Teams365 Blog - POTENTIALS REALIZED

Teams365 #3191: Month End Planning and October Planning Review

9/30/2022

It’s the wrap up of a new month and time to start a new one. Let’s spend a few minutes today reviewing the month and planning for the month ahead.

As always, I am pleased to include several questions for you to reflect on:

As we start the new month, reflect upon:
What have been your major achievements this summer?
What do you want to celebrate?
What do you need to wrap up?
What needs to get carried forward this month?
As a leader, what have I noticed about my team this summer?
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 month has been ______
The thing that has helped me be most successful this month has been ______
The thing that has helped me be happiest this month has been ________
The thing that has helped me be most healthy has been _______

Looking ahead to October....
My priorities are:
My goals are
I want to......
I'll be really happy at the end of the month when I.....

Have a great month!
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

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 #3190: Video of the Week: Team Culture – Day 35 of the 90-Day Guide for Success

9/29/2022

This week’s video as part of the 90 Day Guide for Success is all about Team Culture. It’s critical in an ever-changing world to consider our team culture, which creates a sense of identity, belonging and connection.

Consider these questions as you consider team culture:

How do we do things here?
What are the values which shape our work?
What are the stories we hold as true, or reflect back upon, regularly?
What do we take a stand for?
What are our beliefs as a team?
What are our mindsets?

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

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 #3189: Avoiding the Delegation Pitfalls

9/28/2022

Regardless of task or industry you work within, there are several delegation pitfalls to keep in mind.

One of the major traps for leaders is the trap of micro-managing. There is a difference between micro-managing and micro-monitoring. Clarifying expectations and the end result at the start of the process, helps to mitigate with micro-management. It is also important to recognize everyone will have a different way to approach tasks, so if certain processes do need to be followed, ensure you specify this at the hand-off.

Another common delegation pitfall is not checking in along the way. These “delegation touch points” or mini-meetings are easy to overlook in today’s world of meeting fatigue. It can be common for the leader to let the person run with it, without check points along the way. Do not assume that everything is ok. Delegation touch points are critical and ideally should be scheduled at the hand-off to build a shared expectation that you are there for support throughout the process

A third delegation pitfall is not developing a common understanding of the end result. During or shortly after the delegation handoff meeting have the person being delegated to re-articulate key milestones, and outcomes. Have them spell out the SMART goals they have set for task completion.

Finally, another very common area of delegation sabotage is assuming that the person delegated to has sufficient authority and responsibility to get the job done. Delegation touch point meetings should cover this pitfall as well.

Through planning, and ongoing communication, tasks you delegate onto team members can be valuable learning and growth experiences. Set up times to check in on progress and identify roadblocks that are emerging. Once the task is completed, review and identify learning and lessons learned. Identify other areas where that team member can continue to use these skills. Take this delegation close out as an opportunity to recognize and celebrate task completion with the team member.

Delegation not only frees up time for leaders, it builds capacity within the team, which is critical in the long-term. What do would you, and the team, benefit from delegating today?

With best wishes,
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 - Virtual, Remote and Hybrid Checklist

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

Teams365 #3188: The Art of Delegation – The 5 Ws and How

9/27/2022

The five W’s - What, Who, Why, Where, When - is a very well known framework for decision making. It is just as effective as a framework to set up team members for delegation success. Planning and communication are also critical initial steps in the delegation process.

What – A first step in creating successful delegation is defining the WHAT. What are the tasks which you can delegate? What are the things that you could pass off to others leaving you with the time and space to focus on strategic and tactical issues? What activities would be motivational for others to take on?

In general you should not delegate to others key responsibilities tasked to leaders such as team management issues including performance management, feedback, coaching, and conflict resolution.

Some safe tasks to delegate include technical issues and projects which others may have an even deeper skill set in. There may be other tasks which create learning and development opportunities for others. Some of these might include involvement in special projects, coordinating special events, or participation in meetings where they represent yourself and the team. Routine activities such as paperwork and standard reports. While you may need to complete the final version of some reports it may be beneficial to involve others in the draft stage

Once you have decided on the task you want to delegate, you will want to paint a clear picture of what the desired outcome is, and what resources will be needed for the person to accomplish it. Resources may include financial resources, time, people and also the authority to get things done. It is also important to think through what your expectations are in terms of task completion - quality, timeframes and reporting. Using the SMART framework in goal setting can also help you break down the task. A reminder of the SMART framework - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timebound.

