17 Jan 08 @ 4:25 pm
What’s the scuttlebutt?
Recently, a client asked me, “So, what’s the scuttlebutt (word origin here) about us?” The question made me think about gossip and its role in organizations. Why do we gossip? Because it just plain feels good to have and share information.
Social scientists believe that gossip serves the same purpose for humans that reciprocal grooming does among primates—anthropologists call it “social grooming.” Research shows that both types of grooming stimulate endorphin production, which relieves stress and boosts the immune system.
I was surprised to learn just how much time we devote to water cooler, back-fence talk—we spend two thirds (!) of our conversations gossiping. With that in mind, we advise clients to divvy their communication attentions between formal and informal channels.
What really communicates? While formal communications—memos, financial reports, staff meetings, newsletters, town halls—are not going anywhere, neither are informal exchanges in the workplace. Quite the opposite. Widespread adoption of social media (a recent post by Meredith speaks to the value in virtual networks) means new types of informal channels are on the rise, and so is the ease with which we send messages informally. Not only does information travel faster through informal channels than through formal means, but it is malleable along the way.
In other words, messages sent through informal channels are undocumented, and open to change and interpretation as they rush through the grapevine (word origin here). Informal messages are unbound by the org chart and thus, move in every direction: up, down, and diagonally, between workers and managers, and even inside and outside the company.
The best organizations manage the grapevine as simply another channel for information, and equip managers with the tools they need to share information—proactively—with their teams. Not only are managers trusted sources of information, but they directly link leadership and the front line.
Though strategically handling the grapevine can be a challenge, it’s one that leaders should embrace. Those who grasp the power of the grapevine will be better prepared to utilize it to achieve organizational goals.
posted in category(s): Points of Interest
