Blog Archives

Teams365 #2862 - Week In Review

10/31/2021

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This week we explored a variety of topics including

Monday - Productivity tip: Building In More Margin with Your Time

Tuesday – Size Matters

Wednesday - Remote Pathways https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBrNWrf7D5rAmchmZY1tzBFjnr8ApEN9T

Thursday – Three Principles for Remote Team Practices

Friday – Flashback: Teamwork Skill in Focus: Curiosity

Saturday – Weekly journaling Prompt and Month End Review

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
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.

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Teams365 #2861 - Weekly Journaling Prompt and Month in Review

10/30/2021

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This week’s Weekly Journaling Prompt gets you to think about the question “What’s important for me to flow”.

What is the element in order to thrive with your work?
As we step into the end of the month, it’s also a chance to do a review of October and some goal setting for November. Take a few minutes and reflect on the following questions:

Reflecting on the month of October:

What were my major achievements this month?
What do I want to celebrate?
As I consider my goals (and resolutions) I made at the start of the year, how am I doing with these on a scale of 1-10? Which ones are becoming new habits or something I can check off?
Which ones need to be let go of?
As a leader, what have I noticed about my team this month?
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 _______
What have I noticed about my work/productivity/results and/or relationships during the winter months (if you are in the northern hemisphere) or summer (if you are in the southern hemisphere)?

Looking ahead to November:

My priorities are:
Our team priorities are:
My goals are
My teams goals are:
The project I most want to wrap up this month is...
I want to...
I'll be really happy at the end of November when....

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
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.

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Teams365 #2860 - Friday Flashback: Another Teamwork Skill in Complexity – Curiosity

10/29/2021

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Last Friday I reached back to spotlight one of the blog posts exploring a core teamwork skill during times of complexity – experimentation. Today, I thought I would focus on exploring a second core teamwork skill during times of complexity, that being CURIOSITY. How curious are you?

Here’s what I wrote in Teams365 #1596:

Curiosity is a critical skill set for today’s ongoing change and complexity, given that many times “We do not know” or have all of the information needed to make decisions or see what is next. This could be because things are changing so fast or it could be because things are unclear on the road ahead. Being able to lead from a place of curiosity or “not knowing” can be liberating when the shift has been made.

One thing that can help us on our voyage of curiosity as a leader is questions. We can use questions to check assumptions, learn from others, and harness the wisdom that exists. Some questions that enable all team members to step into a place of curiosity are:

What’s possible?
What’s one thing we haven’t tried?
What else?
What else can you leverage?
What’s the worst thing that can happen?
What’s another option?
What could you do differently?

In order to cultivate curiosity within our team we can:

Encourage risk taking and mistakes
Support team members in pilots and experimentation
Enable learning across the silos which exist within the business
Expose the team to new areas regularly
Support a growth mindset

What can you do as a team to cultivate curiosity?

Enjoy your Friday!
Jennifer

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
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.

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Teams365 #2859 - Three Principles for Virtual and Remote Team Practices

10/28/2021

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Practices are key for keeping team moving along
Virtual and Remote Team Practices—Three Principles

In general, when thinking about practices, it can be important to follow these three virtual foundations:

1. Keep it simple
2. Make it visible
3. Make it accessible

Keeping it simple is critical when there may be different team members who might interpret things differently. Simplicity is key for remote work, especially when different languages are at play.

Complexity is the kiss of death! Making things visible helps to keep things clear and top of mind. Examples of making things visible range from using streaming where possible, to using visual dashboards like the Red, Yellow, and Green Stoplight, to sending out visual reminders.

Another important part of making things visible is unearthing assumptions. Assumptions are inevitable in virtual teams and serve to weaken the foundation.
Keeping things visual and visible is key to remote work success. This can be achieved with the use of Kanban boards, slide design, visual dashboards, and videos, to name a few. Kanban boards help us to lay out and visualize workflows, with the tracking columns, “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done.” As Kim Scott writes, “A Kanban board is different from a dashboard because it focuses activities and work in progress. It gives your team time to identify and resolve
issues before they hurt the results.”

What can you do to visualize your workflows, both as a team and individually?
Another important tool is the One-Page Plan, which is explored later in this chapter.

