It's the end of another month and today signals the end of the first quarter. Have you taken some time to reflect on your successes, accomplishments and learning? Today's post gives you that opportunity.

AS you think back to this past quarter (so the period of January until now):

What were my major achievements this quarter?
What do I want to celebrate?
As I consider my goals (and resolutions) I made at the start of the year, how am I doing with these on a scale of 1-10? Which ones are becoming new habits or something I can check off?
Which ones need to be let go of?
As a leader, what have I noticed about my team this quarter?
As a leader, what notes should I make about performance issues (if I haven't done it already!)
The thing that has helped me be most productive this quarter has been ______
The thing that has helped me be most successful this quarter has been ______
The thing that has helped me be happiest this quarter has been ________
The thing that has helped me be most healthy has been _______
What have I noticed about my work/productivity/results and/or relationships during the winter months (if you are in the northern hemisphere) or summer (if you are in the southern hemisphere)?

Take note of any key metrics which are important for you, and your work. For corporate leaders this may be progress on key KPIs (Key Performance indicators). For small business owners this may be key metrics around social media.

Looking ahead to Quarter 2:
My priorities are:
Our team priorities are:
My goals are
My teams goals are:
I want to......
I'll be really happy at the end of this quarter when....
I also need to think about:

Enjoy your reflections, and if you have not had time to undertake any quarterly planning before, I hope that you will grab a new notebook, and start this new practice.

If you did not know, I provide a series of Teams365 Planning tools for leaders I work with. You can download the quarterly planning worksheet as part of this month's download. Click here to access. If you'd like to receive more monthly tools, join our Teams365 planning list which gets a new email every month or two. You can join that list here.

Best
Jennifer

Today's Flashback Friday post takes us back to a couple of different Teams365 posts - namely #1124 post on several questions to ask about collaboration - whether it's as a co-facilitator or within a team context

This winter I've had an increasing number of requests from teams, and for speaking services, around enhancing collaboration. Whether we are looking to work more effectively within our team, or outside of our teams, collaboration is a critical skillset.

As it relates to teams context, here's what I wrote in Teams365 #1124:
"In his book, Collaboration, Hansen cautions about collaborating in every instance. Consider the current opportunities for you to leverage collaboration and when it might be more appropriate for people to work on their own.

To make collaboration work most effectively consider:
What's the task at hand? What will success look like?
Are we all clear on the end result and what that looks like?
Are we all clear on roles and how they intersect?
Are we each in the right role, leveraging our talents and strengths?
How does my contribution feed into or impact others on the team?
What checkpoints do we have to come together and discuss progress?
What will we do if things go off-kilter?
What else do we need?"

One of the more specific areas of collaboration is in co-facilitation or partnering to lead virtual calls. This is an area I regularly work to support professionals in. Her'es what I wrote in Team365 #568 about Roles and Co-Facilitation, which requires a huge amount of seamless collaboration:
Even the most seasoned of us as virtual facilitators, myself included, need support to create masterful facilitated experiences in the virtual realm. This post explores several supporting roles which can make the difference between a good and a masterful facilitated experience.

When considering the roll-out of a virtual program you will want to keep in mind:
1 What are all the moving parts - lecture, interactivity, breakouts?
2. What technology issues might people experience?
3. And of course, what the platform is. A bridgeline alone is often not as complicated as say a webinar platform with screen sharing, polls and breakouts.

Depending on what you are using you may want to have a co-facilitator who can take the lead on certain facilitated sessions, or a producer who will look after the technology end such as getting people on board, and also moving people into breakout configurations.

Regardless of whether it is a co-facilitator or producer you will want to:
Consider which roles each one of you will play  throughout the session, and during different activities
Where are the major transition points where you may need to switch over control or presenter status - i.e. polls, breakouts?
What are the key points along the timeline you both need to be aware of - walk through the entire program and make sure you are both on the same page
What will you do if "technology" happens?
What are your requests of each other - for example, as a big picture person myself, I often ask my co-facilitator to help me keep an eye on the finer details such as numbers, details etc.
How will you have each other's back? Similar to what will you do if "technology" happens, this  is about considering how you will support each other.

For more questions to ask  yourself during co-facilitation, and how to prepare, please download this bonus digital chapter which accompanied my first book Effective Group Coaching on Co-facilitation. I hope that you enjoy it!"

What are the opportunities for enhanced collaboration in your team? What conversations are important to have BEFORE and DURING the work?

Best wishes,
Jennifer

In today's context of rapid change (think about this week's changes alone!) ongoing learning from others becomes even more critical.  Our ability to look beyond our context is critical. This week's Team Building Tip get s you to consider the questions:

What can you learn from other teams?
Other departments?
Other organizations?

When was the last time you as a team slowed down enough to meet with another team at your organization and perhaps share notes or best practices of recent projects or initiatives. AS a former program manager myself I know how important these often informal, and infrequent (think quarterly or one or twice a year) cross-team meet ups served. These can help to:

• Build relationships
• Learn about what others are doing (inside and outside your organization)
• Avoid pitfalls
• Not reinvent the wheel
• Identify others who might bring expertise or resource suggestions you need around current opportunities and challenges\

Having spent most of the early days in my career in rapidly changing contexts building the habit of outreach with others in the organizations, and contexts, I worked within was critical for success.

What practices or habits can you adopt as a team to become more regular in your outreach and sharing of practices with others?

In some organizations this is know as cross-silo collaboration. Siloed or not, what can you do to build your relationships across teams, departments and organizations this season?

For those who are stepping into a long weekend - enjoy,
Jennifer

This month we've been focusing on team development and different supports for team members. Over the past month some of the more popular posts were:

​Monday's post on making things memorable. Read it here.

