Office Gossip When You're The Knight in Whining Armor

Certainly the company deserves your allegiance; it’s well and good to fight for the place - especially against a slouch.

A nincompoop.

That crook Maurice.

But what if your company actually has a higher ideal than to let you fight?

Imagine that if once employees are accepted under your company's powerful wings - the slouch and the nincompoop - they become special people.

...Against them, office gossip is off limits.

Now you can’t say, "Maurice is a slow-witted fool." You can’t even say to your buddy that "Maurice ripped off the expense account yesterday."

Because the company is so big, so benevolent, that it’s more important to the company that Maurice saves face on the company’s dime.

This is a smart company.

It's creating people who care about people. When bad things happen, the culture is established that we don't speak negatively about people in our company. Even against people who do bad things.

We operate with higher values that spark fraternity, loyalty, and lessen the likelihood that Maurice will actually make off with his expense account in the first place.

Our people - even those few slouches and nincompoops - they're our slouches and our nincompoops. We can handle their mistakes privately, thank you very much.

(We did hire them after all!)

A positive behavior change is now far more assured.

You are a knight fighting for the company.
Your battle is to say nothing bad about our Maurice.
It's a battle against yourself.

(Note, this Forbes article shows everyone else gossiping about the gossiper, which is no way to shut your trap.)

Stop, Thief!

Office Gossip When You're The Knight in Whining Armor

This is a smart company.