Teams365 Blog - POTENTIALS REALIZED

Teams365 #2831 - Team Tool

9/30/2021

Whether it’s tools or checklists, it can be very important to keep everyone on the same page. This is particularly important when we are working hybrid and are in a more flexible format, where we might not all get together at the same time, and we may be focusing on work in different ways.

Here are several areas you will want to consider:

• Goals
• Action
• Strategic planning
• Project log
• Status update
• Milestone checkpoint: where are we and where do we want to be?
• Vision/mission/mandate meetings: What’s our vision for our work?
• Three-way midpoint meeting
• Goals, accomplishments, resources
• Matrix management checklist:
• What do we need to cover (reporting, goals, priorities)?
• What issues need to be surfaced, when, and how?
• What are the things we need to know about each other? What are our preferences for
knowledge—lots of info, less info, when to surface issues?
• How do we communicate in between issues? To what level?

This is an excerpt from Chapter7 of Reconnecting Workspaces. Pick up a copy on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Reconnecting-Workspaces-Pathways-Thrive-Virtual/dp/0993791557

Enjoy the conversation!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized |Reconnecting Workspaces | Group Coaching Essentials
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Instagram @ReconnectingWorkspaces
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out my TEDx talk at https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

Looking to bring your workplaces back together, whether you are remote, hybrid, or face-to-face? Pick up a copy of my new book, Reconnecting Workspaces, at Amazon.

Teams365 #2830 - Myth: I Need To Have All The Answers

9/29/2021

The Chapter 7 Myth in Reconnecting Workspaces is “I need to have all the answers. I shouldn’t share what I know.”

In fact, it’s nearly impossible to know everything in the remote space. We need to be able to collaborate with others to get a big picture and this usually involves sharing what we know.

As you consider your work, where would you benefit from more sharing? What information do you feel you need in order to your work? What is important to note about information flow?

There is an important skill to thriving in the remote space which is being comfortable with not knowing. Many of us have learned how to be more at ease when we don’t have the entire picture, and we aren’t clear on everything. What do you notice about the strategies you employ to get clearer on things?

Enjoy the conversation!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized |Reconnecting Workspaces | Group Coaching Essentials
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Instagram @ReconnectingWorkspaces
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out my TEDx talk at https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

Looking to bring your workplaces back together, whether you are remote, hybrid, or face-to-face? Pick up a copy of my new book, Reconnecting Workspaces, at Amazon.

Teams365 #2829 - Principle: Lowest Common Denominator

9/28/2021

Principle: Lowest Common Denominator. Everyone needs to know.

The Principle of Chapter7 is find the Lowest Common Denominator. Particularly in a hybrid team it is important that we find the common ground, boosting connection and inclusivity.

The lowest common denominator can play out in several ways including:
What is the best platform for us to meet on? This is important if different team members have constraints with connection and/or equipment.
What is the best time for us to connect? Consider this particularly when you are always meeting at the same time.

What does “Lowest Common Denominator” mean for you as a team? What’s important to note?

Enjoy your reflection!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized |Reconnecting Workspaces | Group Coaching Essentials
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Instagram @ReconnectingWorkspaces
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out my TEDx talk at https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

Looking to bring your workplaces back together, whether you are remote, hybrid, or face-to-face? Pick up a copy of my new book, Reconnecting Workspaces, at Amazon.

Teams365 #2828 - Reconnecting Workspace Tip: System

9/27/2021

Welcome back to another week of Teams365 blog posts where we are continuing to explore the Reconnecting Workspaces book. Launched in mid-June, this book is being embraced by individuals, teams and organizations from across industries including education, financial services, and public sector. What’s going to help you reconnect and thrive?

Over the last few months, we’ve taken a look at the first six chapters – from our last three weeks of focus on Communication (Chapter 6) to the focus on Team Effectiveness and also what makes virtual, remote and hybrid work, unique.
Today I’m going to take a dive into Chapter 7 of Reconnecting Workspaces which focuses on the topic of Systems, Processes and Tools. It will take us through the next three sessions.

Let’s take a look at the Reconnecting the Workspace tip from Chapter 7:
Systems ensure consistency in the hybrid and remote world so that we can be location independent. What systems are going to help people reconnect and collaborate with each other?

Systems bring fluidity regardless of what time or day we are working on it, or where we are engaging on it from.

What are the systems which are going to create consistency and connection across your organization?

There are many different areas we can develop systems around from project management systems, to financial and reporting systems, to systems for coaching and meetings. What are the most important systems to be considering as a team?

Enjoy!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized |Reconnecting Workspaces | Group Coaching Essentials
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Instagram @ReconnectingWorkspaces
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out my TEDx talk at https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

Looking to bring your workplaces back together, whether you are remote, hybrid, or face-to-face? Pick up a copy of my new book, Reconnecting Workspaces, at Amazon.

