Teams365 Blog - Potentials Realized

#TEams365 #1612: Team Building Tip #18

5/31/2018

This week's Thursday Team Building Question #185 gets you to consider the question "What are the mindsets that are hindering the team?".

Mindsets are a culmination of behaviors, values, perspectives and ways of doing things. They can help us, and they can also get in the way.

What are the mindsets which are hindering the team? What are the things which are not supportive in the current context? What changes are needed?

Mindset shift is not an easy endeavor, and it closely linked to culture change. It will take time, and often starts with dialogue, awareness and a new narrative.

What are the things you can do as a team to shift your mindsets?

With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Author of From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013) and Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2009)
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

#Teams365 #1611: Teamwork in Complexity - Focus and REnewal

5/30/2018

This month we’ve been looking at teamwork and complexity and what happens during times of stress, ongoing change and complexity. The toll on time in this context is multi-fold. Things can feel more stressful, which impacts our ability to focus and get things done, and at the same time, our older systems for time management may no longer work.
Today’s post gets you as a team to consider what is going to help you FOCUS, as well as RENEW. Yesterday’s Teams365 post – Teams365 #1610 – explored different tools for prioritization. Today’s post gets you to think about the systems and processes that help you keep moving. This might include things like:

Creating focused sprint times which are dedicated to focusing on one task only. In “Sprint” fashion, time windows may be used to pick up the pace for intensive bursts. I’ve been experimenting with this in my work with program designers and leaders in the last couple of years and it’s had a really positive impact for participants in terms of generating immediate impact, content and also moving through some of the typical roadblocks which can be experienced.
Setting times of the day for meetings, communication and response. While this may not be feasible for all teams, email and correspondence can leak everywhere. When do you as a team want to dedicate time to meet and communicate with your team members, leaving you periods to also get the work done?
Consider what renewal looks like and means for each team member. Even high performing teams need break and rest cycles for renewal. When are you building these into your work. How are you focusing on giving some periods throughout the year where team members aren’t running at full speed but have pauses of slower pace and/or creative inspiration. For some team members renewal may mean working a condensed work week, and for others, it may mean working remote several times a month.

What can you do as a team to support focus and renewal during times of complexity?

Enjoy your Wednesday,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

You can grab a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. You can also purchase a copy direct from our site, signed by me!

Looking to schedule some team development this fall? Contact me to discuss whether the Everything DiSC or the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team may be a great starting point.

#Teams365 #1610: Teamwork Skills in Complexity - prioritization

5/29/2018

Prioritization is a skill set we draw upon regularly in times of complexity. Prioritization allows all team members to regularly scan and manage their workload.

Key to prioritization is:

Having the tools to prioritize
Feeling empowered to make decisions and take responsibility for managing workload
Understanding what is most important – to the different players of the team, as well as the different time frames you are working on (short term, medium term)

In past Teams365 posts I’ve explored a range of prioritization skills including the Urgent/Important Matrix (we often attribute to Covey), as well as a Decision Matrix where we weight what’s important in making our decisions

For more on the topic of prioritization, check out these additional resources:
This excellent article from MindTools.com - which has an incredible amount of other resources team members and leaders will also want to check out.

LiquidPlanner.com's article on How to Prioritize Work When Everything Is #1 - Read it here.

For those that are looking at prioritization through the lens of product design, you'll want to take a look at this excellent article 20 Product Prioritization Techniques.

Enjoy!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

You can grab a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. You can also purchase a copy direct from our site, signed by me!

Looking to schedule some team development this fall? Contact me to discuss whether the Everything DiSC or the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team may be a great starting point.

#TEams365 #1602: Effective Virtual Conversations tip #45: Pitfall #8

5/28/2018

It’s Monday and time for another Effective Virtual Conversations tip. This week we are at Tip #45, pitfall 8 in our series of ten common pitfalls in virtual conversations of all kinds – webinars, virtual meetings, virtual team development.

Pitfall #8 of the ten pitfalls I share is one of “low energy”. This is a common one that can be experienced in virtual conversations of all kinds. Whether it is because we are on a platform that does not allow us to stream and see each other, or whether it’s because of the time of day we are calling in, or the topic we are exploring, there are a variety of reasons we can experience “low energy” in the virtual space.
The downside of low energy is that it leads to disengagement, disconnection, lack of focus, and an ineffective use of time.

Here’s what I wrote about pitfall #8 – low energy – in my latest book, Effective Virtual Conversations:

Pitfall #8 – Low Energy
Virtual programs can be challenging for new facilitators in terms of the energy and feedback you receive.

Solution: If you are using a phone-based system only, other than enabling people to raise their hands in response or signal their agreement on their keypad, it may feel like you are talking into a black hole. Your energy is imperative in keeping the flow going. Remember that it is critical to engage your group members every 5-7 minutes. Without involvement and engagement, it is challenging for anyone to continue to focus, let alone participate.

What is the energy you bring to virtual calls? How would others describe your energy?

Enjoy the start to your week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

You can grab a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. You can also purchase a copy direct from our site, signed by me!

Looking to schedule some team development this fall? Contact me to discuss whether the Everything DiSC or the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team may be a great starting point.

#Teams365 #1609: Effective Virtual Conversations Tip #46: Pitfall #9

5/28/2018

Teams365 #1609: Effective Virtual Conversation Tip #46: Pitfall # 9 – Lack of Connection Felt by the Group
We are continuing to make our way through ten different pitfalls for virtual communication as we explore ten different pitfalls as part of our Effective Virtual Conversations Tips.

