. In the following sections, I tell you about some common ones.
Everyone in the workplace has expectations. Those expectations can be concrete, like not parking in the stalls reserved for the retail customers, or less tangible, like receiving respect from your colleagues. Conflict in groups comes into play when all the team members think they have the same expectations, but they really don't.
You may expect that your employees will arrive on time, take their breaks as scheduled, and leave on time. If one of your employees doesn't have that same expectation and decides to work more flexible hours, the two of you have mismatched expectations and a potential problem.
As soon as you get an inkling that your staff's expectations are different from yours or from other members of the team:
Ask each person to state her expectation and to expand on how she came to that point of view. You'll find out more than if you only ask what they expect. Imagine your surprise if you find out the answer is "Because the person before you did it that way." Coming to resolution on mismatched expectations is easier if you all understand the background.
Be clear about your expectations and the impact of not meeting them. And being clear doesn't mean barking orders — it means explaining your perspective in plain, concise language.
Groups tend to create official and unofficial roles for members. Much like a family or a sports team, individual employees take on certain responsibilities based on the needs of both the group and the person. After a role has been established, the group then relies on that member to fill that role.
Some roles — like a formal job description or a role specifically related to an assigned task — are officially handed down from the company. If your job description includes going to and from the post office to send and receive mail, you're now "the office mailperson." Other roles are self-selected — for example, maybe you enjoy planning parties, and you've taken it upon yourself to arrange all the upcoming birthday celebrations for the office. Event planning isn't an official part of your job, but you've decided to take it on, and now you're "the party planner."
Some roles are unofficially assigned to an individual by the rest of the group. You may have a colleague who's a particularly empathetic and compassionate listener. Other employees with a problem go to her because they know that they can share their problems and she'll listen. She's now "the counselor."
These roles, whether assigned or assumed, have an impact on both the individual and the group. When things are going well and everyone is happy with their roles, operations run smoothly and everything's fine. When employees become unhappy with their roles, you see conflict. Negative emotions — like resentment, irritation, and anger — often build in the person who no longer wants a particular role, and her dissatisfaction becomes more noticeable. She may start complaining, become snippy with co-workers who continue to enforce the role, or simply stop filling the part altogether.
Tip
Times of transition can cause conflict because of the uncertainty involved. When an employee leaves, all her existing roles need to be filled. This includes roles that aren't attached to her job description but still impact the group. For example, if you lose an employee who was exceptionally proficient at troubleshooting computer problems, even though it wasn't part of her job, the rest of the team will be greatly affected when you replace that employee with someone who isn't tech-savvy. Co-workers may automatically assume the new person can fill this role because she's the replacement, but the new person may not be happy with this imposed assignment because she doesn't think it's her responsibility. Consider adding assumed roles to the new hire's job description, or divvying up the responsibilities among your team as a way to ensure that all tasks and responsibilities are covered.
The most easily understood indication of power in the workplace is title or hierarchy. The CEO, the owner, the HR director, the boss, or the manager are common representations of the traditional view of power. Beyond title or position within the organization, power comes from other sources:
Physical attributes, such as gender, appearance, and age
Mental attributes, such as aptitudes, language, and problem solving
Skills, such as industry-specific skills, verbal or written communication skills, and interpersonal skills
Experience, such as knowledge of the field and years with the company
Status, such as money, education, and social or professional networks
Note
Don't kid yourself and think that power only rests at the top. In one way or another, every single person in your organization has some power because power is crucial to accomplishing work.
Clout associated with job skills and performance has a significant impact on the quality and quantity of work that gets done. Sources of power that relate to job performance, like the ability to persuade or the ability to track complicated details, are critical. Employees who constructively use their power are invaluable members of teams.
Power becomes problematic, however, when it isn't balanced. When a person or group has too much or too little power, team dynamics suffer and conflict is likely to arise.
Warning
Be aware when power starts to become destructive — especially if you have a power-seeking group. Unchecked power coupled with a complete disregard for others is never a good combination. (See the "Groups Behaving Badly" section later in this chapter for examples of negative group dynamics.)
So before someone on your team successfully builds her army of doom, take a few minutes to consider these power-balancing techniques:
Be a good role model. As the manager, you always have an opportunity to model positive behavior. Treat everyone respectfully and equally. Listen to the ideas of others and let them know that their opinions matter.
One of my favorite stories is that of two adults trying to figure out how to untangle the bumpers of two cars that were in an accident. They pushed, pulled, hammered, and tried for hours to separate the vehicles. A child who was watching the scene kept asking if she could help. She was repeatedly told that she didn't know anything about the situation and to keep quiet. Finally, the youngster said, "Why don't you let the air out of the tires of the first car?" The adults immediately saw the wisdom in the suggestion, let the air out, and quickly separated the vehicles.
