Gossip, Gab, and the Grapevine: Remote Workforces and the Dangers of Negative Workplace Chatter

WHY ATTEND

One of the surest signs of a toxic work environment is gossip—especially when rumors and misinformation lead to infighting, negativity, decreased morale and low productivity.

Unfortunately, managers often fail to effectively deal with a poisonous office grapevine because they’re either unsure what to do, don’t think it can be stopped or don’t see it as a priority.

That’s what this fast-paced and engaging webinar delivers: A powerful set of techniques for ending destructive gossip and executing a plan to address everything from individual bad attitudes to whole-team turnarounds.

Communications expert Marie McIntyre will show you how a combination of high expectations, sincere praise, and clear consequences will move your people past negative nonsense and get them focused on their goals.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Ignoring gossip, gab, and the grapevine is a recipe for disaster. Learn how to tackle it head-on at this powerful session where you will learn:

• Six signs that your office has a problem with negative chatter
  
• How managers inadvertently encourage negative behaviors
  
• The best way to deal with tattletales, drama queens, whiners and bullies
  
• How you can make the rumor mill work in your favor
  
• The 7 topics that everyone should avoid at the office
  
• When the rumor mill will always heat up and what to do about it
  
• How to stop discussing "attitude" and start focusing on behavior
  
• Using the “team turnaround” method to involve your group in solving the problem
  
• Ten steps for conducting an exceptional coaching session
  
• Techniques to use when employees blame others or deny responsibility
  
• What to do when coaching doesn’t work

ABOUT THE SPEAKER

Marie McIntyre operates a career coaching business in Atlanta, GA, and the website www.yourofficecoach.com.

She is the author of two books - Secrets to Winning at Office Politics and The Management Team Handbook – and writes a career advice column, Your Office Coach, which appears in newspapers nationwide. She is also a regular contributor to CNBC online.

Marie's advice has been quoted in Fortune, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and many other publications. As a consultant, Marie has worked with a wide variety of organizations, including Cisco, The Home Depot, AT&T, Walgreens, Lockheed Martin, and the CDC.

Certification

This program has been approved for 1.0 recertification credit hour(s) through the HR Certification Institute (HRCI) & Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).