Thought 23APR2009

SUSPICIONS
One of the earmarks of a good manager is the ability to keep suspicion and rumours to a minimum. Both can be costly - they hurt production and lower morale. Sometimes all it takes to arouse suspicion is a few unexplained facts. Once suspicions are aroused, it's amazing the things people can imagine. To suspicious individuals, two and two invariably add up to a good deal more than four. Unfortunately, people rarely keep their suspicions to themselves. Something that started as speculation may be further enlarged and distorted as it passes along the grapevine. You've seen it happen right in your own organization.

How can you avoid it? The first thing to do is conduct yourself in an open and aboveboard manner. A smart supervisor never acts secretive. The second is to always keep people well informed of what's going on. The supervisor who does this regularly will find people far less susceptible to speculation and rumour. The third thing is to be constantly alert for things that might be misunderstood or misinterpreted and explain them before suspicion and rumour can get started. With a little imagination - and by keeping in close touch with everyone - a supervisor can usually spot incidents that need prompt explanation.

As long as humans are humans, no one can stop suspicion and gossip completely. There will always be a grapevine of one sort or another. Good supervisors, though, can do a great deal to keep suspicions and rumours from developing. They can minimize the damage even though they can't prevent it entirely. And don't forget - you may occasionally be suspicious, too. Nobody's immune. Suspicions can twist your thinking the same way they twist the thinking of the people who work for you. When you're suspicious about something - whether it concerns the people who work for you of the people you work for - don't speculate. Go directly to the people concerned and get the facts. It saves time, worry and ulcers.
Extracted from Bits & Pieces, The Economics Press, Inc., Fairfield, New Jersey, USA. From the Library of Puan Hajah Zaihani Abdul Hamid
Not to have felt pain is not to have been human - Jewish Proverb