As a writer, one of my favorite past times is heading to the library for some focused writing. I often try to fit it in on Tuesdays. When I am there, I usually check out the business book selection. Two titles, both named Pivot, recently caught my attention. Jenny Blake’s Pivot  explores the shifts and turns we can make in our career. The 2nd Pivot book is by Adam Markel. Pivot: The Art and Science of Reinventing Your Career and Life.
 
Both are great reads for those looking at ongoing performance and change. Whether we work for others or ourselves, we can all benefit from the tools and tips in both books.

The Cambridge Dictionary defines pivot as:

• a fixed point supporting something that turns or balances;​​
• the central or most important person or thing in a situation.

https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/pivot
 
As you consider your biggest opportunity or challenge right now, consider:

1. What is creating balance in the situation right now?
2. What is the fulcrum around what things are turning?
3. What is the important person/issue in this situation?
4. What is the most central item?
5. With this information in mind, what’ s possible? What are the options for next steps?

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 an digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

One of the themes this month has been about getting organized and minimizing. With this in mind, here are three resources you might find useful:

1. Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin – Having been a podcast listener of Gretchen’s Happier podcast for a couple of years now, I was so excited to hear about her recent release of Outer Order, Inner Calm. It’s a quick read, chock full of practical tips and strategies you can implement right away. True to her work and philosophy that there’s not a one size fits all, consider how your own tendency might impact the way you organize. If you haven’t explored the work and writing of Gretchen Rubin, check her out, including the Four Tendencies.

2. Cal Newport – Digital Minimalism. As someone heavily enmeshed in the digital ecosystem in my work as a virtual educator, coach and solopreneur, I appreciated this new book. It speaks to the challenge of the digital world we live within. While the ability to switch on and off has been part of my own work over the last 3 decades, the book offers practical approaches to minimizing what you have and what you are connected to in order to create more space for what’s important. Like many other books on the topic of minimalism, what it means and looks like for each of us might be different.

Personally, I am looking forward to taking some quieter time this July and August when I work out of the cottage to further cull my digital landscape. Letting go of TV and streaming almost 2 years ago has made a big difference in my time available for things I love, creative pursuits and time spent with loved ones.  I can feel the pressure of emails creeping up however and will be focusing on that first this summer when I have earmarked my annual “return to basics” six weeks.

3. I also have appreciated the resources of Organizing365’s Lisa Woodrow in the last few weeks. This year she hosted a Decluttering Blitz. Her podcast series is also a great tone to follow if organizing is important for you on a personal or professional level. You can follow it up here.  
​
What resources are you finding useful in your work and world right now around this topic?
​
Warm regards,
Jennifer

Welcome back to our forty-fourth Weekly Journaling Prompt. I hope that you have been enjoying these quick prompts as part of your regular journaling practice.

Today’s prompt is “Things I Am Happy About….”

In my late teens and early twenties, I was fortunate enough to spend the bulk of my summers working in the beauty of Algonquin Park, about 3 hours north of Toronto, at a summer camp. When I wasn’t on the swim dock where I spent several summers leading a team, or with campers, I was hanging out with an amazing group of young women. In those days we had no access to TV, internet or a phone (yes, it was the late 80s and early 90s!). Evening entertainment came in the form of journaling, music and hanging out.

One book which was very popular in those days was a good book called “14,000 things to be happy about.” I remember how one summer it inspired a majority of the staff to start their own happy journals. This was something I carried around the world with me for years and still have on my bookshelf…..Take a look closely at today’s graphic -that’s my happy book! Once in a while (i.e. once or twice a year) I take a look back at it and am amazed how short sentences can bring forward an amazing flood of memories.
​
What would you add to your happy book?

Enjoy!
​Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2018) 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).

I’m really pleased to announce my latest publication, geared specifically for virtual and remote team members. On December 14th the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner for Remote and Virtual Professionals will be available for sale on Amazon.

Part workbook, part planner, it’s geared for virtual and remote team members, leaders and virtual businesses. Based on the success of the release of the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner in July, I’ve adjusted the workbook for the virtual and remote team space.