Never assume that someone on your team doesn't have a great solution to a problem that's outside of her area of expertise.
Be aware of emerging power imbalances in the office. Address negative, counterproductive, or manipulative behavior early. A private conversation with the offending employee is always a good first step.
Help your employees use their power for good, not evil. Power derived from job skills and performance can be channeled to help everyone, not just an individual at the expense of others. Point out the personal benefit in achieving group accomplishments in addition to individual accomplishments. For example, if you're a manager who values group success, let an employee know she has a better chance of receiving a bonus, recognition awards, or a promotion if she can identify specific actions on her part that have benefited the team.
If you can pinpoint a leader, focus your energy on getting her to work with you. She already has influence over a group of employees who could be valuable contributors if only everyone would get on the same page. Address the issue upfront, listen to her perspective, and see if you can refocus her power instead of simply squashing her (as tempting as that may be). She could become an invaluable asset to you.
Encourage participation from everyone, and make sure those seeking power don't take over. Create an equal playing field for all employees by bringing everyone together at the same time, not just the employees in the power-seeking group. This method allows you to give everyone a voice, not just the group. (For more tips on facilitating a meeting of this nature, see Chapter 10.)
Just as excessive power can be problematic, so can a lack of power. Employees who feel as though they have no control over their situation can easily become disengaged and unhappy. A lack of power to change or affect a situation significantly diminishes motivation, causes poor job performance, increases sick leave, and potentially increases employee turnover.
When employees lose power or control over a situation, try the following:
Give your employees a forum to vent their frustration. A private meeting with you will help them voice concerns and dissatisfaction.
Help them find things they can control. These things could include other aspects of their job or how they want to respond to the situation, in either actions or words. As their manager, if there's something you can give them control over, consider doing it. For creative ideas on how to tap back into personal power, see the tips in Chapter 19.
Provide support and look for resources if needed. Be there for your employees, as a stable presence who knows and understands what they're going through. When necessary, help them through difficult times by finding resources like an ombudsman, a conflict coach, or counseling service. These resources can help an employee talk through her situation and make decisions that are in her own best interest. You can find these resources either through HR or by accessing outside professionals.
Groups that work well are an important component of the workplace. Often, nothing is more satisfying from a managerial perspective than the positive energy of a group accomplishing goals. On the other hand, groups that start behaving badly can become an absolute nightmare.
When employees join forces against each other, spread rumors, make false assumptions, and gossip, these actions can deplete morale and breed conflict. The following sections detail how staff associations can cause problems.
I often hear executives say that the greatest asset an organization has is its people. I agree! Employees make significant contributions to the company's reputation, team morale, and the bottom line. But they don't go it alone. I'm no sociologist, but I know enough about the workplace to know that people are social creatures by nature, and that when they take on new jobs they seek out other people who will show them the ropes and help them assimilate.
Whenever I start a new job, I mark the calendar for 90 days out and look forward to that day, because it's ordinarily about the time when I've figured out who the major players are in each department, what most of the industry jargon means, and what time I need to arrive to get a good parking spot. You've probably noticed that for yourself, too. What usually happens around that time is you begin to recognize that you're part of a group — a clique, if you will.
Cliques form at work for a number of reasons, including shared interests, similar personalities, or proximity in working environments. Whatever the motivation employees have for attaching themselves to co-workers, the attachment has both positive and negative repercussions. I tell you about both the positives and the negatives in the upcoming sections, and I also give you some guidance on dealing with any clique that has become a problem.
Tip
Be aware of your own actions regarding cliques. As a manager, you walk a fine line when it comes to the strategic and social aspects of your job. If you're one of the players on the firm's basketball team, make sure discussions about last night's game include those around you, not just the other players. Asking what someone's experience is with the sport or limiting the conversation to a few highlights and moving on to another topic models appropriate attitudes and behavior toward social groups and cliques.
If you're experiencing some negative fallout from a particular group, keep in mind that cliques aren't all bad. Groups can offer a lot to each other and the organization. Consider the following:
Cliques have power to get the job done. There's safety in numbers, and cliques can have a lot of power, even if each member has little to no power in the company as an individual. Think of the jobs in your organization that, on the surface, may have the least authority to make decisions about strategy or company direction. Now think about the people in those jobs and their ability to get together and affect change.
Cliques play an integral part in team morale and create a sense of camaraderie that's difficult for even the most adept manager to replicate.
Cliques can create a sense of safety and inclusion for their members, cultivating a multitude of positive experiences and workplace memories for employees.
