Teams365 Blog - POTENTIALS REALIZED

#Teams365 #912: Team Building Tip 90 - Emotional Intelligence

6/30/2016

Our 90th Team Building tip gets you to think about how you are doing with your Emotional Intelligence skills. AS you move up the leadership ladder, EI skills in the areas of self-management, self-awareness, relationship management and relationship awareness become even more critical. How are you doing in these areas? Which ones need attention right now?

Click here to read past posts on Emotional Intelligence which I have written.

Have a great Thursday, and for those moving into a holiday weekend, some great time off with friends, family and loved ones!

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

#Teams365 #911: Foundations of Teamwork - Conflict Resolution

6/29/2016

Conflict resolution

The differences which exist in teams – from personalities to priorities, different resources and skills can lead to conflict, both overt and covert. In fact conflict is part the healthy development of teams. What is not always healthy is how we address it
Questions to consider

What conflicts exist on the team right now? What is at the heart of it(resources/priorities etc
How do team members react to conflict?
What shared processes or models do you have for addressing conflicts
What is important to address within the team right now?
What are next steps?

How to support teams during conflict:

Normalize it. Flag and discuss openly potential sources of conflict and how you want to deal with it
Help people understand how they naturally approach conflict. Do they compromise, accommodate, compete? We may have some natural approaches which may or may not be the best solution, For example, competition when collaboration is needed
Have a shared approach for dealing with conflict – for example models such as Susan Scott’s Fierce Conversations or Difficult Conversations
Provide people with the space and tools to work through conflict – this takes time. Prioritize it and provide support when conflict needs to be addressed

Have a great Wednesday,
Jennifer

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

#Teams365 #910 - Teamwork Foundations - Flexibility and Adaptability

6/28/2016

Flexibility and adaptability is key in today’s teams. The business context continues to shift and change with the need to be agile and fluid. AS team leaders we can help our teams become more flexible and adaptable. Some actions we can undertake are to

Model this in your own behavior in terms of how you approach changes
Encourage contingency thinking – in many workplaces today it is likely that things will not work as planned will not happen as planned. Getting into the habit of thinking about “
what else” or what other options are is useful
Encourage out of the box thinking
Get team members thinking about the different perspectives and approaches
Encourage both right and left brain thinking – both the creative and reactive way

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

Teams365 #909: Teamwork Foundations - Working Across Differences

6/27/2016

There are a variety of differences which show up in teams every day -
from styles to technical skills.

Different approaches can be a source of strength if people are confident and knowledgeable in working across differences.
Some of these are signals that different styles may be at play:

A look of confusion when one team member is speaking
Conflict
Multiple misunderstandings regarding what is being said or what needs to get done

Tips for working across differences:
Spend time working on the relationship. Know what you uniquely bring, your
strengths, talents and preferences.
How does this mesh? How might it not?
What do others value?
What adaptations are needed to your approaches?

What other tips would you offer for working across differences? What differences show up on a regular basis in your work?

Have a great start to the week,
Jennifer

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

#TEams365 #907/908: Weekend Quote on Goals

6/26/2016

#Teams365 #906: Teamwork Foundations: Collaboration Resources

6/24/2016

As we continue our journey with Teamwork Foundations we're looking at Collaboration and Resources to support you in your work. Fostering collaboration within a team is key and as team leaders we want to consider how to enhance these skills within the team.

Resources you may want to check out are:
My article from the Coaching Tools Company site on Coaching Questions in Six Areas for High Performing Teams. Click here to read.

Building and Leading High Performing Teams - Click here to read.

Wrike.com's blog post on 18 Expert Tips to Get Your Team to Collaborate Effectively. Click here to read.

Wespire.com's article 8 Steps to Improve Workplace Collaboration - Click here to read.

An older blog post of mine on 10 Ways to Get to Know your Team. Click here to read.

What other resources do you suggest?

Have a great weekend,
Jennifer
nnifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

#Teams365 #905: Team BUilding Tip

6/23/2016

This week gets you to think about expanding your horizons and getting out of your comfort zone. What could that look like for you?

It might entail:
Taking a new course;
Taking on a new role in a team meeting;
Learning a new language;
Taking a new route to work;
Job shadowing someone on another team;
Considering a lateral move or special assignment

When were you last outside of your comfort zone? What was the big learning for you there? What helped you stretch into that place?

Have a great Thursday,
Jennifer

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

#TEams365 #904: Teamwork Fundamentals: Collaboration

6/22/2016

One of the core skills in today’s workplace is collaboration. Collaboration allows us to harness the best of two or more individuals together.
Collaboration allows us to

Leverage the best
Make sure we have the right people on board
Harness talent
Sometimes come to a better solution

In today’s business place there is often a mantra that we need to collaborate more. In fact, it can be very important to discern whether collaboration is in fact the best option. Sometimes collaboration is not necessary. It may be a good approach if:
Multiple skillsets and perspectives are needed
Input from different sources can be valuable
Sustainability of the initiative rests on multiple players
It is high stakes – important to get it right
Many of these warrant the time and effort it takes to collaborate well

Questions to consider
What does collaboration currently look like?
What can collaboration look like?
What are the benefits of current collaboration? Future collaboration?
What do we each bring of value to this partnership?
When is collaboration not useful?

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

#Teams365 #903: Summer Focus Areas

6/21/2016

Today marks the first day of summer and it's an opportunity to pause and take some notes on the following:
My priorities this summer are....

Key focus areas are....

My team's priorities this summer are....
Something I want to do more of is....Less of is...
One habit I want to hone this summer is....
One thing I want to stop doing is.....
I will know we have been successful at the start of fall when....
I will know I have been successful at the start of fall when....
Key relationships to focus on this summer are...
Key projects to focus on this summer are....

Enjoy these longer days!
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

#Teams365 #902 Monday Motivation for Teams

6/20/2016

It's Monday Motivation for many bloggers today, and given that I'm out today working with a team, here's a quick quote for you to enjoy in my absence!

What's a key priority for you this week? Think about how you can keep your goals visible and in front of you to remember what's important this week.

Click here to review the posts I did last month as part of the Foundations of Goal Setting series.

Have a great start to it,
Jennifer

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