05.08.01 Introducing the Managerial Flaws that Cause Negative Gossip in an Entity

In service management, a number of writers assert that 80% of the problems in an organisation are caused by the top-most 20% of the workforce, which of course comprises the head of the organisation and his or her management team. Therefore, should an organisation be infested with negative gossip, the bulk of the triggers of that problem are at the managerial level. The situation is made worse should a manager resort to negative gossip as a means of defending his or her underperformance, as was the case with one of the officials in my personal encounter narrated in the ‘feature-stories’ section of this book.

In Exodus 32, the bible narrates how Aaron’s managerial flaws fueled negative gossip, with devastating results. Again, that narrative is in chapter one of this book. To recap, Moses had left with Joshua to meet God at Mount Sinai; delegating the task of managing the people in the camp to Aaron and another man called Hur. However, the people propagated a rumour instigating that Moses may never return, and used it to tempt Aaron into making an idol, a golden calf, as their new god. That kind of action infuriated God and Moses so much that it resulted in the death of thousands of Israelites and a plague that hit the masses as a punishment from God.

This chapter discusses the factors that drive negative gossip at the managerial level.