Teams365 #2826 - Now What? Integration

9/25/2021

Over the last three weeks we’ve covered a lot of ground in exploring the key topic area of Communication. Tomorrow we’ll take a look back at this week’s posts, but for now, I wanted to share with you 10 questions to get you thinking about the topics we’ve covered:

Which of the 8 Layers of Remote Work is important to note? Think about these Ds – what can you do to put things into practice? (Check out This week’s Flashback Friday which took us back to Teams365 $2452 and last week’s Friday flashback which took us to #2451
What is important to note about systems in terms of support around your work
What do you notice about different people’s hybrid work styles? (Be sure to check out the Hybrid Work Style Quiz).
What is important to note about accountability?
What can you be doing to create more clarity in your communication?
Revisit the conversation I had with Reconnecting Workspaces Kimberly Sauceda https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ck6Io0-6jvs. What is important to note around our conversation?
What do you need to keep in mind around business etiquette in the remote space?
What team conversations need to be had?
What can you do to make your questions better?
What’s going to help you have the best conversation?

Enjoy the reflection.
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized |Reconnecting Workspaces | Group Coaching Essentials
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Instagram @ReconnectingWorkspaces
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out my TEDx talk at https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

Looking to bring your workplaces back together, whether you are remote, hybrid, or face-to-face? Pick up a copy of my new book, Reconnecting Workspaces, at Amazon.

Teams365 #2825 - The Other 4 Ds in the 8 Layers of Remote Work (Flashback to September 2020 at the Blog)

9/24/2021

Last week Friday I did a flashback to a mid-September 2020 posts on the 8 Layers of Remote Work. I explored the first four Ds of this model.
In today’s flashback, let’s take a look at the other 4:

Earlier this month in the September 2020 Remote Pathways podcast community call, I shared the 8 Layers of Remote Work. These are nuanced areas which can be important to learn more about as it relates to your colleagues, stakeholders and work.

In yesterday’s Teams365 blog post, I covered the first four of eight layers of remote work – Digital, Decisions, Delegation and Distractions.

Today’s post is going to explore the final four layers – Design, Dialogue, Do and Depth.

Let’s look at each one of these in turn:

Design – Design skills are increasingly needed by remote professionals of all kinds, given that the way we present our information and ideas may be even more visual and graphical. Likewise, in the remote space it may be likely that you are designing more meetings and programming and presentations. We will be looking at the elements of exceptional virtual design tomorrow, September 17, at the one-day Stand Out Virtually Studio Day Masterclass. Learn more and join us here.

Dialogue – Talking at people is not communication. With collaboration being an essential, and overlooked, skillset in the remote space, dialogue is critical for success and partnering. The word Dialogue comes from the ancient Greek world of dialogue – which means two way. Dialogue is a two-way conversation. With many remote professionals feeling like they are constantly being communicated to, but not being talked with, fostering a culture of dialogue is critical. This may mean earmarking certain calls for discussion as well as focusing more on using breakouts and other key strategic areas.

Do – The 7th layer of remote work is simple. DO. Get things done. There’s not a lot of time or space for procrastination in the remote space. If you create and lead programs, what can you do to build in more time for people to get things DONE during your time together? Will they pay you to do things for them?

Depth – The final layer is Depth. As broad as the remote working space is, it is important to have depth in terms of your relationships, levels of trust, connection and clarity around your goals and results. Spending time going deep around agreements, processes, and how you are going to operate is also important.

Be sure to check out the September 1st Remote Pathways Podcast Community Call – you can find it here.

Enjoy the conversation!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized |Reconnecting Workspaces | Group Coaching Essentials
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Instagram @ReconnectingWorkspaces
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out my TEDx talk at https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

Looking to bring your workplaces back together, whether you are remote, hybrid, or face-to-face? Pick up a copy of my new book, Reconnecting Workspaces, at Amazon.

Teams365 #2824 - 6 Questions: Communication

9/23/2021

As we go to wrap up this three-week series around the communication chapter in Reconnecting Workspaces, let’s take a look at the Six Questions I share:

SIX TEAMWORK QUESTIONS: COMMUNICATION

For this chapter’s teamwork questions (Chapter 6 of Reconnecting Workspaces), let’s return to the essential questions we want to be asking
ourselves around communication each time:

1. What is the purpose of this communication?

2. Is this the right channel?

3. Is it clear?

4. Is it sent to the right people?

5. Have I made a request?

6. What is the receiver’s preference?

Several other chapters touch on this foundational skillset of communication, including:

• Chapter 13: Performance Management and Feedback
• Chapter 15: Coaching and Mentoring

Be sure to pick up a copy of Reconnecting Workspaces on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Reconnecting-Workspaces-Pathways-Thrive-Virtual/dp/0993791557

Enjoy!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized |Reconnecting Workspaces | Group Coaching Essentials
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Instagram @ReconnectingWorkspaces
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out my TEDx talk at https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

Looking to bring your workplaces back together, whether you are remote, hybrid, or face-to-face? Pick up a copy of my new book, Reconnecting Workspaces, at Amazon.

