Deal with negative gossip professionally.

When people say negative things behind your back – assess the situation.
Is this something you need to address, or can it be ignored without damaging yourself or your team’s output or reputation?

If you do not need to challenge the statements, ignore and outperform.
Send the message ‘Yes, you keep gossiping, and I’ll keep working and taking things to the next level.’

If you need to challenge the statements, do it professionally.
Say something like: “I heard you had some pointers for me about how I’m doing my job. I’d love to get your feedback, so I can tighten up my game.” This statement will inform the person that you know what’s happening. This will likely diffuse the situation.

Keep working and focusing on what you can do right.
Resist focusing on what other people are doing wrong.