Teams365 Blog - POTENTIALS REALIZED

#Teams365 #964: Sunday Quote By ARtistotle

8/20/2016

Today's Sunday quote comes from Aristotle who wrote "For the tings we have to learn before doing them, we learn by doing them".

There can be a fallacy that we don't know enough in leadership. It is what sparks what can be an ongoing cycle of learning, reading, listening for some leaders. Key in leadership today is the importance of getting into action and experimenting. As Aristotle wisely said, sometimes we just need to learn by doing.

What are the areas you are needing to get into action around rather than taking another course, or reading another book?

Have a great Sunday,
Jennifer
Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Check out our newest on-demand course: Teams365 Teamwork Foundations
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Looking for more tips and ideas to support you in your work as a leader? Sign up for our monthly newsletter, full of tips, resources and hacks for leaders and team members looking to realize their potential. Sign up at http://bit.ly/teams365news

#TEAms365 #963: Linked In Article: Accountability Made Easier when it's SMART-E

8/20/2016

This week I created a LinkedIn Pulse post article entitled "Accountability: Made easier when it's SMART-E". It's all about accountability and goal setting, two areas most teams find a stretch or struggle these days. I hope that you will take a few minutes to click on over to the article on Linked In here.

In the article I do into the importance of creating not only SMART goals, but SMART-E Goals.

Many of us are familiar with SMART goals - those that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time-bound. What is just as important as these categories is the e. How is the goal exciting? If the goal is not exciting to the person responsible for it, they will likely note get it done.

Accountability is at the heart of high performing teams today. Creating shared commitment for results, and providing the requisite authority and responsibility is key to performance.

I hope that the article will get you thinking about how you support goal setting and accountability within your team.

Enjoy your weekend,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Check out our newest on-demand course: Teams365 Teamwork Foundations
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Looking for more tips and ideas to support you in your work as a leader? Sign up for our monthly newsletter, full of tips, resources and hacks for leaders and team members looking to realize their potential. Sign up at http://bit.ly/teams365news

#Teams365 #962: Team Leader Tool - The one Page Plan

8/19/2016

It's almost the end of summer here in the northern hemisphere and as so many people get back to work and school in early September our attention often turns to goal setting and planning. In the next few weeks I'll be doing more posts on planning and goal setting.

AND for today I wanted to share a copy of a one-page plan which can serve as useful template for team leaders today.

Success on teams requires that we don't only have a team series of goals but that individuals on the team also know what their top goals are and how the intersect with others.

The beauty of a one page plan is that is captures everything on one page. I n some of my former work I was responsible for annual plans that were more than 30 pages in length (even when font size was 7. Management By Objectives on steroids!). Today I work with a lot of my leadership clients on weaning things down to a one page format, even if we need to create a different plan every week.

I would invite you to download a copy of the one page plan and use it in your work. See what you find useful and what you don't like about the format.

As you will note, it is very simple:

Description is a place for you to outline what the task is
Timelines should include key milestones needed
Enablers should include anything that's going to help the goal to be fulfilled
Derailers should include anything that might take away from the goal

Download a copy of the one page plan here.

I would welcome your feedback and stories about how you use it with your team. please feel free to comment below.

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Check out our newest on-demand course: Teams365 Teamwork Foundations
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Looking for more tips and ideas to support you in your work as a leader? Sign up for our monthly newsletter, full of tips, resources and hacks for leaders and team members looking to realize their potential. Sign up at http://bit.ly/teams365news

#Teams365 #961: Team Building Tip #97: Team Habits

8/18/2016

Today's Thursday Team Building tip gets you to think about the team habits you have developed. Habits are things we do (behaviors) as a routine. They can work for us as a team or not.

Examples of team habits could include:
a) Making sure everyone is wrapped up at the end of the week wtih key projects by doing a Friday morning check-in/status update and pitching in where needed
b) Scheduling in a year end retreat to support team development and team planning
c) Being ready to start work with computers on, coffee in hand at 830 (and not in the coffee room until 9)
d) Making a point of job shadowing for half a day each quarter with a different team member.

As with these examples, most, except c work in favor for the team. What happens over time is that teams can slip into habits that really do'nt benefit the entire team or its' performance.

One activity you might want to undertake as a team is to identify the top 10 habits you as a team have developed. Think about those things you consistently do. Which ones help? Which ones hinder?

