xoxo, Gossip Girl

Dorinda Medley on last year’s season of The Real Housewives of New York told Romana “Say it, forget it! Write it, regret it!” when it comes to talking to your friends. She’s right, whatever we write can be traced back to us. While she may have been talking about petty Bravo TV stuff, it works for every day life. Wow, a housewive dolling out sound advice? Eh it is 2019 afterall!

We can’t help it, we all at one point in time bitch, vent, moan about our friends, family, significant others, coworkers and more…but don’t forget when you write it you’ll most certainly regret it.

However, the things we don’t regret? Sending our friends a note to say “Hey! It’s been a while; how are YOU?” Or an email to a colleague you haven’t talked to lately but you know it’s their birthday so you send them a funny meme. We never feel guilty when we are actively being kind to one another and friendly. These are the acts that we need to ramp up on a daily basis in the corporate world because it just never hurts to be nice.

Now, what I’m talking about here is being nice to your network of coworkers, friends and more because you want to make sure that your professional brand stands out. I am not saying be so nice that peope walk all over you, absolutely NOT! What you want is people around the water cooler to say things like “Amanda is a shark in meetings and can hit a budget like no one’s business, but man she always remembers to email you on your birthday and I don’t know how she does it!”

I know how she does it and I want you to know, too! So when it comes to what I like to call “positive gossip” here are a few quick Wednesday tips for you!

• See something? Say something! If you like Jenna’s shoes…just tell her. “Hey, I love those shoes” Remember, a compliment does NOT need to be responded with another compliment so if someone tells you they like how you did your hair that day then freakin’ own it with a sincere “Oh wow, thank you that means a lot!”
• Learn about people’s birthday/company anniversaries, log it as a reoccurring event in your calendar. When you get the notification, quickly shoot off an email to say Congrats! This trick is great for keeping you on previous leaders, or team members minds so you will not be ‘out of sight, out of mind’.
• Share your positive feedback with your coworker’s leaders. If Tara hit it out of the park on a project, be sure to let her leader know. Not everyone can successfully share their successes with their leader, so do it for them. Either a quick email and maybe a BCC or hell if you’re feeling adventurous CC Tara on the email so she can also see your positive words.
• Follow up a run in with a note. If you run into a coworker you haven’t seen in a while, follow up the next day or so with an email. Let Mallory know how great it was to run into her, and that you loved hearing about her recent engagement. Keeping the positive interaction with you in the hallway going even days later does wonders for you and for Mallory both.
• Mail…whenever you can and as often as you can mail people a letter. Always keep a stack of Thank You cards in your drawer along with blank cards so you can quickly shoot off a note whenever you’re thinking about someone. There is nothing like getting a card from a friend or coworker who just wanted to say Hi!

These are just five quick ways you can change the gossip game in the office. Sure, you’re going to always want to complain a little, or get a venting session out, but try and I do mean try to always make sure that you are putting posititivy out in to the business world. It just doesn’t hurt anyone to be nice.

But if you’re going to gossip? Maybe just say it…and forget it instead of writing and regretting?!

Tell me about YOUR tips for positive gossip in the workplace below or on my latest Instagram!