It’s an analog, desk sized calendar, to reflect the importance of having one “Go to” resource to place your “To Dos”, project ideas, content plans and monthly reflections.

Divided into four sections, the workbook covers:

• Virtual and Remote Business Foundations – for teams and also businesses. This includes a series of skill checks and some of the latest stats on virtual and remote work.
  
• The Primer – Success tips and focus areas which you can integrate into your business, or further refine for a great prime.
  
• Marketing Essentials – Whether we are sharing what our virtual team is doing, positioning our services, or going out to promote on social media, the marketing essentials.
  
• The Ecosystem – At the heart of a successful virtual team, business or leader is ourselves. The Ecosystem section focuses on who YOU are as a leader – your strengths, values and opportunities. This section has evolved out of the Inner Business leader Virtual Retreats I have hosted for years.
  

 
The planner section covers Annual, Quarterly and Monthly planning resources, along with a robust content planning section. Including more than 28 resources you’ll find :

• Monthly Trackers – to track different elements for your business
• Annual project planners
• Quarterly Reviews
• Monthly In Focus
• Monthly

The planner pages are undated so you will benefit from starting the resource at any time.

In addition to the workbook and planner, I also host regular virtual events around planning. Each month end I host a virtual reflection hour, and
The workbook is more than 285 pages and costs $29.95. You can pick up a copy on Amazon. 

If this is a topic you are interested in (and most people are at this time of year), do consider joining me for the 14 days of PlanDoTrack series, which includes a mix of live virtual calls (open to everyone), blog posts and some other special events. Check out the daily schedule here and download a copy.
​
Best wishes,
Jennifer

​As part of our wind down for the year, I wanted to post several very practical and tactical resource posts. Posts around books, apps and other resources  I have seen teams and leaders leaning into this year.
As a writer and avid reader, I am starting first with books as I am usually on the search at the library and bookstore for different offerings. Here are ten that I’ve found myself recommending a lot!
Emotional Intelligence – The EQ Leader – Howard Stern. Emotional Intelligence continues with its popularity for good reason. These are the skills we need to succeed in an ever changing world – relationship building, self-management, understanding others and ourselves. Earlier this year I picked up  a copy of the EQ Leader and have found it an invaluable read.
The Coaching Habit – Michael Bungay Stanier – I love the way Michael’s book breaks down coaching into bite sized pieces for professionals of all kinds. A definite great read!
Thanks for the Feedback – Douglas Stone and Sheila Heen – Feedback seems to be an ongoing thorn for leaders, teams and anyone who is in relationship with others (i.e. ALL OF US!). This is a great book which gets you thinking about what feedback can look and sound like.
For those that do like to plan – take a look at the Bullet Journal  - Ryder Carroll.  I’ve been a convert of the Bujo  (short form for Bullet Journal) Movement for several years now, finding that the blank planning spaces create a pause in my otherwise busy day. While I use a variety of different planning resources including my own upcoming Plan.Do.Track, I always have my trust Bullet Journal nearby which houses some of the Meta Learning and Themes of the Year.
Amy Edmondson –  Extreme Teaming. I’ve continued to recommend the writing and research of Amy Edmondson for many reasons to teams this year. Her research has focused on both the notion of psychological safety, as well as the concept of teaming, which captures the active evolution of teams today. Any of Amy’s books are a great read and an important primer for teams in understanding what she calls the 4 pillars of teaming – Speaking up, Collaboration, Experimentation and Reflection.
What are the books you have been recommending to others this year?

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Every Friday I take a look back at some of the varied posts related to our current monthly focus. This month, we are exploring teamwork skills.

As a starting point this week, I’m reaching back to 2015 for this post which included 6 questions to consider with your team: Read it here.

1. When are we at our best as a team?

2. What strengths can we leverage in our work and projects?

3. How do we have each others' backs?

4. How will we hold each other accountable for our results?

5. If we were to tweak/change one thing about how we work as a team that would be.....

6. I'm excited about _______ in the next few months.

Promoting regular, and quick discussion, across the team around questions such as these help with creating a common understanding and vision, as well as creating more alignment across teams. Alignment doesn’t mean that everyone is doing the same thing. Rather, it means that team members are able to understand how their work connects with others, and how they can lead from a common ground.
 
