14 January 2010
The Walls Have Ears: Keeping Business Secrets
Posted by Moss under: communication .
When I was a child, my parents would sometimes argue at night when my brother and I were supposed to be asleep. It was hard to sleep when they argued, whether or not they did so in soft or loud voices. I could hear almost everything. It was as if the walls had ears.
In your organizations there are few secrets that are successfully kept by partners from the whole organization. When partners argue, are upset, or are at odds with each other, employees quickly pick up the negative energy. They may not know the facts or details but they hear and see enough to give them cause for concern.
As partners, you have two viable choices. Sometimes you may want to take your partnership upsets offsite and discuss them in a private or confidential area; or you may decide to deal with your issues at the office and then discuss together what you should tell the management team and how these issues might impact the employees.
You may not want to share any information with your staff but there is a potential consequence to consider. Whenever employees or others are aware of a partner’s upset, they instantly want to know what’s going on; It’s only human nature.
If they don’t have enough information to understand the situation, they will probably make it up in the form of gossip or rumors. They then believe what they make up is real. The office can becomes a “pony express” for distortion and inappropriate interpretation.
Bottom Line
- Take emotional issues and big upsets out of the office.
- Work out these issues and communicate to your team any discussions that impact the organization.
- At times it may be best to let others know that there is an issue but you and your partner are working together to find a solution.