Making things accessible so that people can access things 24/7 on different platforms, connections, and ways is also critical. Virtual and remote teams will want to get into the practice of thinking through how they are going to file things, and where and how they are going to update versions.

These small issues can become a critical issue when files are not updated and saved and team members work off of old versions”

Excerpt from Reconnecting Workspaces, page 141 and 142.

What is important for you to note about making things visible, keeping things simple and making them accessible?

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
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.

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Reconnecting-Workspaces-Pathways-Thrive-Virtual/dp/0993791557

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Teams365 #2858 - 90-Day Guide for Success: Helping Individuals, Teams and Organizations Thrive in the Return to the Office

10/27/2021

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This month I have been enjoying week-day calls I have been hosting each morning from 730 – 8 am ET on one of the 90 topics of the 90-Day Guide. The 90-Day Guide for Success came out on October 1st and supports those who are onboarding, or reboarding in the virtual, remote and hybrid space. Whether you are a new employee, or an entrepreneur, we can all benefit from more focused attention on getting settled in work.

We’ve covered a range of topics this month, more than 20! From exploring strengths, to planning, from communication, to managing complexity and VUCA, I hope you will take a look at the 90-Day Guide Playlist before they go away and become part of an on-demand course!

Take a look at the 90-Day Guide Playlist on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBrNWrf7D5rAmchmZY1tzBFjnr8ApEN9T

It’s been fun hosting these calls daily, and they will continue until the end of the year (end of December). Do join us weekdays from 730 – 8 am ET at https://zoom.us/j/2703020415.

Have a great Wednesday,
Jennifer

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
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.

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Teams365 #2857 - Size Matters

10/26/2021

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As a team coach trainer, I often get asked the question “What’s the best size for a team?"

Here’s what I share in Reconnecting Workspaces, Team Genius authors have found that the best size team is somewhere between five and nine. As a team work practitioner, I usually assert that each person added to a team adds an exponential layer of relationships, conversations, and perspectives.

As I shared in Effective Virtual Conversations, Richard Hackman found that as team size grew from 5 to 13, the number of communication touchpoints needed grew from 10 conversations when the team was five people, to 73 conversations when the team grew to 13.119

As teams grow in size, there is a tendency to develop nested teams within the larger team. Within these larger groups, there are smaller teams, each with their own culture and focus.”

Reconnecting Workspaces – page 147

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
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.

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Reconnecting-Workspaces-Pathways-Thrive-Virtual/dp/0993791557

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Teams365 #2856 - Productivity Tip – Building In More Margin with Your Time

10/25/2021

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As I go to look back at 2021, one of the things that stands out for me is the 21 for 21 Virtual Co-Working Sprints. This year I have hosted multiple months of co-working action, in 21 minute blocks. It really adds up as we have seen, with 21 days of 21 minutes working out to 7.35 hours. Leading these in the early part of the year were what helped me get across the finish line in terms of my focus with Reconnecting Workspaces and the 90-Day Guide for Success.
Here’s what I wrote about it earlier this year in a PlanDoTrack blog post “Building In More Margin”. You can read the original post at https://www.plandotrack.com/blog.
I love a broad margin to my life “ – Henry David Thoreau

As we wrapped up the 21 for 21 series a few days ago, it was a great experiment in seeing what is really possible in the time we have available. If you weren’t part of the 21 for 21 it included time for people to come together and take 21 minutes of action on their projects. Over the 21 days, it became 441 minutes of 7 hours and 35 minutes. A significant amount of time! If you considered it on a daily basis it would seem to be just a little amount of time, but over the course of three weeks, it really added up.

Almost every day during the 21 minutes o virtual co-working, I heard from attendees just how valuable the process was for them. It was an opportunity to pause and undertake focused actions which were important to them.

So what led me to host this? The 21 for 21 Coworking Sprints was influenced by several things – Thoreau’s quote rom the last century. I’ve thought about this quote for some time now, considering what we can do to increase the margin of time we have available. I’ve also been inspired by the and the invitations from Author Gretchen Rubin who for the last few years has hosted a 19 for 19, 20 for 20 and now 21 for 21, where listeners are encouraged to set a series of goals for the year.