Have a great Thursday,

Jennifer

ennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Check out our newest on-demand course: Teams365 Teamwork Foundations
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Looking for more tips and ideas to support you in your work as a leader? Sign up for our monthly newsletter, full of tips, resources and hacks for leaders and team members looking to realize their potential. Sign up at http://bit.ly/teams365news

#TEams365 #960: Five Tips for More Effective Meetings

8/17/2016

Meetings can take up a vast majority of time for team leaders and their teams. Avoiding the "Death by Meeting" syndrome has been a key focus here at the blog in past posts. You might want to check out these posts:

Five quick tips for making meetings more effective include:

1. Be clear on the purpose of the meeting. Is a meeting the best way to handle this?
2. Be clear on who needs to be at the table. Does everyone need to be there for the full meeting? Who might be needed in order to provide information? Decisions? Authority? Make sure you know who will need to be there or else it may mean another meeting. Having everyone there all the time may actually slow the meeting down. At this point, you will want to start considering who needs to be there, when.
3. What is the outcome you desire? What are the 3-5 tangible takeaways you want from the meeting. This question will help to reinforce what the purpose is, and who really should be at the table.
4. What decisions have been made? What outcomes are expected, and what are the timelines. Who is responsible for doing this? Tracking it? Reporting on it? What will follow up look like? Being granular in this stage is key to success. Many times it is glossed over. Be sure to leave sufficient time to summarize key decisions made, and implications of this.
5. Keep to time - Time management is an art form with effective meetings. Being too lax with time can lead to frustration and disengagement. If timing tends to fall off , assign someone a time keeper role, and put your stronger facilitator in the chair seat to keep the meeting moving. Tangents don't always benefit meetings.

Check out Teams365 #211: Meeting Management Faux-pas for some additional posts on hosting effective meetings.

What other meeting management tips do you recommend?

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized - Leadership | Teamwork | Coaching Skills Training for Leaders
Supporting Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Looking to boost your Virtual Facilitation Skills to lead more effective virtual meetings, facilitation and training? Join us for the Virtual Facilitation Skills Intensive a 10 week virtual train-the-trainer starting Friday September 23rd at 3 pm ET.
(416)996-8326

#Teams365 #958: Six Must-Dos with any NEW Team

8/16/2016

In starting a new team, it's important to keep in mind some of the research which points to what makes teams most effective. Authors such as Wagerman, Katzenbach and Smith, point to a variety of factors which support team performance.

In starting the journey with a new team you will want to build in time, and focus around these key areas:

Create a shared vision – Where are we going? What’s our WHY? Why do we exist? What’s important?
How do we….Creating Shared Behavioral Norms. Creating shared behavioral norms is key in establishing consistent team performance. Knowing what is acceptable and unacceptable on teams helps individuals self-correct and align. Read this past post on team norms - Teams365 #948
Shared team practices – Regular meetings – huddles, team meetings, an evening out once a month to socialize, helps to build the key relationships which are critical for trust and connection. It is these relationships that help teams through the ups and downs of their existence.
Clarify performance goals – what are key goals and priorities. How are they measured? What will success look like?
Clear Roles - helping team members understand their roles and how they overlap, intersect and depend on each other is key.
Ongoing accountability – In high performance it is key to "circle" back and see how team members are doing. Creating a safe space where people can share what's working, and what's not, is increasingly being found as an important factor in high performance. Read Charles Duhigg's article on Google's experience with "safety" and behavioral norms.

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Check out our newest on-demand course: Teams365 Teamwork Foundations
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Looking for more tips and ideas to support you in your work as a leader? Sign up for our monthly newsletter, full of tips, resources and hacks for leaders and team members looking to realize their potential. Sign up at http://bit.ly/teams365news

#Teams365 #958: Five Leadership Assumptions For New Leaders to Reframe!

8/15/2016

As a new leader there are a number of assumptions you can make which can lead to a lot of problems and/or headaches for you and your team. Here they are in random order.

Assumption #1 -Everyone needs and wants the same type of support.
In fact, every team member will have their own strengths, styles and personalities. Take time at the start to learn who each person is and how they want to be supported. Areas such as how they want to be communicated with can vary tremendously from team member to team member.

If we don’t bust this assumption chances are many of your team members will not connect with you. Trying to support everyone in the same fashion can also lead to lower levels of engagement and trust.