Cliques can work across departments and accomplish just about any task. If you're part of a group or clique and your buddy calls for a favor, you make it happen. When personal relationships transcend company org charts, the give and take works for the benefit of the organization.
Cliques offer social benefits. Who wouldn't want to be part of a group that offers them pats on the back and social invitations and reminds them that they're a part of something bigger than themselves?
Cliques start to go wrong when their power goes unchecked. Managers often overlook or dismiss grumblings about cliques because, to them, the grumbling feels like high school antics. Entertaining a discussion about how one of your team members feels slighted by a co-worker because she wasn't included in the group's lunch invitation may feel like baby-sitting to you. It's not your job to be the summer camp director, nor is it your place to act as an employee's personal therapist.
But if you're interested in ensuring that everyone on your team gives her best and is motivated to work hard to achieve the objectives you've set out for the year, then it is in your best interest to address the social aspects of cliques and how they impact the organization.
You know what's right for your situation, but consider intervening when
Cliques are purposefully alienating others.
Groups are closed to any perspectives other than their own.
People are missing out on opportunities to expand their careers or view of the company.
Alienation is causing employees to shut down and not perform to the best of their abilities.
Bullying or inappropriate language and behaviors emerge.
Sometimes intervening in cliques can be as simple as chatting with the group about how their behavior may appear to others. Not every clique-related issue needs to be addressed with the group, though. And there's often no need to take the approach that "If you don't have enough gum for everyone in the class, Johnny, then no one can have gum."
Begrudging the relationships of others doesn't do anyone any good, and it's unrealistic to expect that every person in every department should be included in every activity. If your company employs 36 people and only 9 spots are available on the baseball team, someone's not going to play. If one of your employees comes to you to discuss how she feels left out because some of her co-workers have formed a bowling league on their own time and they talk about it constantly during work hours, counsel her to participate in the conversation on a level that feels comfortable and sincere to her.
Note
I facilitated a weeklong mediation training with a room full of students who were strangers to each other and a small number of staff mediators. The first few days, the group went to a nearby restaurant for lunch, where the staff mediators, who had worked together for some time, sat at the end of the table laughing and immersed in their own discussion. The rest of the group ate their lunch in silence, or made awkward attempts at conversation with the people next to them while the frivolity continued with the smaller group. At the end of the day, I talked to the staff mediators about the lunchtime experience. Of course, they meant no harm — they were merely enjoying one another's company. But when they became aware of the impact their actions had on the larger group, they adjusted their plans for lunch the next day and interacted with the larger group, creating a better experience for the students. I didn't have to go to HR or address their clique in front of the entire class — I had a quick conversation with the staff mediators, and the problem was solved.
One unhappy employee can quickly become a dozen unhappy employees. When people are in conflict or disappointed with a policy or a decision, they tend to look for allies; others who see the situation the same way they do and are willing to provide support. Finding allies bolsters people's beliefs that they're 100 percent right and adds fuel to the fire.
An unhealthy allegiance, one that has a negative impact on the workplace, can divide a workplace into factions and create a multitude of problems. Communication becomes difficult among members of different groups and an employee may feel that she needs to walk on eggshells to avoid saying or doing the wrong thing. This increased tension and mistrust creates more unhappy employees, and the cycle continues.
Even people who don't consider themselves part of any one group can become workplace casualties, growing dissatisfied with the tension in their environment and quitting or transferring to get away from it all. They become the innocent employees you lose by not addressing the problems.
Tip
Preventing the formation of negative groups in the first place is the preferred course of action. Encourage open communication and conflict resolution among all your staff. Be upfront about how you want everyone to resolve even minor disagreements among one another early on, instead of prolonging the dispute or going to others for coalition-building. Consider providing training on communication or conflict resolution as a way to demonstrate your support for early intervention. Look to your organization for additional conflict systems resources, like those I mention in Chapter 13, or look to outside resources, like those in Chapter 14.
So, what happens if an army of allies has successfully formed and you don't like the direction it's heading? One of the best ways to combat destructive groups or factions is to encourage more interaction among all your staff. Either create opportunities for everyone to interact together, or look for projects that include different combinations of employees. Encourage the formation of working relationships among different groups, teams, or departments as a way for people to build relationships and different associations. Refocus the power of the group by using the tips I list in the "Redefining power" section earlier in this chapter.
Assumptions are a necessary part of life. When accurate, they keep you safe, save you time, and, generally speaking, make your life easier. For example, seeing storm clouds in the sky may prompt you to grab your umbrella, as you assume you may need it even though it's not raining at the moment. Noticing an expired date on your morning yogurt and assuming it's no longer edible may save you from having to use one of your sick days. Imagine how tedious it would be if you had to research and check out every minute detail of your day to make sure you had every piece of information available. No one has that much time!
