Gossip Can Be Good

Shawne Duperon, six time Emmy Award winner, my media coach and friend...
an expert in gossip!

Gossip Can Be Good!

When you think of gossip, what comes to mind?  Rumours. Negative comments. Talking behind someone's back. Hurt feelings.  Often gossip gets a bad rap, it is seen as negative and harmful. Shawne Duperon brings us a different viewpoint to consider. She is a gossip expert and is doing her PhD on this very topic, gossip. During a webinar today Shawne shared that most gossip is not negative, like we assume it is and that positive gossip can make huge differences in business, and the lives of others.

Shawne gave some examples of how media has been a leader in sharing good news! And, in workplaces when people are champions for one another sharing good news, they are sharing good gossip. Their intent is pure and good.

A great example of good gossip is Project Forgive (check it out at http://www.projectforgive.com/). So many people around the world got behind this project, and were sharing good gossip, creating an energy and excitement about the project. They became champions.

How can you spread good news, good gossip about others to help them with their cause?

How can you use good gossip with the right intent to make postiive change at work, and in your communiations with others? 

 YAY Shawne for sharing a new perspective on gossip!

The Business of Forgiveness...

“I am SO sorry.” “I can’t believe I forgot, so sorry!” “Didn’t mean to let you down.” “It will never happen again.” “My bad.”  “So sorry to be late, traffic was awful, car wouldn’t start, got here no parking! What a start to the day.”  How many times have you said this or heard these statements? A simple, clear and clean apology without all the  drama is the better way of asking for forgiveness and owning a mistake in the workplace. It sounds like this “Please forgive me for being late,” said Shawne Duperon, media expert and creator of Project Forgive (www.projectforgive.com).

I had the pleasure of interviewing Shawne Duperon, and Deborah Welch, an expert and author on the topic of forgiveness in the workplace.  Deborah so eloquently described forgiveness as the process of moving through grief, instead of suffering, blaming oneself or others.  Forgiveness results in freedom.

Deborah talked with such passion about the importance of stories; in fact, she has been collecting stories of forgiveness for almost three decades.  Stories are a powerful form of communication and trust building.  She shared her story, one that involved a traumatic loss. She explained that the journey for forgiveness, forgiving self or others, is different for each person.  Through her journey to forgive herself, the puzzle pieces began to fit together, and in letting go and forgiving, life opened up.

The benefits to a workplace culture that embraces forgiveness are many, but at the top of the list are:

• -          Improved relationships
• -          Increased trust
• -          Reduced stress, guilt, suffering and pain
• -          Greater sense of synergy
• -          Safety to learn and grow

Deborah and Shawne offered a variety of tips to foster a culture of forgiveness at work, these are my personal favorites:

-          Start the conversation. Create a culture whereby vulnerable conversations can take place, where team members and leaders can talk about their mistakes, and grow through them. 

-          Silence the unhelpful, negative and self defeating chatter in our minds.

-          Use clean and clear statements of apology (or drama free statements)

-          Breathe, take time to process the situation before reacting on an emotional level

Children get the concept of forgiveness, to them it is simple, or as Shawne would say, it is clean.  Take five minutes to watch this video; you’ll see what I mean.  www.projectforgive.com

To find out more about Deborah Welch, and her phenomenal book  FORGIVENESS AT WORK: Stories of the Power, Possibility, and Practice of Forgiveness in the Workplace , visit:

http://www.reflective-leadership.com/about.htm

And you can learn more about Shawne at www.shawnetv.com

How You Show up is Everything!

My friend, and media coach, Shawne Duperon is an expert at helping people refine their message, manage their fear, and get more publicity. Shawne says “People do business with people they like. People buy from people they like. People talk about people and services they like. People post and tag people they like on Facebook. People re-tweet people they like. Reporters cover stories over and over again with people they like. Word-of-mouth epidemics build momentum when you leverage your marketing strategies and SEO with social media, video and media coverage.” 

There is a quote that says people won’t remember the exact words that you said, but they will remember how you left them feeling. That is so important in terms of working with the media, communicating with others, and in the process of forgiveness. Blaming yourself or others after a mistake, hanging onto it for years, or avoiding opportunities for fear of making the same mistake will not help your business grow and certainly won’t help you build meaningful connections.  Forgiveness is key… to forgive yourself, and others.