Who – Just as important to successful delegation s getting clear on the WHAT, the WHO to delegation is just as critical. The Who involves matching the best person to the task or activity involved. Jim Collins’ analogy in Good to Great is about getting the right person in the right bus and in the right seat.
Consider who on your team might benefit from, and be motivated by, the opportunity to take on the task. Do they have the skills,(or the ability to stretch, to achieve the goal? What else would be needed to complete the task? What support would they require along the way?
Finding the right match between the person and the task is critical for delegation success. Careful consideration of the WHO contributes to delegation success.

Why - The third W is the Why. Once you have decided what you are going to delegate and who is going to take on the task is, it is important to set up a delegation hand-off meeting. During this meeting, communicate clearly what needs to get done and why this task is important. Paint a clear picture of what the end result will look like with the person you are delegating to. Let them understand the Why of this project or task? Provide them with relevant information so that they know how this task fits into the bigger picture and why this task is important for the team and/or organization. It may also be useful to discuss with them why this task is important to them and how it contributes to their own career path.

Where - The fourth W is about WHERE to Go. Where can the person go for support? What resources are needed to successful completion - from your perspective and from their perspective? It is important to have dialogue around who can they reach out to if they need support along the way. Ensure that the person you are delegating to has the adequate resources, and the authority, to complete the task.

When – The final W is the WHEN. In setting a team member up for delegation success it is important to discuss what are the major deadlines and project milestones associated with the task. How will you communicate about how the task is coming? When do you want to hear back from them on this task? Create a common understanding around time frames, success factors and what the final product will look like. Again, the SMART goal setting framework can be a useful framework to share with your team members. Finally, the WHEN reminds us about the importance of feedback throughout the delegation cycle.

Enjoy your week and your delegation!
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

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 #3187: Delegation – 7 Questions to Ask

9/26/2022

Last week I spent time leading training for new leaders. One of the key areas they were really interested in was delegation, and so this week, our focus here at the Teams365 blog is going to be DELEGATION.

Today’s post will focus on 7 Questions to Consider with Delegation
Tomorrow’s post will focus on the Art of Delegation – the 5 Ws and How
Wednesday’s post will explore Pitfalls for Delegation

Let’s first look at questions to consider when you are exploring delegation:
To get a handle on what might be "delegation material" schedule the following 10-15 minute activity:

1. Pull out your current to do list, along with your accountabilities for the next quarter.
2. With these in mind, take a look at the current key priorities. These may be shaped by KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), Team Goals or any other Organizational Goals which are priority this quarter (or year).
3. What are the tasks that only you can accomplish?
4. What are the tasks that you need to be involved with, but can be supported by others?
5. What are the tasks that you really need support from others to accomplish (i.e specialized skills may be needed, due to complexity etc)?
6. What are the tasks on your list that really need to be completely handed off - who can do them? What support and direction do they need?
7. With these items off your plate, how much more time will you have?

Once you have gotten a line of sight on the tasks which need to be handed off, we can then start exploring how to do this. We'll be looking at tips for that this week.

Note this post was originally published as THE DREADED D WORD - DELEGATION!

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

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 #3186: Week in Review

9/25/2022

It’s been another full week at the Teams365 blog. This week we celebrated National Gratitude Week and also took a look back at core areas like relationships and feedback.

Take a look at these blog posts:

Saturday September 24 – What needs to be minimized?

Friday September 23 – Flashback Friday – Back to Basics: Feedback

Thursday September 22 – Team Tool – Relationship Mapping

Wednesday September 21 – Happy Gratitude Day – 10 stats around gratitude to keep in mind

Tuesday September 20 – Video of the Week – 10 Core Skill Areas for all Remote Professionals

Monday September 19 – Join us for the High Five Gratitude Giveaway, running until September 21st

Have a great week everyone!
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 - Virtual, Remote and Hybrid Checklist

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

Teams365 #3185: What needs to be minimized

9/24/2022

This week’s Weekly Journaling Prompt invites you to consider the prompt of “What needs to be minimized”.

As you consider this, think about the 80/20 rule which asserts that we get 80% of our impact from just 20% of our effort. With that in mind consider:

What are the 20% of actions giving me the most impact?
What is not?
What are the things I am enjoying and looking forward to?
What is not providing impact or zest?
What is becoming cumbersome?
What’s not having the impact I would like?
Who else would benefit from these things? (Especially with material things that could be passed on)
What else is important to consider?