But as useful as assumptions are, they can also get you into trouble. Not accurately processing the information in your environment or only seeing what you want to see can lead to incorrect assumptions. Acting on or perpetuating the assumptions by sharing them with others can start and escalate conflict. The following sections cover how people make assumptions and what you can do to prevent them from causing conflict.
You and your employees view information and make predictions and assumptions to fit your previous experiences. Your assumptions are based on things you've learned from the physical environment and your previous experiences in similar situations. Factor in your emotional state at the time you make the assumption, and you have a general overview of how you and others come to certain conclusions.
History or experience also give you clues about a situation. Employees make assumptions based on the probability that something that has happened once will happen again, or that something that hasn't ever happened before won't ever occur. For instance, Emily always takes her morning break at 10:15 (experience). If you're having a good day (emotional state), when you walk by her office at 10:20 a.m. and notice that she's not there (environment), you'll probably assume that she's on her break. If, however, you're having a difficult day, your assumption about Emily may be affected by what you're feeling. When you see her empty office, you may come to more negative conclusions — for example, that she's slacking off or not paying attention to the assignment you just gave her. The exact same situation, viewed from two different emotional states, can lead to two different assessments.
Warning
Strong emotions can cloud your judgment and cause you to make quick and inaccurate assumptions. In important settings, like a private meeting with your boss, resist instant negative reactions to emotional assumptions you're making in the moment. Instead, suppress your urge to snap at your boss, and ask questions to clarify what she means by a particular statement.
Be aware of how you and your team come to certain conclusions throughout your day, and encourage everyone to hold off making judgments until they can gather more information. Basing assumptions on cherry-picked information is dangerous and is a common contributor to miscommunication, misunderstandings, misinformation, and, further down the line, destructive conflict.
When based on bad information or influenced by negative thoughts and emotions, assumptions can lead you down a false path. It's very common for employees to assume the worst or select only the information they want to hear and leave out the rest. If you want to believe that the CEO favors the marketing department, you'll scrutinize, file, and catalog every example that proves your point. For example, if one day you hear that the CEO cut the marketing department budget, you may not question your assumption of favoritism. Instead, you explain it away as a reality of the economy, and you may even assume that every other department in the company must've gotten it much worse than marketing. Your assumption isn't based on hard facts; instead, it's based on your overall opinion of how the company operates.
Be especially cautious when making decisions based on information that may actually be an assumption posing as fact. Combat the negative impact of inaccurate assumptions by gathering more information and asking questions. If you notice the till is $10 short at the end of the night, don't assume that the cashier pocketed the money. Instead, ask the question, "I noticed the till is a little short tonight — can you help me with this?" Try asking questions in an inquisitive, curious tone of voice rather than using an accusatory tone. You may discover that there's a perfectly legitimate reason for the discrepancy, saving you from scolding your employee and looking a little silly. (More details on how to gather information and ask different kinds of questions is available in Chapter 8.)
After you check out a situation, decide how you'll react. Does the new information change anything for you? Maybe it doesn't and you can proceed as planned. Maybe it does and you can adjust accordingly. Being wrong isn't the end of the world, and checking out assumptions doesn't have to be difficult or tedious. Assume the best, use humor when appropriate, and give people the benefit of the doubt.
A work environment can be a breeding ground for gossip. Both accurate and inaccurate information gets spread around the workplace from person to person and group to group. You may have employees on your team who really enjoy gossip because it makes the workday more exciting. But gossip can also have devastating effects.
Gossip is usually about a person or a group of people, and it's usually not very flattering. I could start a rumor about myself, claiming that I have an IQ of 170, but it probably wouldn't go very far! Instead, rumors and gossip that spread the quickest are embarrassing, salacious, and scandalous.
Warning
The effects of hearsay can be damaging on a variety of levels — an individual's self-esteem, a person's reputation with co-workers, and her comfort and confidence in doing her job can all be affected. Gossip on a larger scale can impact the cohesion of the workplace. No one trusts a gossip, so team members may have difficulty having honest and unguarded conversations. Co-workers never know when information they share is going to be used against them. Mistrust significantly hinders how a group gets its work done.
Note
Shut down gossip when you hear it. Don't let your employees spread negative and hurtful information, and encourage all employees to be respectful of their peers. No one likes to discover that people are talking behind her back, so enforce a no-gossip rule. If you feel a co-worker just needs to vent or get something off her chest, listen respectfully, and then keep it to yourself. And absolutely, positively, never engage yourself in this unprofessional behavior. Be better than that.