Here’s what I wrote about Pitfall #9 - Lack of Connection felt by the group – in my latest book, Effective Virtual Conversations:
“It is surprising how facilitators overlook how important it is to build connection among group members. Connection is an essential ingredient for virtual programming, and is an important foundation even with a teleseminar or teleclass which may be more content focused. Engagement levels will be impacted if group members do not feel connected with the host and/or others.

Solution: Consider how you can build connection (as appropriate) amongst group members. If it is an extended program, are you giving air time for everyone to speak? Are you encouraging people to share a bio/photo at the start of the program? For one-off engagements, are you posing questions to the group which they can respond to verbally, by email/chat or by using their key pad? If you are hosting a longer program, are you creating “learning partners” or buddies?”

I’ve dedicated a number of the recent community calls for Effective Virtual Conversations to the topic of building connection in your virtual groups including these 30 minute calls:
Breakouts that Sizzle
Four Ways to Move the Needle on Engagement
The Triad of Trust, Connection and Safety

Click on over to view these calls here.

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

You can grab a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. You can also purchase a copy direct from our site, signed by me!

Looking to schedule some team development this fall? Contact me to discuss whether the Everything DiSC or the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team may be a great starting point.

#Teams365 #1608: [Video] - Tips for Fluid Speaking

5/27/2018

Today's Sunday video is a short 2 minute video which includes tips for fluid speaking. From formal presentations, to off-the-cuff introductions, skills in presentations are critical for team members and leaders today.

Check out this week's Teams365 video - bringing to life Teams 365 #651:

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

You can grab a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. You can also purchase a copy direct from our site, signed by me!

Looking to schedule some team development this fall? Contact me to discuss whether the Everything DiSC or the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team may be a great starting point.

#TEams365 #1607: Weekend Quote on Trust and Teamwork

5/26/2018

Today's quote comes from Patrick Lencioni who wrote:
“Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, they’re doing it because they care about the team.” – Patrick Lencioni

The skills of working across differences, constructive interaction, and being able to constructively talk through difficult issues. Teams that have high levels of trust are not afraid to be hard with each other in service to the team and their results. Expectations are usually high and team members will have enough trust to know that people will take the push accordingly.

Where is your level of trust on your team right now? What issues need to be addressed so you as a team can work most positively?

Enjoy your weekend,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

You can grab a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. You can also purchase a copy direct from our site, signed by me!

Looking to schedule some team development this fall? Contact me to discuss whether the Everything DiSC or the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team may be a great starting point.

#TEams365 #1606: #FlashBackFriday:

5/25/2018

It's time for another FlashBack Friday. This month we've been exploring teamwork skills required during times of complexity. A key theme has been to equip all team members with skills so they can do their best work. Earlier thsi week, I focused on skills for problem solving. If you have not checked out an older audio post #Teams365 #488, I invite you to do that now. Likewise, decision making skills are also important. Check out Teams365 #495 for another audio post on 2 Decision Making Skills.

If you enjoyed these two posts, and are looking for more facilitation tools and processes to share with your team, do check out some of my past series including these posts on Facilitation. The posts range from virtual conversations to in person events. Check them out here.

With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

You can grab a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. You can also purchase a copy direct from our site, signed by me!

Looking to schedule some team development this fall? Contact me to discuss whether the Everything DiSC or the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team may be a great starting point.

#Teams365 #1605: Team Building Question #184: Mindsets

5/24/2018

This week's Teams365 Team Building Question gets you to think about what are the mindsets that are helping the team. A focus on mindsets have become part of the common discourse due to the writing of Carol Dweck, and her work on Fixed and Growth Mindsets.

If you haven't viewed her TedTalk - The Power of Believing You Can Improve, view it here.

If you'd like to read more about it, check out MindsetOnline.com

As a team discuss how your mindsets and beliefs are helping the team, and how they are hindering them. Does the team see themselves as active members, able to affect change, or are they passive recipients of what's happening "to them".

Enjoy this 184th team building question!

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

You can grab a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. You can also purchase a copy direct from our site, signed by me!

#TEams365 #1604: Team Skills in Complexity - Problem Solving

5/23/2018

Part of the workplace today is the ongoing change and complexity. This not only impacts leaders but many of the team members we work with as well. Given this, it's important to take time to equip our team members with skills in a variety of areas including today's focus, problem solving. Given that team members may be working remote, or may be working more autonomously, equipping team members with skills in this area is key.

Earlier this month we've looked at other kills such as curiosity and open-mindedness as well as experimentation. What other skills do you think your team could benefit from?

Problems can take a number of forms - from not having enough resources, to not having the information we need. Equipping team members in this area could involve using problem solving skills like:

Lewin's Force Field Analysis - this process helps us explore the forces that will both enable us in change, as well as hold us back.

The Fishbone - Originating out of Toyota, the fishbone helps us explore the varying factors around an issue. For example, if poor customer service is occurring, what are the issues feeding into this from a people, process, environmental standpoint. Identifying each of these factors helps us explore what is at play.

Is/Is Not - As I wrote a short while ago, the is/is not tool, allows us to get clearer on parameters. Part of problem solving also involves this. Think about the problem or challenge you are facing, and make a list of what "it is" and what "it is not".

Five Whys - The Five Whys tool gets us to unlayer an issue by asking WHY around each of the layers. If customer service is poor ask WHY? If that points to lack of training - ask again WHY? With that response - explore the next layer with WHY. Many coaching models also encourage this unpacking or unlayering of issues to root cause.

What tools will help your team thrive?

With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

You can grab a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. You can also purchase a copy direct from our site, signed by me!

Looking to schedule some team development this fall? Contact me to discuss whether the Everything DiSC or the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team may be a great starting point..