Teams365 Blog - POTENTIALS REALIZED

teams 365 #3365: The skill of influence as a team member

3/22/2023

Influence is a powerful tool in any team setting. It involves the ability to persuade and inspire others to take action towards a shared goal or vision. Being an influential team member means that you can effectively communicate your ideas, gain buy-in from others, and work collaboratively to achieve success. Here are some tips on how to develop the skill of influence as a team member:

Build Strong Relationships: Develop strong relationships with your team members, peers, and leaders. Building trust and respect is essential for gaining influence and support.

Communicate Effectively: Communication is key to influencing others. Speak clearly and confidently, listen actively, and tailor your message to your audience.
Understand Your Audience: Understanding your audience's values, goals, and motivations is crucial in influencing them. Consider their perspectives and tailor your message to address their concerns.

Demonstrate Expertise: Demonstrate your expertise in your field and contribute value to the team. This builds credibility and trust among team members.
Be a Team Player: Be willing to collaborate and work towards the team's goals. This demonstrates that you are invested in the team's success and can help build trust and support.

Be Positive and Optimistic: Being positive and optimistic can help inspire and motivate others. Focus on finding solutions rather than dwelling on problems.
Be Flexible: Be open to new ideas and willing to adapt. This can help build trust and support among team members, and increase your ability to influence.

In conclusion, being an influential team member is a valuable skill that can contribute to the success of a team. By building strong relationships, communicating effectively, understanding your audience, demonstrating expertise, being a team player, being positive and optimistic, and being flexible, you can become a more effective influencer in your team. By working collaboratively towards shared goals and inspiring others to take action, you can help drive success and achieve greater outcomes as a team.

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.

teams 365 #3364: Welcome to Spring!

3/21/2023

It’s finally here – spring! After what had been dubbed one of the longest winters in Toronto’s last 70 plus years, it’s time to switch the page. Here are some questions to reflect on as you prefer for the new season:

As we step into the new season (Winter or summer depending on where you are in the world), it's always an opportunity to pause, and take stock. While many of us are doing this at this time of year-end, remembering to stop and set some goals for the next 3 months, can further help to focus in on what's important, harnessing attention on those, while providing more space to react to the items that no doubt will emerge.

As you step into winter (or summer), take a few minutes to look back at the last 3 months. Ask yourself:
1. What have been your major accomplishments?
2. What's different today than at the start of winter - December 21st in your work? Your work style? Your relationships? Your resources?
3. What's possible, given this?
4. What did you do consistently over the last 3 months? What impact did that have?
5. What was the key learning you had over the last 3 months?
6. What's the one thing you learned from, which did not succeed?
7. What do you wish you had done, but didn't?
8. What changes do you want to carry forward into the next 3 months?

Looking ahead to the next quarter:
1. What are the key goals for the next 3 months?
2. What are the key activities you want to, and need to, undertake?
3. What will help you be successful?
4. What, and who, can you leverage?
5. What's the one thing you want to do consistently over this next 90 day period?
6. What's the one thing you want to try? What is important about that?
7. At the end of 90 days, what do you want success to look like?

Enjoy your reflection and more importantly, the next few months of the season!
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.

teams 365 #3363: Creating More Mindfulness in Leadership and Teamwork

3/20/2023

Mindfulness is a powerful tool that can help individuals develop a greater sense of focus and awareness, which is essential in leadership and teamwork. By practicing mindfulness, leaders and team members can cultivate a more calm and focused mindset, reduce stress and anxiety, and improve their communication and problem-solving skills. Here are some tips for creating more mindfulness in leadership and teamwork:

Start with yourself: As a leader or team member, it's important to practice mindfulness yourself. Take time to practice meditation or mindfulness exercises to develop a greater sense of awareness and focus.

Set a positive tone: As a leader, set a positive and supportive tone for your team. Encourage open communication, active listening, and respect for different perspectives.

Be present: Practice being fully present in the moment and avoid distractions. When in meetings or working on projects, focus on the task at hand and avoid multitasking.