Assumption #2 - I need to do everything myself – As a leader delegation is key. It’s important that we empower the team to do their work. Micro-monitoring is more important than micro-managing. While delegation is often considered an art form, mastering this skill early on can me the difference between flow and overwhelm. For more tips on delegation, view this recent Linked In Pulse post I shared a few weeks ago on Delegation.

Assumption #3 - I always need to say yes
From boundaries with your time, to learning to sway NO (diplomatically to your boss and team) creating boundaries is a key skill for team leaders. As someone who leads from the middle - supporting those above and below you - being able to say no tactfully is an important skill to master as are the skills of negotiation. If it's impossible to say NO you may need to say "I can do this, but it will mean I can't do that. What do recommend as the primary focus?".

Assumption #4 -This is going to be easy.

As a leader we need to often make the hard calls and difficult decisions. Some naively step into leadership thinking that it will be a bigger pay cheque and sim liar work. Not quite. While things won't always be easy, the learning curve does slow down. Your first leadership role may present you wit the steepest learning curve. For those that enjoy challenge, successive leadership roles will usually provide additional challenge in different ways.
Rather than feeling like leadership is going to be hard, what's another perspective you can step into around that?

Assumption #5 - You are going to be just like the other person who filled the role.
Leaders can benefit from busting this assumption early on. As a new leader you'll be bringing referent skills, experiences and a different personality to the table. Make your work life easier by not putting on additional pressure trying to be just like the "other leader". Reminding your team and your boss and stakeholders about your unique strengths can create a win-win for all involved.

What other assumptions do you notice you are holding around leadership? What needs to be reframed?

Have a great start to your week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Check out our newest on-demand course: Teams365 Teamwork Foundations
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Looking for more tips and ideas to support you in your work as a leader? Sign up for our monthly newsletter, full of tips, resources and hacks for leaders and team members looking to realize their potential. Sign up at http://bit.ly/teams365news

#Teams365 #957: LinKED In article : Questions To BRing Into Your Next Team Conversation

8/14/2016

Happy Sunday! Here is a link to my LinkedIn Pulse post this week on Questions To Spark your next Team Conversation.

Enjoy!

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Check out our newest on-demand course: Teams365 Teamwork Foundations
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Looking for more tips and ideas to support you in your work as a leader? Sign up for our monthly newsletter, full of tips, resources and hacks for leaders and team members looking to realize their potential. Sign up at http://bit.ly/teams365news

#TEams365 #955: New Team LEadership Tip #21

8/12/2016

As we wrap up the week, New Team Leader Tip #21 gets you to pause, reflect, iterate and take action.

The journey of a new team leader is full of new skills, experiences, relationships, and pausing along the way can be an important part of the larning process. What are you noticing about what's easy? What's hard? Where you need support.
This weekend you may want to take a few minutes to review the 21 tips for new team leaders and see which areas still need attention.

Iteration is the name of the game for many new team leaders today. Ongoing change requires that we are open to change, and are agile with our approaches. Trying things out and seeing how they land is important. As one organization I do work for says - "fail fast, fail forward and fail often". Its through ACTION that we do learn.

I hope that you have enjoyed these 21 tips for new team leaders. What are the next steps you are going to take? Looking for more support? Contact me to discuss coaching and/or training support for you and your team.

Have a great weekend,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Check out our newest on-demand course: Teams365 Teamwork Foundations
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Looking for more tips and ideas to support you in your work as a leader? Sign up for our monthly newsletter, full of tips, resources and hacks for leaders and team members looking to realize their potential. Sign up at http://bit.ly/teams365news

#TEams365 #956: New TEam Leader Tips #17 - 21 in Review

8/12/2016

This week we've explored New Team Leader Tips #18 - 21 - Prioritizing; Being clear with decisions; Knowing Where Your Time Goals and also making sure you pause, reflect, iterate and take action.

Here's a short video which captures the core of these four tips:

Check it out at https://spark.adobe.com/video/1zcke53d0Zrf. Enjoy your weekend!

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Check out our newest on-demand course: Teams365 Teamwork Foundations
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Looking for more tips and ideas to support you in your work as a leader? Sign up for our monthly newsletter, full of tips, resources and hacks for leaders and team members looking to realize their potential. Sign up at http://bit.ly/teams365news