Gossip: The Thin Line between Useful and Destructive Communication
Agile values—such as communication, feedback, and trust—are essential to making teams work. All communication is equally valued, but the line between useful and destructive communication may be fuzzier than you think.
Gossip is often considered something to be discouraged. However, some Stanford researchers suggest that not all gossip is bad. In fact, gossip and ostracism might be helpful to maintaining effective groups.
The researchers found that "groups that allow their members to gossip sustain cooperation and deter selfishness better than those that don't. And groups do even better if they can gossip and ostracize untrustworthy members." Additionally, the authors wrote that "While both of these behaviors can be misused, our findings suggest that they also serve very important functions for groups and society."
In particular, the research suggests that gossip that helps team members differentiate between cooperative and uncooperative colleagues helps the team focus on the greater good. The article acknowledges that not all gossip is good, but gossip about "reputational information" can lead to better interactions.
In the same vein as "gossip is good," harmony does not necessarily help teamwork. A Harvard Business Review article mentions the advantages of well-managed conflict in six common misrepresentations about teamwork.
These things taken together suggest that perhaps team dynamics may not be that different from how children form friendships. Consider this article in The New York Times that describes how children form friendships:
The ability to initiate and maintain close relationships is different from simply being liked and accepted by the group. To make friends, it turns out, children need to be able to carry out sophisticated social maneuvers, screening potential pals for certain positive qualities and making careful assessments about how much common ground they share.
The role of conflict and gossip in team dynamics needs to be taken in context. Team work is complicated, and good feedback is essential for successful teams. So, although gossip may help identify who the good collaborators are, if it looks like gossip is one of the prevalent ways that people communicate information, it may be time to evaluate how healthy your team is. Trust is essential to the proper functioning of an agile team, and open communication reenforces trust.
Agile practices create a framework in which it's easy to have frequent communication and feedback so teams can correct issues in their process and their dynamics. Take advantage of them.
Does gossip play a role in your organization? Is it ever helpful?