What is the consistent habit you want to undertake right now?
Here are some great articles about that: https://richlyrooted.com/2014/01/create-margin-in-your-life-for-a-simpler-schedule.html

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
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.

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Reconnecting-Workspaces-Pathways-Thrive-Virtual/dp/0993791557

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Teams365 #2855 - Week In Review and Quote

10/24/2021

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This week we explored several topics including

Saturday’s Weekly journaling Prompt with a focus on Relationships and Results

Friday’s Flashback on Teamwork Skills in Complexity

Thursday’s focus on the Team Tool of the One Page Plan

Wednesday’s focus on Teamwork Practices

Tuesday’s Focus on Ensuring all Voices are in the Room

Monday’s Focus on Reconnecting the Workspaces Tip

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
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.

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Teams365 #2854 - Weekly Journaling Prompt 171: Focus on Relationships and Results

10/23/2021

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This week’s Weekly Journaling Prompt invites you to consider the question “What focus are you having on RELATIONSHIPS and RESULTS in your work?”. Consider your work practices, how you team, what you are focusing on in meeting and also where you are putting your attention.

As I share throughout Reconnecting Workspaces, in today’s business context we need to focus on both Relationships and Results. As I share on page 142 of Reconnecting Workspaces,

Where are you spending more time?

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
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.

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Teams365 #2853 - Flashback Friday: Teamwork Skills in Complexity

10/22/2021

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The last eighteen months have been a learning in practice opportunity for teams to put into practice many of the skills I mentioned conceptually back in 2017 when I did a series on Teamwork Skills in Complexity. I thought it would be useful to pick up with Teams365 #1597 which spotlighted the importance of Experimentation during times of complexity. Take a look at what I wrote, and think about how this skillset is helping you thrive right now:

This month we are exploring the skills required in teamwork, including listening and curiosity. Today I wanted to take a dive into a third skill area, that being the area of experimentation.

Experimentation is key for business leaders and teams today. Many times, the context is changing so quickly that we don’t have time to complete an entire roll-out before having to make a final decision. That can lead to a mindset of experimentation, where it is encouraged to try things out, see what works and what doesn’t.

In supporting experimentation in our team we want to:

Encourage and reward trial and error
Create safety around not getting “things right”
Provide team members with time and resources to experiment, beyond their every day team responsibilities
Facilitate an evaluation of projects or “Experiments” that are completed or are even at the midpoint

Questions we may ask at project reviews include:

What’s working?
What’s not?
What are the things that need to be abandoned or tweaked?
What additional resources do we need?
What unknown obstacles have become visible?
What is the big learning we are taking?
What is the one thing/ or the many things we are going to do differently going forward?
Who else can we learn from (including our own past projects?

If you haven’t taken a look at the article I wrote for the most recent edition of choice Magazine which focused on Disruption, take a look at it here. It’s entitled “Curiosity, Vision, Experimentation, Connection: Helping Teams and Groups Thrive in Periods of Disruption”. You can read it here at the Reconnecting Workspaces blog, including a download of it.
https://www.reconnectingworkspaces.com/post/4-key-skills-for-teams-and-groups-to-thrive-in-today-s-workspace

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
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.

Amazon Link: https://www.amazon.com/Reconnecting-Workspaces-Pathways-Thrive-Virtual/dp/0993791557

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Teams365 Blog

Teams365 #2862 - Week In Review

Teams365 #2861 - Weekly Journaling Prompt and Month in Review

Teams365 #2860 - Friday Flashback: Another Teamwork Skill in Complexity – Curiosity

Teams365 #2859 - Three Principles for Virtual and Remote Team Practices

Teams365 #2858 - 90-Day Guide for Success: Helping Individuals, Teams and Organizations Thrive in the Return to the Office

Teams365 #2857 - Size Matters

Teams365 #2856 - Productivity Tip – Building In More Margin with Your Time

Teams365 #2855 - Week In Review and Quote

Teams365 #2854 - Weekly Journaling Prompt 171: Focus on Relationships and Results

Teams365 #2853 - Flashback Friday: Teamwork Skills in Complexity

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