Glenn D Rolfsen is a psychotherapist and leadership consultant who works in the corporate health service in Oslo. In this TEDx Talk he outlines a simple and effective strategy for reducing backbiting within a group or organisation.
If you are wondering what backbiting is, Rolfsen defines it as “talking negatively about a third person who isn’t present”. In other words, it’s gossip.
In many jurisdictions, government regulatory bodies exist with the ability to deal with workplace bulling complaints. In Australia, this is the Fair Work Commission. The commissioner, Danny Cloghan, is on record as saying that:
“Bullying can manifest itself in many ways. I consider it uncontroversial to say that spreading misinformation or ill-will against others is bullying […]. Scurrilous denigration of a worker in the workplace would certainly fall within the boundary of bullying.”
Employers have an obligation to address practices such as backbiting in their workplaces. In some cases, this is so they can comply with workplace regulations about providing a safe work environment. In all cases, it’s to ensure these kinds of behaviors do not negatively affect employee well-being, employee performance and overall business productivity.
Here, Rolfsen presents his 6-step strategy for reducing backbiting:
In his Tedx Talk, Rolfsen quotes a short aphorism attributed to Socrates, which, although possibly a miss-attribution, is nonetheless instructive.
In ancient Greece (469 – 399 BC), Socrates was widely lauded for his wisdom. One day an acquaintance ran up to him excitedly and said, “Socrates, do you know what I just heard about Diogenes?”
“Wait a moment,” Socrates replied, “Before you tell me I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Triple Filter Test.”
‘Triple filter?” asked the acquaintance.
“That’s right,” Socrates continued, “Before you talk to me about Diogenes let’s take a moment to filter what you’re going to say. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?”
“No,” the man said, “Actually I just heard about it.”
“All right,” said Socrates, “So you don’t really know if it’s true or not. Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about Diogenes something good?”
“No, on the contrary…”
“So,” Socrates continued, “You want to tell me something about Diogenes that may be bad, even though you’re not certain it’s true?”
The man shrugged, a little embarrassed.
Socrates continued, “You may still pass the test though, because there is a third filter, the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about Diogenes going to be useful to me?”
“No, not really.”
“Well,” concluded Socrates, “If what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me or anyone at all?”
https://www.speakingtree.in/blog/socrates-triple-filter-test