Create space for reflection: Encourage your team to take time for reflection and self-assessment. This can help team members develop a greater sense of self-awareness and identify areas for personal growth.

Foster collaboration: Encourage collaboration and teamwork among your team members. This can help individuals develop a greater sense of trust and support for each other, which can lead to more effective communication and problem-solving.

Practice empathy: Cultivate empathy and compassion towards others. This can help create a more supportive and inclusive work environment, where individuals feel valued and heard.

By implementing these tips, leaders and team members can create a more mindful and effective work environment. This can lead to improved communication, greater productivity, and a more positive work culture. Ultimately, by cultivating mindfulness in leadership and teamwork, individuals can create a more fulfilling and satisfying work experience for themselves and their colleagues.

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.

teams 365 #3362: Week in Review

3/19/2023

Saturday – Weekly Journaling Prompt
Friday - Friday Flashback - 90 Day Guide for Success: Day 55 – Collaboration
Thirsday - Setting Your Virtual, Remote or Hybrid New Hire Up For Success! Part 2
Wednesday - Setting Your Virtual, Remote or Hybrid New Hire Up For Success! Part 1
Tuesday - 90 Day Guide for Success – Making Your Reboarding More Hospitable
Monday – Coaching Teams Through Chaos: Check out my 2nd TEDx Talk

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.

teams 365 #3361: Weekly Journaling Prompt

3/18/2023

Saturday’s Weekly Journaling Prompt invites you to consider the question – What will get you outside of your comfort zone?

While the last few years may have felt like regular opportunities to get out of the comfort zone doing this on a regular basis can be important to build muscles around learning, growth and resilience.

Questions to consider with today’s Journaling Prompt are:
What is the comfort zone I am stretching right now?
What would take me outside of the comfort zone?
What’s important to note about what muscles I am building

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.

teams 365 #3360: Friday Flashback – 90 Day Guide for Success: Day 55 – Collaboration

3/17/2023

The topic of collaboration continues to be a major argument in the Return to Office debate. Regardless of whether we are in the office, working hybrid or still working from home, one of the major lessons of the last few years has been that relationships and collaboration is critical for success.
This is a theme of my recent TEDx Talk – Coaching Teams Through Chaos – The WHAT and WHO – You can view it at: https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_coaching_teams_through_chaos
Collaboration has been a HUGE theme of 2022, especially with the return to office, and many CEOs eschewing that collaboration can only take place in-person. AS the CEO of an 18 year old virtual business I feel that collaboration can take place ANYWHERE, as long as we are intentional about it. Collaboration doesn’t just happen. It takes time, conversation and INTENTION.

With this in mind, I thought it would be valuable to check out Day 55 of the 90-Day Guide for Success, which focuses on Collaboration. Here’s what I wrote:

Focus Question:
Where can partnering or collaboration support you in creating a better product or delivering a better service?

WHAT?
As a solopreneur, we may hold a myth that “I need to do it all alone.” While you may be choosing to run a solopreneur company, it may not mean that you have to do everything alone. Maybe you are building a team of part-time or full-time workers or are looking to bring different people onboard as subcontractors for specific projects. Regardless, being able to build your team is critical.

The benefit of collaboration is that 1 + 1 = 3. Translation: we are able to create more by working together than by working alone.

At the heart of collaboration are the following behaviors:

Trust
Candor
Connection
Flexibility
Self-awareness
Working across differences
Relationship development

As you grow your team, key themes to explore include:

What do you want to delegate, and to whom? Check out posts on the Teams365 blog on delegation for additional inspiration and information on this topic.
What does grow your team mean? Is it a full-time, part-time, or subcontractor role?
What type of support do you need? Spend time today making a list of everything you need.

SO WHAT?
Just like many other activities in the remote space, it can be important to plan for your collaboration. You will want to set intentional meetings before, during, and afterwards to discuss some of the questions you’ll find in the text box.

