On a ‘slow day’ at work, one of the few pleasures available to you is to indulge in finding out the gossip. However, take a moment and stop before you start a good old gossip. Keeping your ear to the ground is one thing, passing on gossip is another. Adding to your firm’s grapevine can be a seriously career limiting move. So, here are 8 questions to ask yourself BEFORE you share some information:
- Why am I sharing this?
- Does it create or solve a problem?
- Do people really need to know this?
- If I choose to not tell anyone, will the firm be any worse off?
- Am I name-dropping?
- Have I labeled facts as facts and opinions as opinions?
- Will this be considered grassing, gossiping or cutting down another person or group?
- In the worst case, how could this person use this information so that it could reflect badly on me?
What other things should you think about before sharing any information?