Teams365 Blog - Potentials Realized

#TEAMS365 #1997: Summer Project Ideas

6/19/2019

For those that are in the northern hemisphere, we are just about to the longest days of the year. It’s also the time that we start to take down the pace a bit. With team members going on holidays in the next few months, it can be an opportune time to engage in some of those projects you haven’t had time for.

Instead of typing today’s post, I thought it would be fun to record a short video for you to watch. Listen in as I zoom into 8 key areas you will want to explore this summer, when (and if) the pace slows down. The video runs for 8 minutes. Please comment below and let us know what areas you aim to focus on:
INSERT Video

Best
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

#TEAMS365 #1996: Presentation Brush-up

6/18/2019

As you may recall, this month we’ve been exploring several mid-year topics – the Team Tune Up (link to that post), along with others encouraging you to do some mid-year stock taking.

One area which I think often gets pushed to the side is that around presentations. Whether we are being formally asked to lead a webinar, or present something “on the fly”, brushing up on our presentation skills can go a long way.

While there is a whole art and science behind presentations, I like to always bring it back to KEEP IT SIMPLE. I’m going to model that in today’s posts as well, sharing with you five key areas to keep in mind when you go to design or lead your next presentation:

Connect people early on with their WIIFM – What’s In It For Me? What’s important about this topic for people?
Use real-time examples. If you have time, is there an opportunity for people to share a real-time example of how they are focusing on this topic. The question might be: “Who can share an example you are currently working around, as it relates to this topic?”. This helps make it not only meaningful, but relevant and usually a lot more urgent than if you were talking about the topic in a more conceptual way.
Consider the start, middle and end. We tend to remember the start and end of things. Really think through how you want to start the presentation and how you want to wrap it up. What are
What are the top 3 bullet points? We operate in a fast-paced business context, where direct communication can be an advantage. What are the top 3 bullet points you want to share during the presentation, or have people retain?
Use graphics that capture attention. Media use in many presentations is an expectation and can bring to life many of the ideas you are covering. What are the graphics that are going to provide a focus and inspiration?

Finally, as a bonus tip, remember that most people prefer to bring their own voice into the presentation and talk about the issues that are relevant to them, rather than passively sitting back and being talked at. What can you do to bring their voices and experience into the room?

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

#TEAMS365 #1995: Effective Virtual Conversations #99

6/17/2019

This week’s Effective Virtual Conversations tip asks you to consider the question: “What opportunities are you not seizing?”.

Remote work and virtual conversations are becoming increasingly important in today’s workplace. Whether disruption is occurring because of impact on travel (consider things like the wild weather events of the last few months which has impacted not only air travel but location sites), or due to opportunities emerging, what opportunities are you not seizing?

Consider these ideas:

Experimenting with remote workdays. What happens with productivity when people move to one or more remote workdays? What do you
Declaring meeting free days or time windows. With meetings becoming an immense time sucker for so many professionals today, what would it be like to declare meeting free time. Time when people could focus on getting work completed, rather than meeting on work for the next day. Some organizations might consider with earmarking an entire day meeting free, while others might note that they meet in the afternoon only, keeping the morning free for high impact work. There may be times of the day which could naturally be better for collaborative work such as mid-afternoon, rather than times of day when deep thinking is required – which brain science is showing could be in quieter windows, and when the brain is more fresh.
There may be opportunities to use different platforms. Consider shifting to a streaming service (where you can see everyone) rather than doing a phone only. The visual cues of being seen may shift focus and attention, and also dissuade some team members from doing more than one thing at a time.
Incorporate more interaction. Rather than simply having a report back, consider how to involve insights from the team regularly using annotation (sharing ideas on a white board) or using chat as a way to focus on

Enjoy!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

#TEAMS365 #1994: Sunday Round-up

6/16/2019

This Sunday I wanted us to take a look back at the week and what the blog posts were. Let’s take a look back at each one of this week’s posts:

Monday June 10 – 1987: Effective Virtual Conversations Tip #98: In Focus: MOOCs
Tuesday June 11 – 1988: Mid-Year - Feedback and Performance Check
Wednesday June 12 – 1989: Mentoring
Thursday June 13 – 1990: Team Building Tip 240
Friday June 14 – 1991: A Look at Listening and Questioning
Saturday June 15 – 1992: Weekly Journaling Prompt 53

What’s important to take a look at more in-depth?

Warm regards,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

#TEAMS365 #1993: Weekly Journaling Prompt 54

6/15/2019

As we arc into another Weekly Journaling Prompt, this week’s question gets you to consider the question “My favorite experience this year has been…..”.

Taking time to stop and pause along the way can be invaluable.

What are the key highlights of your year so far?
What would you put in your top 10 list?
What have you crossed off your bucket list?
What still remains?
What are the things you have learned from?

Draw out a roadmap of the key journeys and highlights you have had from the year.

Enjoy the reflection!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

#TEAMS365 #1992 – Listening and Questions – FlashBack Friday

6/14/2019

This week’s Flashback Friday takes us back to a spring 2018 on 19 questions to be asking during one-on-ones, project debriefs, and I thought it would be useful to share in light of recent posts about listening and questioning.

Here’s what I wrote in Teams #1562

Today's post focuses on questions to spark discussion around three key spring start up activities. In these three areas mentioned in yesterday’s blog post - one on ones, planning and project debriefs.

Today’s post dives into a series of questions you’ll want to ask yourself, and your team, in three key spring areas. Whether you are a team leader, member or even business owner, this may be one of those posts that you want to highlight and return back to.