Teams365 #2823 - Is It A Monologue Or A Dialogue? Communication Enablers

9/22/2021

Regardless of the channels you are utilizing, several things help to facilitate effective virtual conversations, including:
• Trust
• Connection
• Knowledge of each other
• A common framework around styles and strengths to provide knowledge and understanding; even though we have a preference, we are able to adjust our approach/style to be with others
• Knowing what works and what doesn’t

Key to successful virtual conversations is leaving time to:
• Breakout and connect with others in a smaller group setting in meaningful dialogue.
• Incorporate silence and a reflective pause so that people can think and capture ideas. If you are incorporating silence, be specific as to how long you will be silent for. Consider setting a chime or alarm on your phone so everyone can relax into the experience.
• Get things done. Virtual retreats, or virtual co-working sprints like the 21 for 21 Virtual Co-working Sprints, are a powerful way to work in real-time.
• Clarify what’s been agreed to and what next steps are.
• Write things down. We continue to see that the act of writing creates new neural pathways in the brain, reinforcing learning in a way typing does not. This might involve having people keep a journal or take notes by hand on a worksheet. To a lesser extent, annotation also helps to make the conversation more kinesthetic.
• Get people moving. Many new virtual team members and leaders are able to move around. With “sitting becoming the new smoking,” it’s essential that in the shift to virtual work, we are also encouraging a healthy workplace. This could involve building in more kinesthetic and activity-based virtual exercises, i.e., sending materials to be printed and having team members post these, standing up and moving to different sheets as they go (consider a SWOT).

(Excerpt: Reconnecting Workspaces, page 111, © Jennifer Britton, All Rights Reserved, 2021).

Be sure to pick up a copy of Reconnecting Workspaces at your Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Reconnecting-Workspaces-Pathways-Thrive-Virtual/dp/0993791557

Best,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized |Reconnecting Workspaces | Group Coaching Essentials
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Instagram @ReconnectingWorkspaces
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out my TEDx talk at https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

Looking to bring your workplaces back together, whether you are remote, hybrid, or face-to-face? Pick up a copy of my new book, Reconnecting Workspaces, at Amazon.

Teams365 #2822 - Priming For Listening

9/21/2021

Behaviors don’t just happen naturally. Often, we need to “prime” people, or set them up for success. Here’s what I write about helping people become better listeners, or helping to prime them to do so:

“Throughout the day we are part of a myriad of conversations. In some, we actively listen, and in many, we don’t. In teaching coaching training skills, I share a framework of three questions to encourage people to become more active listeners, or prime them to be an active listener. Next time you observe a conversation (e.g., conference call, team meeting), rather than listening passively, note these for yourself:

1. Listen to what speaker #1 says or asks.

2. Notice the impact.

3. Notice for yourself, what’s important about that?

Leave time at the end of the conversation to discuss what you notice.”

Except: Reconnecting Workspaces © Jennifer Britton, 2021, page 113

What do you notice about this?

Enjoy your conversation!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized |Reconnecting Workspaces | Group Coaching Essentials
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Instagram @ReconnectingWorkspaces
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out my TEDx talk at https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

Looking to bring your workplaces back together, whether you are remote, hybrid, or face-to-face? Pick up a copy of my new book, Reconnecting Workspaces, at Amazon.

Teams365 #2821 - Keys for Clarity

9/20/2021

A big part of success in the remote space rests on clarity which is one of the 7 Remote Enablers™ I share in my work.

Let’s take a look at six quick things you can do in your written communication to ensure things are more clear:

Keys for Clarity

Here are six keys to help ensure you are clearly heard and understood:

1. Check in with people to ensure that they do understand what you are saying. Have them repeat back and/or share what their interpretation is, as it relate to their own work context.

2. Use word choice that works, given that your working language (English or other) may be a second, third, or fourth language to others.

3. Put it in writing as well as saying it verbally for important issues. Do a further follow-up in writing. We may be moving so fast that it is hard to read through everything. Be clear (or bullet out) main points and deadlines
.
4. Be brief and use bold, underline, and italics to draw attention.

5. Avoid the “!”

Excerpt Reconnecting Workspaces, Jennifer Britton, 2021, page 121. All Rights Reserved.

What else is important to note for you with your communication and clarity?

Enjoy your reflection!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized |Reconnecting Workspaces | Group Coaching Essentials
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Instagram @ReconnectingWorkspaces
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out my TEDx talk at https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

Looking to bring your workplaces back together, whether you are remote, hybrid, or face-to-face? Pick up a copy of my new book, Reconnecting Workspaces, at Amazon.