How Gossip Undermines Teams & What Good Leaders Do
You know that awkward moment when a comment is made about someone who’s not in the room? It’s framed as concern for the person, a challenge for the team, or maybe just a casual observation. But there’s a tone — an air of judgement — and no potential to actually bring health in that moment.
Gossip isn’t just harmless chatter — it’s a quiet killer of healthy teams. Unchecked gossip can unravel the very fabric of a team. But strong, self-aware leaders can intentionally develop a far more powerful culture: one of honest, respectful, and empowering communication.
What Is Gossip, Really?
Let’s define it simply: Gossip is talking about someone in a negative or speculative way when they aren’t present and aren’t part of the solution.
It often masquerades as venting, joking, or concern, but gossip always contains a toxic undercurrent. It communicates judgment without support or accountability. It happens in the shadows, out of the line of healthy confrontation and resolution. It is not fighting for the highest good of that person or the team.
The Hidden Impacts of Gossip
1. Erodes Trust
Trust is the foundation of any healthy, high performing team. When gossip spreads, team members start wondering what others say about them when they’re not around. This insecurity creates relational distance and fear, two ingredients that destroy psychological safety.
In the 5 Voices framework, Nurturers and Guardians especially value trust and consistency. When gossip breaks that trust, they withdraw and disengage. Connectors may try to smooth things over, but even their relational strength can’t override an unsafe environment.
2. Creates Siloes
Gossip doesn’t just damage individual relationships — it divides whole teams. When people bond over shared criticism of others, they create insider groups. This silo behavior weakens collaboration and encourages an “us vs. them” mentality.
It’s like pouring sand into the gears of a well-oiled machine. The system slows, grinds, and eventually breaks down.
3. Disempowers the Team
Gossip replaces action with speculation. Instead of moving toward solutions, team members waste time and energy speculating about motives, intentions, and hidden agendas. It’s emotional quicksand.
High-performing teams are aligned, empowered, and liberated. Gossip does the opposite: it whispers that people can’t be trusted and problems can’t be solved in cooperation with others. That mindset spreads and sinks a team fast.
4. Undermines Leadership
Gossip reveals a lack of alignment and courage. When leaders tolerate toxic, misaligned conversations they erode the team’s trust in them. This eroded trust diminishes their ability to lead through influence. A leader that allows gossip to persist will not be seen as a person who is for the good of others. Even worse, a leader who instigates or participates in gossip is destroying their own ability to lead.
And perhaps most dangerously, gossip robs leaders and teams of the information they need to act. Instead of saying, “I see an issue,” and working together towards a solution, the feedback comes through the grapevine — distorted and delayed, if at all — without the proper authority and responsibility to act.
Why Gossip Happens
Understanding the “why” helps leaders address the root, not just the symptom.
Unmet expectations often lead people to vent behind others’ backs instead of communicating directly.
Insecurity fuels a desire to become valuable or belong by holding “insider information” or creating a common bond at the expense of others.
Unclear communication patterns leave people unsure of when and how to bring up the issues they see. When people aren’t trained or empowered to speak directly, they default to “safer” back-channel conversations.
Lack of clarity (mission, vision, values, goals, roles, responsibilities, metrics, etc…) from leadership and among the team can lead people to fill in the blanks with their own (often negative) interpretations.
In short, gossip happens when there’s a gap in clarity, courage, or connection.
What Good Leaders Do
1. Model Direct & Respectful Communication
Your example as a leader is the loudest message. If you speak openly, kindly, and directly — even in hard conversations — and fight for the highest possible good of others, then your team will follow suit.
Use language like:
“Let’s bring them into the conversation so they can speak for themselves.”
“I hear your concern. Let’s talk about how we can share that directly and constructively.”
“We want to be a team that talks to each other, not about each other.”
2. Address Gossip Head-On
Don’t wait for gossip to become a wildfire. When you hear it, say something. You don’t have to be harsh. You just need to be clear.
Try:
“Hey, I’d rather we talk with that person directly.”
“Have you had a chance to bring this up with them yet?”
“It sounds like something that could be resolved in a direct conversation. Want help preparing for it?”
These gentle but firm interruptions show the team that you’re serious about healthy culture and committed to growth.
3. Build a Feedback Culture
Culture doesn’t happen overnight. It takes intentional effort. One of the best defenses against gossip is a team that is equipped to give and receive feedback. At The Culture Path, we train leaders and teams to use tools like the “Support Challenge Matrix” and “Go to the Source” to normalize liberating conversations. Building a culture of healthy communication takes time, but the payoff is enormous. High performing teams fight for the highest good of others and don’t let issues fester in the dark.
4. Celebrate Culture Keepers
Find and honor the team members who fight for the highest good and liberate others. Highlight moments where someone chose conversation over complaint. Make it part of your team’s story.
This not only reinforces healthy behavior—it creates identity. When your team sees themselves as the kind of people who communicate early and often with honesty and care, that identity shapes the culture long after you’ve stopped watching.
5. Use the 5 Voices to Cultivate Awareness
Each voice type has a natural response to conflict and communication.
Nurturers may struggle to speak up but feel deeply hurt when others gossip.
Creatives may internalize toxic culture and withdraw rather than confront.
Guardians value responsibility and may bring excessive critique in the form of gossip when ignored.
Connectors may accidentally spread gossip in the name of empathy or alliance-building.
Pioneers might dismiss concerns as petty and insignificant, not realizing the cultural damage.
By helping your team identify their voice and the voices of others, you can equip them to understand their default tendencies and grow in self-awareness. You can’t eliminate gossip overnight, but you can lead your team into a healthier culture.
What Kind of Culture Are You Building?
Gossip can feel small. It can even feel productive. But it quickly ripples across a team and organization, destroying everything you are working to build.
You’re not just a leader of tasks and outcomes — you’re a culture builder. You build the environment your team lives and works in with every interaction, every decision, every word .
You have the power to build a culture where trust flourishes, communication is clear, and relationships are resilient.
It starts with you.
So the next time you are tempted to gossip or hear it begin with others, take a breath. Step into courage. And say the thing that will create growth, unity, and trust.
Because healthy teams don’t just happen. They’re built — by leaders like you.
Photo by saeed karimi on Unsplash
