Sean GlazeWorkplace Culture Speaker | Facilitator, Great Results Team Building · Leadership lessons from the locker room that change how your people work together.

WHAT IS POSITIVE GOSSIP AND HOW DOES IT WORK

7 Jul 2023 · 1 min

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In this short talk, the speaker introduces Bob Burg’s “reverse gossip” exercise from The Go‑Giver as a leadership tool for fostering appreciation within a team. The method involves listing each team member, noting one or two strengths or actions they excel at, and then deliberately mentioning those positive observations to others, even when the person being praised isn’t present. By repeatedly sharing these compliments—e.g., “Did you notice how well Susie handled X?”—the comments eventually reach the individual, building trust, morale, confidence, and a culture of positive recognition. The speaker frames this practice as a hallmark of effective leaders, contrasting it with negative gossip and emphasizing its role in strengthening team dynamics.

Chapters

So how do you help your team to appreciate the strengths of their teammates or of themselves? Well, Bob Burg, who is the author of The Go-Giver, talks about an activity that he calls reverse gossip, where you share compliments behind the backs of your people. So make a list of your team members, write down 1 or 2 things that they do well, and then make it a point to mention those positive things that you've noticed that have impressed you about your teammates. Hey, have you noticed how well Susie— Hey, did you realize that Tom— And just like negative gossip, the people you're talking about will eventually hear what you've been saying. And that positive gossip will develop trust and morale and confidence in others on your team. That's what effective leaders do.