As a team we also need to collaborate—with each other and across our team, as well as with others outside of the team.

Consider these questions:

What do we need in order to excel?
What will help us be at our best?
What is going to be the major challenge for the year ahead? The major opportunity?
What development opportunities do we want to build in (retreats, team coaching, mentoring etc.)?
What requests do I need to make of you right now?
How will we measure our success?

And, as a bonus:

What will help to expedite or magnify what’s working?

(EXCERPT: Jennifer Britton, 90-Day Guide for Success, 2021, Pages 326-327, All Rights Reserved).

Enjoy the reflection and the conversations!

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.

teams 365 #3359: Setting Your Virtual, Remote or Hybrid New Hire Up For Success! Part 2

3/16/2023

Continuing from the previous article, here are the last 5 of the 9 key success factors to consider when planning your new team member’s induction into your virtual or remote team:

5. Show up, be visible and present - Discuss what it looks like to be fully present when working remotely and ensure the team continues to display this as a consistent behaviour.

6. Follow-through - is a strong signal of reliability. Make all the notes and reminders you need to ensure that your new hire is well taken care of and loose items are addressed.

7. Find the common ground - Build the relationship! Take some time to relate to the new hire as a person and cement those items that arise in conversation where common ground exist.

8. Leverage your strengths - and theirs! Have your new hire identify their key strengths and discuss how they will compliment the team, especially when working from a distance. Share your strengths and have the team share theirs!

9. What's beyond the screen? Share a little about yourself, your context and your priorities when building new virtual relationships. When new hires see that you're a real person, the distance factor will fade a bit and a new relationship will form.

Source: 90 Day Guide for Success, Jennifer Britton, Pages 29-30.

By taking some extra time to discuss, plan and account for the items above, your new hire will feel more confident about starting something new, especially from a distance! A little planning goes a long way, so if you anticipate a new hire, keep your calendar open and prioritize them, even if you're super busy that week. It'll be worth it in the long run.

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Need support with your onboarding or re-boarding programs? We are always happy to help! Set up a free 15-minute consultation with Jennifer Britton at Potentials Realized via Calendly at a time that works for you, and she would be happy to answer your questions!

GET SOCIAL WITH US!
Instagram: @ReconnectingWorkspaces
LinkedIn: Connect with Jennifer Britton and Potentials Realized
Podcast: Remote Pathways (@RemotePathways, on your favorite podcast player)
Facebook Group: Virtual and Remote Visionaries Hub

Potentials Realized website: www.potentialsrealized.com

Calendly –

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.

teams 365 #3358: Setting Your Virtual, Remote or Hybrid New Hire Up For Success! Part 1

3/15/2023

You've got a new team member starting with you and they're knee deep into an organizational new hire orientation. You've spent a couple meetings with them so far to discuss the team’s semantics, but how do you get them set up to start to carve a space for themselves on your remote or hybrid team, where facetime is a luxury?

When planning your new team member’s induction, set them up for success by incorporating the 9 key success factors for remote work:

1. Be Visible - Go out of your way to schedule meet and greets with key stakeholders within the organization at various levels for the new team member. Sign them up for training, industry events and a welcome virtual lunch. Ask for their input as well and incorporate learning into the performance goals.

2. Offer Value - Since trust begets trust, have a conversation about what value the new hire feels they have to offer and coach them to speak to this success during meet and greet meetings.

3. Be consistent - In our world of uncertainty, being consistent is key. Set a level playing field for all team members, follow through and model the expectations yourself. Set reminders in your calendar, and ensure your new hire does the same.

4. Collaborate - No person is an island. Encourage your new hire through coaching to fully understand and explore how their role intermingles with the others on the team and offer ways to collaborate with team members.

Source: 90 Day Guide for Success, Jennifer Britton, Pages 29-30.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of this article …

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Need support with your onboarding or re-boarding programs? We are always happy to help! Set up a free 15-minute consultation with Jennifer Britton at Potentials Realized via Calendly at a time that works for you, and she would be happy to answer your questions!

