rumors by definition are just that, RUMORS (gossip, hearsay, not based in fact).
if in fact someone is really constantly spreading rumors, their beliveablitly and credibility will take care of itself. you need do nothing. (unless you get into slander or libel situation, that is different, but you need facts for that and not hearsay)
If everyone minded their own business ..... the world would go round a deal faster than it does. Lewis Carroll, said by the Duchess, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland
Thank you all for the replies. I understand about someone being upset because things are not being run the right way, but we still have one position open on the board and it was offered to her, she refused. We have a great board who works hard and dedicates many hours and things are being done. I hope she will realize this and stop the bad PR. I wish she could turn this bad energy to something positive. Thanks.
I don't have a lot of advice to add that hasn't already been given. I just wanted to add two quotes to this discussion that I often re-read to keep me going.
There is so much good in the worst of us
And so much bad in the best of us
That it hardly behooves any of us
To talk about the rest of us
(Edward Wallis Hoch 1849-1925, Marion (Kansas) Record)
Mediocrity always attacks excellence. If you go beyond mediocrity others will attack you because they feel uncomfortable in your presence. To support you they have to admit they lack courage (as heard on Oprah during a discussion about "The Secret"-2007)
Er, dlf, that IS good advice, but personally when I hear remarks like that they make me wonder about the person making said remarks, and this is why...
I was involved in our PTA for 4 years. The first 2 years our president actually had a clue what they were doing, but their personal life went to hell and it affected their leadership abilities. I started questioning the way our money was being handled (quietly), and when I didn't feel I was being listened to I started campaigning for an audit at the end of their term. This should have been done as a matter of course, but it looked like it wasn't going to be done.
The next person to become president didn't have a lot of time for the job so another board member pretty much ran everything and we had a few clashes (in private); then that person became president and I didn't run for the board because I knew we couldn't work together.
I found out later that they had been telling people how negative I was, that I wasn't what was needed on a PTA board and so on. Meanwhile, during their 2 terms they drove away almost every teacher and parent, to the point of refusing to even give them a form to join the PTA.
Last spring I was approached to return to the board and it was then that I found out what had been said about me. Some people flat out told me they'd been concerned about working with me because I supposedly was so negative, but slowly I think people are seeing that I'm getting things done, and if I say I'll do something I do it.
The whole thing left me much less likely to believe someone if they say another person is negative, and more likely to wonder about the person saying it instead. Just my 2 cents.