Books, and audio books, are always a great resource to learn more on the topic of teamwork, so I wanted to pull together several of the reading lists I’ve provided over the years.
 
Here are five books I shared around teamwork in December 2015 in Teams365 #715:

​You might be interested in checking out:

​Team Genius - Rich Karlgaard and Michael S. Malone

​Primal Teams - Jackie Baretta

​The Silo Effect - Gillian Tett

​Collaboration Begins with You - Be a Silo Buster - Ken Blanchard, Jane Ripley and Eunice Parisi-Carew. Check it out here.

Collaborative Intelligence - Dawna Markova and Angie McArthur. Check it out here.

As well as these a few days later in Teams365 #718:

Strengths Based Leadership = Tom Rath and Barry Conchie

Manager's Guide to Virtual Teams - Kimball Fisher and Maureen Fisher

Talk Like TED - Carmine Gallo

Visual Teams - David Sibbert
 
A couple of other books from 2017 and 2018 I have been enjoying myself and recommending to teams and others:

Amy Edmondson and Jean-Francois Harvey - Extreme Teams

Shane Snow - Dream Teams

Best,
Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Effective Virtual Conversations |  Coaching Team Leaders  
We provide team and leadership development support through coaching, consulting and training services
Author of several books including the 2018 Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner & Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) 
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com
(416)996-8326

​This summer I was committed to tackling the growing pile of books I had purchased earlier this year, but not cracked the spine on. The growing pile actually felt like a weight on me. While I love to read, the volume was dragging me down.
Supported by no TV, and a slower than normal internet connection, I was able to reshift some of my usual screen time (which today is pretty much streaming based) to turning in earlier and reading regularly. It helped me not only “get through” but enjoy reading a number of books this summer. It was a pretty eclectic range but I wanted to share some of them with you:
The 5 Choices: The Path to Extraordinary Productivity  by Kory Kogon, Adam Merrill and Leena Rinne –  I’ve written quite a bit bout the influence of Stephen Covey’s Training on my time management and productivity almost twenty years ago. I had picked up the Covey team’s latest book before hopping on a red eye flight from Vancouver to Toronto in June. Edits for my new book, the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner, superseded reading it then, but I got to it just this last week.
For those looking for a quick, and integrated approach to time, this is a terrific resource. Their approach is grounded in Covey’s Urgent/Important Matrix, but also incorporates today’s focus on values and roles. A great read!
The Fire Starter Sessions – Danielle LaPorte – Loaded with short stories, quotes, the Fire Starter Sessions is a great book to dip into over time, with topics touching on time, money.
The Four Tendencies by Gretchen Rubin – I continue to enjoy Gretchen Rubin’s weekly Podcast – Happier – and almost heard her voice speaking The Four Tendencies. This book takes us into the dynamic, and important, area of styles, and Gretchen’s framework around Questioners, Upholders Obligers, and Rebels. A must-read for team leaders and team members, this book will support you in thinking deeper about how you approach work, decisions and relationships, and what matters for those you work and live with! Check out what she has to say at her own blog post from 2015 here.
Build an A Team – Whitney Johnson – A terrific read for leaders and coaches and anyone who takes a strengths-based approach to work. With chapters focusing in on supporting new hires, as well as “masters” on  your team, this is a great read to get you thinking about what type of support people will benefit from, and how Johnson writes you can “support them up the learning curve”.
And on a lighter note, I also enjoyed the Agatha Christie-ish mystery – Woman in Cabin Ten. Given that this book was sitting for almost a year on my bedside table it was a relief to dip into this quick read – a solid one for anyone who likes mysteries!

What books did you enjoy reading this summer? What is sticking and transforming the way you work, and/or live?