​Teams365 #1540: Tools for Your Toolkit - Check out the eight different areas of tools you will want to equip yourself with. Read it here.

​TEams365 #1536: The Five Mistakes Virtual Team Leaders can make. Read it here.

​Empathy and Building Connection in Virtual Teams - Teams365 #1533. Read it here.

​My intention this month was to continue to add onto, and point to, the varied ideas virtual and intact teams and their leaders may want to connect with as it relates to building their own relationships, and focusing on results. 

​What is the one most important thing that could support your team in moving the needle on its most important tasks and responsibilities, before the end of the month and quarter? You still have a couple of days....

​Have a great Wednesday,
Jennifer

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This month as we've been looking at tools and different things you can do with teams (empathy, roles, visuals) we are connecting in with the topic of team culture. As I wrote earlier this month, in Teams365 #1526, Team Culture is "How we do things". 

​It includes components such as our:
Identify
​Beliefs
Values
Assumptions
Practices

​Our team culture can shift over time and is heavily influenced by leaders and team members.

​As you have been considering some of the activities and conversations posed this month here at the blog, how do they connect with your culture. How aligned are they?

​Consider where you as a team want to go, and what will help you get there.

​If you have not taken a look at some of the areas you want to build capacity within your team around, be sure to check out #Teams365 $1540 - Tools for Leaders and Business Owners. In this post I highlight eight different areas skills are needed in.

Best
​Jennifer

Suzuki writes " We make things memorable when things are novel, surprizing, emotional, and attention grabbing". While all training can benefit from a little jazzing up, it is especially true with virtual training. Think about how memorable the calls and meetings you have attended over the month of March. Which ones have stood out for you?

​Here are a number of things we can do to make our virtual calls more memorable by making them more novel, surprizing, emotional or attention grabbing:

​More novel - Mix it up. Move from a conference call to a video streaming session. Let people know that it's going to be a  different call. See what happens. Other ways to make things novel are:
​Change up the format
​Have a different host or facilitator
​Do things in a different order

​Surprizing: If trust levels are high, and participants are open, surprises can be part of an every day experience. Jazz things up a bit during a call.  Let people leave a little early, or bring in a guest speaker.

​Emotional - I write and speak a lot about the importance of connecting people early on to their WIIFM - What' s in it for me. part of this is connecting with people's emotion. This may be through music, a photo or story. What can you do to help people connect emotionally to the topics you are exploring?

​Attention Grabbing - What would be a 180 on the regular start of your meetings? If you don't ever show videos, why not incorporate a short one (don't have any - check out our Teams365 one-to-two minute weekly videos), or turn some data into an infographic.

​Calls and meetings don't have to be "Death by Conference Call" as I write in my book - Effective virtual Conversations. What can you do to jazz up your next meeting and make it more novel, surprizing, emotional or attention grabbing?

​Enjoy!

Jennifer

 

It's Sunday and time for another Teams365 video. Recent videos have focused on the Forming Stage of Team Development, as well as Harnessing the Differences in your Team.

To
Today's video is all about accountability. With many teams I work with, accountability is part and parcel of their high performance culture. It's like oxygen in a culture which values getting things done. In organizations where trust levels may be low, accountability can be a word imbued with a lot of emotion, blame and cynicism.

What does accountability mean for your organization? How are you helping to model it?

Video follows below.

Enjoy your weekend,
Jennifer

Today's teamwork quote comes from Ted Sundquist who wrote "Good teams incorporate teamwork into their culture, creating the building blogs for success".

​Teamwork skills are often overlooked. They encompass skills like conflict resolution, communication, influence, relationship building, emotional intelligence.

​Take a look around at many of the past posts, and series, I have done on teamwork skills.

​What do you see as the strongest teamwork skills for your team right now? Which ones need further attention or development?
​If you do not put attention on these areas, which might happen?

Enjoy your weekend,
​Jennifer

One of the themes which has emerged in this month's blog posts has been the concept of team identity and team culture. This is something I have written on throughout our five years of posts, as culture shapes all layers of the team experience. What we focus on, what we do and how we do it, what we prioritize.

​As I wrote in Teams365 #1440:
"Team culture is often defined as "how we do things". It includes our behaviors and practices, what is acceptable and what is not.

​Each team is unique in it's team culture, and this may vary from organiational culture.

​Consider the question this week "What are three adjectives to describe your team culture?". 
​
​What do these adjectives say about you? What you value? How is it reflected in your work?"

​Here are a few reminders of past posts on team culture for this week's FlashbackFriday:

​Listen into the first Team Leader Breakfast Café call I did back in 2014 on Team Culture. The call runs for 30 minutes. 



​Teams365 #406 suggested a few resources you might want to check out to learn more:

Culture U's article from Scott Beilke on The Sweet Spot - Understanding Culture, Change and Leadership to Accomplish Business Results

Tim Kuppler's Culture Fundamentals - 9 Insights from Edward Schein

Value Based Leadership from Richard Barrett

​What is important to note about your team culture?

Have a great weekend,
​Jennifer

We are at Team building tip #175 today, and the question to have dialogue around as a team is "What are the activities which are critical to your success and/or your mandate right now?".

​These are two different question and get you to consider which activities are high yield, and are helping you both get results but also serve those you are in business for.

​In today's business context "busy" can be a badge of honor. But are we always doing the right things, or the things that have highest impact. Failing to take stock of what you are doing, why and what impact it is having can make things appear very busy, but without results.

​I've shared the Pareto Principle in past posts here, which asserts that we get approximately 80% of our results from 20% of our activities. In contrast that means that 80% of our activities may only net 20% results. 

​This week I hope you will "pull on the breaks" and ask yourself:
​What are the key activities which are key to our success and/or mandate right now?

Enjoy!

With best wishes,
​Jennifer

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