05.09.01 Introducing How to Manage Negative Gossip as a Leader of an Entity

The importance of managing negative gossip in a team or an organisation stems from the fact that such a culture can hamper performance at the individual, unit, department or organisation level; and if left unchecked, it could lead to the collapse of an entity. That said, no supervisor or organisation can stop members from gossiping against each other. But when the gossip starts to threaten performance, supervisors must promptly intervene so that the entity achieves its targets without any hindrances.

In Numbers 12:1-5, we see how negative gossip disrupted the journey of the children of Israel through the desert, when a good six hundred thousand men, without counting women and children, had to wait for one person, Miriam, to recover and be readmitted into the camp before they could proceed with their journey; all because she had participated in the vice. As a reminder, you may recall that Miriam, Aaron and Moses played a leadership or managerial role when the children of Israel were travelling to the promised land. Apparently, Miriam was the firstborn, followed by Aaron and lastly Moses.

In this chapter, we discuss some interventions that a leader could use to effectively manage negative gossip in his or her unit, department, directorate or at the organisation level; so that the entity stays ‘on course’. In our discussion, we shall use the three siblings to represent the top management team as the children of Israel journeyed through the desert to the promised land, emphasizing the role that Miriam had to play as the firstborn of the three siblings.