GET SOCIAL WITH US!
Instagram: @ReconnectingWorkspaces
LinkedIn: Connect with Jennifer Britton and Potentials Realized
Podcast – https://www.RemotePathways.com
Facebook Group: Virtual and Remote Visionaries Hub
Potentials Realized website: www.potentialsrealized.com

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.

teams 365 #3357: 90 Day Guide for Success – Making Your Reboarding More Hospitable

3/14/2023

New hire starting next week?
Is your virtual, remote or hybrid work team working inconsistently?

Whether your team has recently lost or gained team members or is simply feeling fragmented, sometimes it's necessary to do a reset, or re-boarding for your team. If this is the case, consider taking a hospitable approach to your onboarding or reboarding programs by making your participants feel at home before inundating them with new corporate policy, tax forms or new branding.

Go back to basics by ensuring the following items are taken care of and addressed first:
1. Technology that works. Do you need to acquire new platforms or give new or additional team members access to current ones?

2. Power/Juice – for your technology to stay charged.

3. A work space - Can you acquire some budget for your team to each set up a custom, ergonomic work space? It can be quiet or stimulating, but it needs to work for them.

4. A communication tool - like Zoom, Skype, WebEx, or MS Teams. Empower a stronger team member to train everyone on using common features for meetings and chatting consistently.

5. A routine and ways to renew - Set your team up early and keep consistent. For example, everyone grabs their beverage before the Tuesday 10am weekly meeting. Go together if you're on site that day.

6. Peers and mentors - give your team pathways to get advice and connect with others.

7. Connections with your boss and teams. Be intentional here with these regular meetings. Set it but don't forget it!

8. Feedback cycles - communicate how two-way feedback works and set an open door policy work within your team. Performance should be an ongoing conversation.

9. Easy ways to connect in on work instructions - What supports can you provide your team? What's the path of least resistance?

10. Ways to keep things visible - Are everyone's screen on during meetings? Do you accurately use DM statuses? Where do you store completed shared work? How is project status monitored?

Once your participants feel that the zone of trust, safety and connection is secure, you can then begin the process of properly re-orienting your team. Jumping the gun may in fact cause you heartache as you may encounter more resistance by participants and cost you more in the long run.

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Need support with your onboarding or re-boarding programs? We are always happy to help! Set up a free 15-minute consultation with Jennifer Britton at Potentials Realized via Calendly at a time that works for you, and she would be happy to answer your questions!

GET SOCIAL WITH US!
Instagram: @ReconnectingWorkspaces
LinkedIn: Connect with Jennifer Britton and Potentials Realized
Podcast – Remote Pathways –
Facebook Group: Virtual and Remote Visionaries Hub
Potentials Realized website: www.potentialsrealized.com
Calendly

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.

teams 365 #3356: Coaching Teams Through Chaos: Check out my 2nd TEDx Talk

3/13/2023

In December I delivered my second TEDx talk here in Toronto at the TEDx Trinity Bellwoods event on Possibilities. It was a pleasure to share some of the work I have done as a coach for the last two decades with teams moving through the ups and downs, and ebbs and flows, of teamwork, which often feels chaotic.
You can watch the TEDx talk here.

In the presentation I dive into the WHAT and WHO of Coaching Teams. The WHAT involves exploring the SIX FACTORS of High Performing Teams which I first shared and published back in 2017 with Effective Virtual Conversations. How does your team stack up in these six areas.

The WHO of Coaching Teams speaks to the diverse styles and roles we need to help teams thrive. This includes six different roles in a team – from the Innovative Experimenter™, to the Culture Wizard ™. Check out which of the styles you are with the Hybrid Work Styles Quiz™ I first launched back in 2021. You can find it here.

Enjoy the TEDx talk – please like, share with your team and/or colleagues. I also want to invite you to comment at the video on which of the six styles you are in your teamwork!

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

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.