Best wishes,
Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Effective Virtual Conversations |  Coaching Team Leaders  
We provide team and leadership development support through coaching, consulting and training services
Author of several books including the 2018 Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner & Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) 
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com
(416)996-8326

​Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Effective Virtual Conversations |  Coaching Team Leaders  
We provide team and leadership development support through coaching, consulting and training services
Author of Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) 
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com
(416)996-8326

As a coach and author I love to read books to pass on to my readers and clients. In the last few months as I have been starting to write my new book on virtual and remote team leadership and teamwork, I’ve been reading A LOT of the more recent business titles. Today's post includes seven that I found myself enjoying and recommending regularly to leaders, teams and fellow facilitators. While not all were published this year, they did have relevance to the current leadership, and teamwork, context. Here they are:
 
Extreme Teaming – Amy Edmondson and Jean-Francois Harvey -  A wonderful follow up to Edmondson’s 2012 Teaming, this book explores teaming in its extreme forms. Think teams which have to form and disband regularly (i.e. shift teams, ER teams, some project teams). This book takes a look at core foundations and the theory behind teaming. A great read even if you are not a theorist. As a practitioner I would hazard a guess that many of the teams I work with would benefit from more of a focus on the principles identified.

The Productivity Habit – Chris Bailey. I really enjoyed reading Bailey’s book. As someone who is regularly asked to speak with teams and emerging leaders around personal productivity, this book is an excellent resource covering pertinent research and providing very practical, and tactical, activities to undertake. I appreciated how Bailey included how much time it would take to cover each chapter, and it allowed me to cover more than I might have while traveling for work recently.

The Weekend Effect – Katrina Onstad. Another book about the importance of time, and renewal. I enjoyed how Onstad also provided research and stories about the importance of taking back our weekends.

Grit – Angela Duckworth - Another valuable read around leadership in today’s uncertain context.

Scrum – Jeff Sutherland - With Agile’s leveraging of teams, I found that this was an important read for me, providing more of the framework behind this increasingly adopted, and important topic.

Deep Work – Cal Newport – Living and operating in a digitally distracted world, Deep Work is a wonderful read, and an important reminder of the need for deep work.

Radical Candor – Kim Scott - A must read for all teams who want to be able to accelerate their results. This year I would trace much of the challenges experienced by teams that I worked with back to a struggle with being able to practice candor in their communication, pointing to and speaking to difficult issues in a way that was productive, and effective.
 
What books were you influenced by this year? What did you enjoy reading?
 
 
 With best wishes,
Jennifer

It's Friday and time for another Flashback Friday. This week I'm taking us back to #Teams365 #626, a post from September 2016. Even though things continue to change dramatically in some industries, one area which I continue to see leaders struggle with it Difficult Conversations. My post from 2016 highlighted several resources which leaders will find useful in their difficult conversations. Here's what I wrote in Teams365 #626:

If I were to identify one area earmarked as a "must have more of" from leaders it is resources and practice in holding difficult conversations. Consider your work right now, what difficult conversations are needed this week? Next week?

Newer leaders, and sometimes even very seasoned leaders, are uncomfortable and not confident in raising the issues that need to be raised. For those that are looking for more resources on this topic, I would encourage you to check out:

Crucial Conversations by Kerry Patterson, Grenney, McMillian and Switzler

Fierce Conversations by Susan Scott

Thanks for the Feedback - the Science and Art of Receiving Feedback Well - Douglas Stone and Shelia Heen

Difficult Conversations - How To Discuss What Matters Most - also by Doublas Stone

The Discomfort Zone - How Leaders Trun Difficult Conversations into Breakthroughs - Marcia Reynolds

******************************************************
​Whether I am working with new leaders, seasoned leaders or entire teams, it is likely that the topic of difficult conversations will be brought up, and the yearning to become more proficient in having them. 

​A couple of other resources which I also have been recommending lately are:

​Conversational Intelligence by Judith Glaser. Given my own recent professional development in this area, and appreciating the rich resource base Judith has drawn on in creating this work, I am weaving in CI-Q elements into both training and coaching initiatives for leaders and teams. Contact me for more information on how we can bring this into programs at your organization.

​I've also been reaching back to Steven Covey's Seminal work in the Seven Habits of Highly Effectivve People and a reminder of his principle of "seek first to understand and then be understood".

​What resources do you recommend around Difficult Conversations?

​Have a great weekend,
​Jennifer