Teams365 Blog - POTENTIALS REALIZED

#Teams365 #304: October Wrap Up

10/31/2014

Normally on Friday I spotlight an Essential Leadership Book, but it is the end of the month, and a scary day with Halloween today! Each month end I've been encouraging readers to take stock of what their month has been like and to spent time writing this down. At this point you should have a pretty robust overview of the year so far.
This is also an opportune time to take some notes around team achievements as well as notes for performance conversations and more formalized performance reviews. Don't leave it until year end!

As you set aside 10-15 minutes for reflection this month end, consider these questions:

What’s important to celebrate?
What have been your major achievements this month?
What do you need to wrap up or prioritize as you move forward?

With the spirit of Halloween also consider these questions:
1. What really scares you as a leader right now?
2. What do you want to do about this?
3. What are you afraid of?
4. What's going to, or who is going to, help you bust through those fears?

Happy Halloween!

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT
Potentials Realized | Teams365
Growing Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
(416)996-8326

Join us for an upcoming public offering of the Teams365 Team Leader Foundations program - online learning modules geared to sharpen your skills as a team leader.

#Teams365 #303: Team Building tip #6: Internal and External Relationships

10/30/2014

Team leaders get their results by working with, and through, others. Internal and external relationships are critical to your success, and the success of your team.

Today's Team Building Tip, the sixth in our series, encourages you and your team to identify key relationships for your team internally and externally.

Have a discussion around the state of these relationships. Which ones need more attention? Which ones are strategic in getting results for the rest of the year? Looking forward to 2015?

Relationship Management is a critical topic. Books I've recommended thoughout the year on this topic include:
Never Eat Lunch Alone - Keith Ferrazzi
Influencer - Vital Smarts

Another interesting resource you may want to listen to is this podcast from the Center For Creative Leadership on Relationship Building here.

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized - Leadership | Teamwork | Coaching Skills Training for Leaders
Supporting Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Teams365 Blog | Convesation Sparker Cards(TM)
(416)996-8326

#Teams365 #302: The First 90 Days: The 13th Teams365 Cartoon

10/29/2014

Over the past two weeks we've been exploring six key tips for the first 90 days in the role of a new team leader.

Today's post presents our 13th Teams365 Team Leader post, again from Ravensfeller. Enjoy!

Take a look back at our first 90 days Tips:

Identify a mentor: TEams365 #292: October 22, 2014
Develop Skills and Understand Your Role: Teams365 #302
Get to Know Your Team Preferences: Teams365 #288: October 15, 2014
Get to Know Your Boss; Teams365 #290 - October 20, 2014
Develop Relationships with Stakeholders

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
Potentials Realized - Leadership | Teamwork | Retreats
Supporting Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Teams365 Series of Programming - Coaching Groups, Training for new and aspiring team leaders - Next public programs start in mid-November 2014
(416)996-8326

TeamS#365 #301: First 90 Days: Understanding Your Role and Developing Key Skills

10/28/2014

Over the past two weeks we have been exploring several key areas for new team leaders to pay attention to during their first three months in post. It is often said that the first 90 days in post are the most critical to a leader. It is no different for team leaders.

Two areas new team leaders will want to place attention on are:
1. Understanding Your Role
2. Starting to develop foundational skills

Let us take a look at each one of these:

1. Understanding Your Role
As a team leader you wear many hats. Team leader, trouble shooter, the person responsible for the budget, technical ponit person, relationship buider, project manager. What would you put on your list of roles as a team leader?
Understanding your role and the expectations from your different stakeholders - boss, team members, internal and external stakeholders is a critical part of settling in and learning during the first 90 days.

2. Developing Skills
Many team leaders are thrust into the role and many may not bring the entire mix of technical, interpersonal, and leadership skills required. With your boss, and your mentor, identify areas you could benefit from acquiring further skills in, whether it is through a formal training program, job shadowing or informal learning opportunities.

Several of the skills which are foundational to success in a team leaders role are the fabric of the Teams365 Team Leader Foundations program, a series of 10 online learning modules (which can also be delivered in house).

Core skills which may be critical in your work include:
Relationship building skills
Technical skils
Financial management skills
Interpersonal skills including Emotional Intelligence, Communication, Conflict Management
Public Speaking/Presentation skills

What are the three most important skill areas for you to put some focus on. What would developing skills in these areas look like for you?

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT
Potentials Realized | Teams365
Growing Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
(416)996-8326

#Teams365 #300: Celebrating a Milestone

10/27/2014

Today marks day 300 of the year, and also 300 posts here at the Teams365 blog. When I started this blogging journey on January 1st I had no idea how the blog would evolve over the course of the year.

From coaching skills for leaders, to building trust, providing feedback to virtual team management issues, we've taken a look at many of the foundational pieces of a team leader's world. AND....we are not done yet! There is still a vast terrain of areas to peak into.

Throughout the year our support for team leaders has also become more concrete. This spring I launched the Conversation Sparker Cards(TM) which are sparking conversations across teams and organizations. The Teams365 Team Leader Foundations training modules were launched this summer, along with the Teams 365 Coaching Groups. Several organizations have brought us into to work with their team through a one-off retreat or a more extended team coaching process.

We've got another 65 days left of the year to continue our journey together and there's a lot more in the pipeline!

I'd welcome your feedback. Please comment below, or send me an email, about what you've enjoyed here at the blog this year, and what more you would like to see. How has the blog influenced the way you lead?

As you start this new work week consider what milestones you have achieved this year. What do you want to celebrate?

