Gossip - friend or foe?

 
Water cooler discussions; the smoking 'bus shelter'; where the real work gets done?
Do you sometimes feel left out?  Do you, as a manager, sometimes feel that an untrue or spiteful rumour is getting out of control, but you feel powerless to stop it?  What if the rumour is about downsizing, but your privileged position on a management board also imposes a duty of secrecy?
I know I have personally felt left out (I don't smoke), and powerless (I know the truth but can't say).
Gossip isn't always a negative thing, as an article in Professional Manager (March 2010 - vol 19 Issue 2 pp34-36) points out.  We (humans) may be programmed to need gossip in the same way that most primates spend hours grooming each other - you're fighting a losing battle to try to stop it!
My own feelings of powerlessness when I was starting out got me interested: gossip is a part of networking, a kind-of "this is the sound of my voice.  How does your voice sound today?  Do I want to help you?" or even a Social Glue.  It can be destructive, but in the same way that social networking can be a distraction, or a force for good, if you manage and use it, it can be enormously beneficial.
Understand - before you try to use
Don't just leap straight in!  Begin with the end in mind - what are you trying to achieve.  Then put your ego on one side - what approach is most likely to get you there?  These are standard advice for any form of negotiation, and apply just as importantly with tackling the "thought leaders", if negative gossip mongers can be given such an elevated title.  
You know who started the rumour that is distracting everyone from their work, and has people threatening to go out on strike (or at least look for another job).  Will tackling them face to face achieve the right result?  You'll satisfy your own desire to look tough in the eyes of your fellow managers, but the person you talk to will deny it completely and call you every name under the sun for accusing them (those who are most guilty often protest most loudly).
You could try asking for help ... "rumours are flying around, I know you keep your ear to the ground, I wonder if you've heard, I'd like you to know the truth because I feel I can take you into my confidence".  Often gossip is about a power play - "I have information which I can share with those I favour, and obviously they have to give me something in return" is what the gossip monger is implicitly saying.  Well now you've shared information with them which obliges them to reciprocate, to do something for you, but more importantly, you've given them real information (as opposed to something they made up) which makes them even more important when they share it with everyone.
Gossip could actually become your team's greatest strength, rather than a destructive weakness!