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 - Virtual, Remote and Hybrid Checklist

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

Teams365 #3184: Flashback Friday – Back to Basics: Feedback

9/23/2022

This week in the spirit of “back to the basics” I thought it would be valuable to explore the topic of feedback. I am reaching back to an older post TEAMS365 #2388 – Back to the Basics – Feedback

Let’s take a look at what I said:
This week’s focus is feedback. Out of so many areas teams could focus on, feedback doesn’t always make it to the top of the list. We know from research (Gottman’s work and Barbara Frederickson’s work), that teams that excel are good at both giving constructive and positive feedback.

In the work I do, it’s important to help teams build muscles in both areas.

First, constructive feedback is critical, especially if we are in a virtual and remote team and can’t see each other regularly.

When we provide constructive feedback, which helps people explore WHAT they can do differently or better, we want to make sure our feedback is.

Specific - Don’t talk in generalities. Talk about specific examples and behaviors.

Relevant – Make sure it’s relevant to the work they are doing.

Timely – Feedback four months after the fact is not useful. Be sure to provide feedback as close to the time frame as possible.

Two way – Trust is a reciprocal relationship and feedback requires trust. Are you inviting those you are talking with to provide feedback back to you?

Feedback isn’t always an easy place or things to do, and we need to make sure we do provide it regularly.

Consider what else is important about feedback. In Effective Virtual Conversations, I share the REVET model of feedback – you can find it in part 3 of the book.

While constructive feedback is needed, positive feedback is also important.

Some research has found that teams which excel give 5 x positive feedback to every constructive piece.

What are you doing to provide feedback opportunities?

What are you doing as a team to give both positive and constructive feedback?

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 - Virtual, Remote and Hybrid Checklist

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

Teams365 #3183: Team Tool: Relationship Mapping Revisited

9/22/2022

Today we are reaching back to the team tool of relationship mapping. Here’s what I shared in an earlier Teams365 blog post:

In today’s interconnected world, many of us have to interface with a wide variety of both internal and external partners. From members of other teams to our customers/clients, to other agencies and organizations. Given that teams, not just leaders, are responsible for relationship development, it can be useful to get the team attuned to what their key relationships are internally and externally.

This is an activity you might consider doing as part of your next team meeting. You’ll see one of my own relationship maps for my business here.

Instructions:
Using a whiteboard place a circle on the board first, with the name of your team. First make a list of all the potential people you partner with. Select one color marker for internal team partners and one for external team members. One at a time, map out how close you are to each of these internal and external relationships. IF it is a close relationship place them closer towards your circle, if they are further away place them further away.

Have people indicate what is important about that relationship – is it a relationship which enable you to do things, do you get important information from them, do they provide resources etc.? Also note for each relationship what needs attention.

Seeing these interconnections visually can bring to life the relationships, helping people understand how much they are part of a web and dependent on others.

Questions to consider:
What are key relationships for you right now?
What do you want to foster?
What needs a lot of attention?
Where are you perhaps spending too much focus and/or time around?

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 - Virtual, Remote and Hybrid Checklist

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

Team365 #3182: Happy Gratitude Day

9/21/2022

It’s World Gratitude Day! Gratitude is a key skill to foster in times of change and disruption.

Here’s 10 statistics Halo.com shared around Gratitude – link to

70% of employees would feel better about themselves if their boss were more grateful, and 81% would work harder.
Employees who experience more gratitude at work report fewer depressive symptoms and stress.
95% of employees agree that a grateful boss is more likely to be successful.
Regular gratitude journaling has been shown to result in 5% to 15% increases in optimism and 25% increased sleep quality.
Lack of gratitude is a major factor in driving job dissatisfaction, turnover, absenteeism, and burnout.
53% of employees would stay at their company longer if they felt more appreciation from their boss.
Gratitude reduces toxic aggression, frustration, and regret even after receiving negative feedback.
In a study of 800 descriptive trait words, “grateful” was rated in the top 4% in terms of likeability.
Over 90% of American teens and adults indicated that expressing gratitude made them “extremely happy” or “somewhat happy”.
A five-minute daily gratitude journal can increase long-term well-being by 10%.

Original Article at https://halo.com/10-amazing-statistics-to-celebrate-national-gratitude-month/

A reminder that this week I am part of a four-day Gratitude Giveaway. Access your free gifts including Your Heartfelt Gratitude Journaling Trio! from Emma-Louise Elsey in the High Five Gratitude Giveaway that runs for a limited time Sept.18-21st. Sign up now to benefit from deepening and expressing gratitude in all areas of your life.

When you sign up, you’ll have a link to my gift – Conversation Sparkers for Working with Gratitude in Groups and Teams. Take a moment and sign up now!

With appreciation,
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 - Virtual, Remote and Hybrid Checklist

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