For most of my adult life I was a perfectionist, now I say that I am a recovering perfectionist. Becoming comfortable with vulnerability and taking risks, making mistakes, taking responsibility, and moving forward was probably one of my biggest learning curves, however, the ripple effects of results was well worth the work. 

One of my clients, a leader in a big organization summed it up so well…. “When you have a hard time acknowledging mistakes, those around you will struggle as well. As a leader, we need to create an environment whereby our team members can acknowledge their mistake, learn and grow from it and move forward. Otherwise, the risk is that leaders don’t hear of the mistake until it has become a crisis.” I thought this was wise advice.

Another great way to learn from  Shawne Duperon, and to sign up for her webinar. I have participated in this webinar several times and have learned a great deal that has helped me excel with media.  Set aside an hour starting at 4:00 PM  April 12, 2012 to participate in:

What Are You Broadcasting? The Business of Marketing Forgiveness

Ready to land more social media buzz, free publicity and media exposure for your business, non-profit or even your career?

Are you tired of:

• Watching your competitors thrive when you have a BETTER product, service or mission?
• Spending a ton of money for nothing?
• Struggling to move on in your marketing because of really dumb mistakes?

Then this media marketing webinar is for you – and it’s like no other. The game is to forgive yourself quickly after taking business risks that didn’t work while stepping into marketing actions that have you thrive.  I hope you will participate in this webinar, the investment is only $27 and 100% of that goes to supporting Project Forgive.

http://shawnetv.com/attend-an-event/4-18-12-webinar

In February I got the chance to interview my media coach, Shawne, how fun.  The best part was that I applied everything I had learned from her.  You can listen to Shawne Duperon talk about being a rockstar when you are being interviewed by the media, and she also offers some great tips to manage nervousness, and communicate clearly with confidence!  http://www.blogtalkradio.com/charmainehammond/2012/02/22/guests-marilyn-suttle-and-shawne-duperon

Project Forgive:  http://shawnetv.com/attend-an-event/4-12-12-webinar

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/330494084/project-forgive

Forgiveness at work….it’s for giving!

Sometimes people are tougher on themselves, than on anyone else.  This was part of the conversation I had with Marilyn Suttle and Shawne Duperon on my Conversations with Charmaine Radio Show. They both asked the question “how long before you forgive yourself?”

What a great question. In workplaces as a consultant and trainer I see it all the time. Someone hasn’t forgiven themselves for a mistake they made, it affects relationships and stops the person from moving forward. It can also stop the team from fast tracking to success. Another common example is someone made a mistake ten years ago….it still comes up frequently at staff meetings, when new ideas are posed or when something goes wrong.  The struggle to Let It Go can impact the ability to forgive, self and others.

My friend and media coach Shawne Duperon, six time Emmy Award winner is leading a movement that I believe will change the world, workplaces and communities for sure!  The initiative is called Project Forgive.  Here’s what the website says:  “Life happens. We lose our jobs, we face bankruptcy and foreclosure. Some of us are dealing with a divorce, others of us are facing life threatening illnesses such as cancer. Culturally, we see deep political fighting, immigration issues, war, despair and violence. In the face of all this, how can we find the courage to forgive and cause a new realm of possibility, a new conversation?”

This is a question for reflection. How can employees in teams find the courage to forgive their colleagues so the team can move towards their goals, better relationships, success?  What do you need to forgive yourself for to move forward?

Here are three tips to forgiveness that I learned a long time ago when I worked as a Correctional Officer (half a life time ago and these tips still help).

1.    Accept that we all make mistakes. Treat mistakes like a learning opportunity.

2.    Review and Learn. Ask yourself: What went well?  What was a challenge? What did I learn? And, what will I do differently?  This will help you move from blame to change.

3.    Start the conversation. If you make a mistake, own it, accept with grace and dignity, and move forward. As you move forward, so can others.

4.    And remember….Forgiveness is For Giving!

Be a part of the Project Forgive…. Back the movie…. Share your story….. share the project with friends…. Project Forgive is For Giving.

www.projectforgive.com

 Listen to the incredible Shawne Duperon and Marilyn Suttle here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/charmainehammond/2012/02/22/guests-marilyn-suttle-and-shawne-duperon