One on Ones:
One on ones with your team are critical on a regular basis. Unfortunately, they are also the things that usually get left at the bottom of the to-do-list. While each team leader will have their own frequency of holding these with team members, you do want to make them regularly consistent. Some of the questions you may want to incorporate into your upcoming one on ones are:

1. What are your key priorities this quarter?
2. What support do you need in order to be successful? (From me, from others on the team)?
3. How frequently would you like us to connect?
4. What’s going to help you stretch as a professional? What’s going to be the challenge for you this?
5. What are the partnerships or relationships which are going to help you be successful?
6. What check ins will be useful (time, frequency, type) to see how things are going?

Project Debriefs:
Projects large and small deserve a bit of post-mortem or debrief. Here is a selection of questions you may want to incorporate into your next project debrief.

1. What worked well with that project?
2. What were the three critical success factors (i.e. things that mad the project a success)
3. What key lessons were learned?
4. Which projects do they need to be carried forward into? Who else could benefit from hearing about these lessons learned?
5. What needs to be avoided at all costs in future projects?
6. What systems helped with teamwork, roles, tasks and resources?

Planning:
If you haven't had the chance to undertake some planning, grab a pen and work through these questions. They are also ones you may want to share with your team:

1. What are the top 3 -5 priorities this month?
2. Who (or what relationships) is/are needed in order to make this a success?
3. What’s the one habit that will help these projects?
4. What might get in the way?
5. Where are you getting the bulk of your results right now? How can you do more of this? What do you need to say no to?
6. What can get delegated or deferred?
7. What tasks are not adding value and need to be dumped?

Enjoy the questions. Share your favorite here in the comments!

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

#TEAMS365 #1991 – Team Building Tip 240

6/13/2019

We operate in an era of disruption. Whether it’s the presence of our phones (and not even just looking at it!), or whether it’s being pulled by multiple partners and stakeholders in the workplace, this week’s theme gets you to consider the question:

What’s not in focus?
What are the things you have not been paying attention to?
What are the things that are not clear?
What’s still hazy?
Who can help you by providing focus, or providing support so you can shift your attention and focus?

Attention and focus are prized possessions (and skills) in today’s work space. What’s going to help you widen your gaze at times so that you can notice what you are focusing on, and what you are not. So that you can determine that what you are focusing on, really is the thing that does need focus?

Enjoy your team conversation this week around the question of “What’s not in focus?”. It may be interesting to notice what perspective gets shared from each team member!

Warm regards,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

#TEAMS365 #1989 – Mentoring

6/12/2019

At all stages of our careers, mentoring can be an invaluable approach. Learning from the wisdom and experience of others is priceless.

Mentors play a key role including:

Providing an alternative view of our industry/role/profession from what others might see, based on their own experience.
Acting as a sounding board as we work through different ideas.
Helping us understand and navigate the undercurrents of an organization and/or industry.

Formal mentors are usually different than our own bosses, which provides the advantage of an unbiased confidant.

What are the mentoring opportunities available to you?

When considering a mentor ask yourself:

What is the role I want the mentor to play?
What type of support am I looking for? (Sounding board, understanding undercurrents)
What are my goals for the mentoring experience?
What role(s) do I want the mentor to play?

Many formal mentoring programs will have application processes and sharing your responses around these areas can help not only with pairing you with a good fit, but also getting the most out of the limited time you have together.

Wishing you the best,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

#TEAMS365 #1989 – Feedback and Performance Check

6/11/2019

A few days ago, I shared a post on preparing for the performance conversation. Feedback and performance conversations are often an area team members of all kinds struggle with, regardless of level of experience. When is the last time you held a two-way performance conversation – receiving and providing feedback to those you work with?

Things to keep in mind:

Feedback and performance conversations should be ongoing.
Signal when you are having a performance conversation. Sometimes it’s so informal that people don’t even recognize that they are receiving feedback. This is particularly important if performance is not going well.
Be specific about what performance is expected for each role. Provide examples of what good performance would look like.
Be sure to indicate what follow up is needed – and follow up. Lack of follow up may signals that you are not interested, or that things are better, when in fact they may not be.
Are you making the performance conversation two way? Any performance conversation is an opportunity to get feedback for yourself.
Experiment with leading with what the other person sees and observes about their own behavior. What do they notice?

What else is important to note in your feedback conversations?

Enjoy your conversations!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

#TEAMS365 #1988 – Effective Virtual Conversations tIP #98: Virtual Conversation In Focus: MOOC

6/10/2019

Welcome back to another Effective Virtual Conversations tip. This week we are zooming into one specific type of virtual conversation: the MOOC – Massive Open Online Course. The term was originally pioneered in the formal education sector, with platforms like Coursera and EdX bringing us university level courses for the masses. Personally, I’ve extended my own learning (which consists of a Master’s degree, a Post Graduate Certificate, multiple professional certifications) with great courses through both the Coursera and EdX platforms. I’ve taken courses on The Science of Happiness, Emotional Intelligence and Coaching with Compassion. All three courses have found their way into my own program design and consulting and coaching work with teams and organizations.

The benefit of these courses is that it gives you access, usually at a budget friendly price, to current academic thinking and research. For those of us who are practitioners, the value is in ensuring that we are grounding our approaches in the latest. At the same time, we don’t have to sign up for a full-course load and can take programming that truly is of greatest service to us.
Another benefit of these types of courses is that they are usually on-demand, which means that you can take them at your own pace. Formal assignments ensure that you remain on course and time.

This week think about how new and on-demand learning could support you in your continued growth and effectiveness as a professional.

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2019) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development.
Pick up a copy of Volume 1 of the Weekly Journaling Prompts in a digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.