Handling Gossip, Cliques, and Team Conflict

Workplace personality conflicts, gossip, and cliques are a common complaint from teams I work with, and it is nothing new. This common challenge is not harmless, it can derail team productivity and morale. When left unaddressed, these issues will fester, creating resentment, tension, and toxicity. These are distractions and productivity drains.

Fortunately, there are practical strategies leaders and team members can use to navigate these challenges effectively.

Model Manager Behavior

The manager’s habits become the team’s habits. When the manager leads with professionalism, candor, and treats everyone with respect the team will too. When the manager approaches conflict with humility (no assumptions), empathy (other-focused), and equity (meeting people where they are) they create an environment where team members feel comfortable speaking up. This means the team has less need to gossip, vent, or exclude others. The manager’s approach will decide the success or failure of the team.

Foster Open Communication

One of the most effective ways to prevent and address personality conflicts is by intentionally building psychological safety within the team. This creates a culture of open communication where people are focused less on self-preservation and more on problem solving. A tool leaders can model is SBI (Situation-Behavior-Impact) feedback model to guide conversations. This approach focuses feedback on specific behaviors and their actual impact, rather than personal attacks. Another strategy is to respond quickly to tension before it can potentially fester into drama.

Establish Team Norms

This is one of my favorites. I like it because the norms drive psychological safety and open communication, but so does the process used to create the norms. It is a two-fer.

Convening the team and having a purposeful discussion about how they want to work together in itself creates trust and encourages open communication. Once the team has created norms and committed to them, they are empowered to hold themselves and one another accountable to those norms. A sample norm is: We will address issues directly with one another. This commitment helps to deter gossip and cliques.

Address Gossip Quickly

When leaders notice gossip, it is essential to address it swiftly. For instance, a leader might hold a one-on-one meeting with individuals involved to understand the root cause and set clear expectations for direct and respectful communication moving forward. This does not mean calling out individuals in public but having private conversations to understand the root of the issue and redirecting the narrative. Reinforce the importance of discussing concerns directly with those involved rather than through third parties.

Personality conflicts, gossip, and cliques do not have to derail your team’s success. Fostering open communication, setting up clear norms, and providing the tools and skills to address challenges constructively, leaders can create a more collaborative and productive work environment.