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT
Potentials Realized | Teams365
Growing Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
(416)996-8326

#Teams365 #299: Coaching Skills for Leaders Audio

10/26/2014

Next weekend I am hosting a two day group and team coaching training program here in Toronto, called the Team and Group Coaching Intensive. It's a program I've been running for several years now and is always a rich weekend full of dialogue, skill development and practice.

Earlier this year, here at the Teams 365 blog, I did a series of essential coaching skills for leaders. You can read those posts here. As you think back to recent conversations, what does coaching mean in your context? What coaching skills are you employing as a leader?

Today's audio includes some key tips for creating powerful coaching moments with your individual team members. It's a six minute audio.

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Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT
Potentials Realized | Teams365
Growing Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
(416)996-8326

#Teams365 #298: Essential Leadership Read #11: Focus

10/25/2014

Each Friday I spotlight a different book which may be of interest to new, aspiring and experienced leaders. Today I've chosen Focus: The Hidden Driver of Excellence by Daniel Goleman

Many of us first read Goleman's writing with Emotional Intelligence more than a decade ago. Focus is a compelling read for leaders interested in the science behind high performance. Delving to recent discoveries in neuroscience Goleman explores the topic of Focus. It's a compelling read for you and will also have things you can carry forward to your team.

One of my favorite quotations from the book is:
"For leaders to get results, they need all three kinds of focus. Inner focus attunes us to our intuitions, guiding values and btter decisions. Other focus smooths our our connections to the people in our lives. an outer vocus lets us navigate int he larger world. A leader tune out of his internal world will be rudderless; one blind to the world of others will be clueless; those indifferent to the larger support within which they operate will be blindsided". (Goleman: Focus, pp 48)

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT
Potentials Realized | Teams365 programming for Team Leaders
Growing Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Email us to discuss how we can support your leadership development efforts through training, mentoring or coaching
(416)996-8326

Join us for an upcoming public offering of the Teams365 Team Leader Foundations program - online learning modules geared to sharpen your skills as a team leader.

#Teams365 #297: What's the One Focus?

10/24/2014

I am guessing that there are probably a couple of items on your to do list that have not just been carried forward for a few days, but they may have been there for a few weeks, if not a few months. Today's Check it off tip, which might be a challenge for a few, is to identify one of these items that has been carried forward for a while now, and to schedule attention around it, so it can get done.

AS we move into the final two months of the year, and for many, year end, what needs to get checked off?

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT
Potentials Realized | Teams365
Growing Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
(416)996-8326

Want to equip yourself with coaching skills to work with teams and groups? Join me next weekend on November 1-2 in Toronto, CANADA for the two day Group and Team Coaching Intensive (8:30-4:30 pm each day). Accommodation onsite, and a virtual participation option exists for those who want to join in for the days of training, without travel (3 spots only). Click here for more info or contact me to discuss.

#TEams365 #296: Team Building Tips #5

10/23/2014

It is Thursday and today is our Team Building Tip Day. Our fifth tip in the series is an encouragement to break out of the mold, or get out of the rut. As team's we can quickly fall into patterns of behavior that sometimes work well, and sometimes don't.

The example on the quote for today is to put things on their head. For example, if meetings usually have a focus on all the problems that exist, spin it around to look at what's working well. Notice what happens when the team is asked to look at things from a different angle or perspective.

What are the areas you as a team can benefit from shaking up? From seeing from a different perspective?

Have a great Thursday!

With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT
Potentials Realized | Teams365
Growing Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
(416)996-8326

Looking to equip your team members with enhanced facilitation skills, or your own? Consider joining me on November 25-26 for a two day online learning adventure - the Virtual Facilitation Skills Intensive. A two day train the trainer delivered online. Visit http://bit.ly/virtualttt for more info.

#Teams365 #295: First 90 Days: Identify A Mentor

10/22/2014

Mentoring can be a critical part of your leadership journey over time. Many organizations today now offer a mentoring program for their employees. Even if there is no formal mentoring program in place, you may want to use this as an opportunity to develop a relationship with a mentor.

Mentors are typically a person separate from your supervisor who is able to provide insights around your role, best practices or industry. Mentors often provide you with an insider's view to how things get done, skills you really need and also the political navigation of an organization or industry. They may play a role of sounding board, story teller, connector or ad visor.

It can be useful to identify a mentor early on in your role. Questions to consider:
1. Who might bring a similar experience to what I need with this team leadership role?
2. What are my expectations around mentoring?
3. What role do I want my mentor to play?
4. What are my overall expectations around mentoring?

I recently wrote an article on Essential Elements for Mentoring, which is posted over at MentorRoadmap.com, mentor training services I offer with partner Susan Combs. You can read the article here.

For the last six or seven years I have worked with a variety of organizations and associations to either develop their mentoring programs, and/or train their mentors or mentees. This has included an industry award winning mentor training program I developed within the financial services.

Susan and I are offering mentoring skills training to a cross-section of organizations throughout Canada and the US. Our Mentor Roadmap Toolkit, a booklet filled with tools and ideas for the mentoring conversation, has become a favorite in the mentoring training we have rolled out in recent months. Click here to contact me to discuss how your organization could benefit from support around mentoring.

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT
Potentials Realized | Teams365
Growing Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
(416)996-8326

Interested in developing a mentor program at your organization? Along with partner Susan Combs in Michigan, we've developed the Mentor RoadMap(TM) training, booklets and other supports for organizations who want their own mentoring programs. We offer turnkey training to organizations for your mentors and proteges, support throughout the program, and a rich toolkit to support your conversations. Contact us to discuss how we can support your mentoring program.