The popular children’s story of Chicken Little is full of lessons. As the story goes, an acorn fell on Chicken Little’s head causing him to think that the sky was falling. He then went about needlessly warning others about the sky falling causing panic among his friends. In dealing with a client who has had issues with drama in the workplace, this story came to mind and how much it speaks to this common workplace issue.
- Workplace drama is the result of jumping to conclusions before knowing the facts
- Workplace drama is the result of spreading false or inaccurate information
- Workplace drama takes away the focus of others. It’s a huge time-waster.
- Workplace drama leads to more chaos, disruption, and even catastrophe..
In the story, as the group got larger, so did the intensity that was further fueled by Turkey Lurkey saying, “I always knew the sky would fall someday.” Again, no factual basis for this belief.
How then is workplace drama curtailed? It starts with good leadership. An effective leader immediately addresses the drama with facts, unlike a less-effective leader who facilitates the drama by choosing sides or ignores it thus allowing it to run rampant.
So, ask yourself and your team if you are a facilitator of or a solution to workplace drama.
