Teams365 Blog - Potentials Realized

#TEAMS365 #1673 – Month End Reflections and Planning for August

7/31/2018

Where did July go? Here we are at the end of the month and it’s time for another month end stock taking a reflection.

Here are some questions to consider:
1. As you reflect on July, what have been your successes and accomplishments?
2. What tasks earmarked for the second half of 2018 have you been able to take action on?
3. What are you most proud of?
4. What successes this month do you want to duplicate? What has been some of your key learnings?
5. What key relationships have helped you so far this year? Which ones need more attention?
6 What has helped your successes? What has hindered?
7. What does your team need to be acknowledged for?

As you look to August, consider these questions:
1. What are your key priorities for August?
2. What are the key goals?
3. What are the major priorities?
4. What will you need to place attention on?
5. What changes do you want to make in August?
6. What resources do you want to tap into?
7. What will you do to renew next month?
8. What are the things which will allow you to step into flow in August?

I hope that you enjoy your reflections! If you are a coach and you have pre-ordered a copy of the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner, you may want to take some notes on these questions using your July or August monthly planning pages, found towards the back of the planner. Be sure to pick up a copy of the CBB Planner and Workbook at Amazon. Enjoy!

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 Effective Virtual Conversations (2017)
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com
(416)996-8326

TEams365 #1449: 7 Reads from 2017 for Leaders

12/19/2017

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

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

You can grab a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. You can also purchase an autographed copy direct from our site

Looking to schedule some team development next year? Contact me to discuss whether the Everything DiSC or the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team as a starting point.

#Teams365 #1284: #FlashbackFriday: Difficult Conversations

7/7/2017

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

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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

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

Connect with us to be the first to know more about launch events around my newest book - Effective Virtual Conversations - coming out later this month.

#Teams365 #1004: Off the Bookshelf - fall Reading

9/30/2016

rWhatA few weeks ago a foot infection had me unable to make a trip to a conference in Arizona. With a couple of extra days on my hands I found myself heading to the library for some quiet time for research and also clearing out some of the TO-Dos which had piled up over the summer.

I found myself browsing throughout the business section and walked away with five really fun reads for fall. I wanted to share these with you as I have enjoyed reading each of them:

1. The Sweet Spot - Christine Carter. An ideal book for those of us who are continually juggling hats and tasks between our professional and personal realms. Carter introduces the science behind becoming more efficient and focused on what's important.

2. The Ideal Team Player - Patrick Lencioni - Another must-read business fable by Lencioni. A great read not only for team leaders, but team members. AS you may have noted from reading our posts here at the Teams365 blog - team members play a key role in today's leadership context.

3. Unplug and Play - 50 Original Group Games by Brad Berger. As someone who is regularly facilitating group and team initiatives, it's great to pick up a book that gives you a spark for some new ideas. This is a quick read with some really good ideas/games which could be used as energizers or warm ups in retreats or even team meetings.

4. Scaling up Excellence: Getting to More without Settling for Less -Robert Sutton and Huggy Rao - Another good read focusing on innovation and how teams can get better.

5. One I picked up at the bookstore the same weekend - Sprint: How to Solve Big Problems and Test New Ideas in Just Five days by Jake Knapp and John Zeratsky. A fascinating read and process from Google Venture Lab's experience of working with teams, projects and start-ups. For those who facilitate, lead projects, this is a must-read into an iterative process you can apply to your own business challenges!

What books do you have on your bookshelf right now? What books are you enjoying reading?

Have a great week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

#Teams365 #899: Five REsources Around the Teamwork Skill of Communication

6/17/2016

This week we've started our latest foundations series - this one around the Foundations of Teamwork. If you missed the Foundations of Feedback series you can check them out here, or the Foundations of Goals here.

Earlier this week in Teams365 #897 I shared with you some of the areas where teamwork and communication is important. Today's post looks at five resources you may want to share with your team around communication:

The Ideal Team Player by Patrick Lencioni - view it here on Amazon

Back Pocket Coach - 33 Strategies for communication a and life - Alexandra Ross and Dianne Brennan. View it here on amazon

Crucial Conversations - Patterson et al

Fierce Conversations - Susan Scott

Mastering Communication at Work. View it on Amazon.

What resources do you recommend?

Have a great weekend,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

#Teams365 #514: Essential Leadership Read #25: Coaching for Performance

5/29/2015

I haven't spotlighted an Essential Leadership Read in a while, and this week I felt drawn to point to John Whitmore's Seminal book on coaching, Coaching for Performance.

I first read this almost 15 years ago when I worked as a Program Manager and team leader within the UN system. As I added coaching skills to my toolbox and becmae a Certified Professional Coach, i continued to refer to this in the work I did with my team and others. For the last eleven years I've pointed to Whitmore's book in my training programs for coaches as leaders, and in the mentor coaching I do with coaches.

Whitmore's GROW model is a quick and easy model to focus any coaching conversation whether you are meeting for 10 minutes or 6. Starting off with the person being coached around the specific goal they have in mind, the focus cn then shift to an exploration of their reality, where they are now, and where they want to go. Exploration of options help to identify and weigh what it is going to take to move from a - b, and in the wrap up phase of any coaching conversation it's important to confirm what the person is going to do, by when and how you will link back.

I spent part of this week working with a great group of leaders around coaching and mentoring skills training. I am wrapping the week up with a lot of energy having seen them refine their skills over the last few days.

What do you notice about your own coaching skills? What's working? what could use a tweak? Check out Whitmore's book for some great reminders of having a more focused, intentional conversation.

Best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Read more about our Coaching Skills Training for Leaders
Set up a conversation about how we can support you and your team best
(416)996-8326

#Teams365 #312: Essential Leadership Read #12: The Discomfort Zone

11/8/2014

Today's leadership post comes from Marcia Reynolds, PsyD and Master Certified Coach. I recently heard Marcia speak at a presentation for coach trainers and felt compelled to share her latest book as a really important resource for leaders today.

Two areas I commonly see leaders struggle with is moving outside of their comfort zone, as well as having those difficult conversations with their teams. This book goes into the science behind the process of change, and also is practical.

Definitely a must-read. Let us know what you think if you have read it.

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
Potentials Realized
Leadership, Teamwork and Coaching
Join us in a few weeks for the Virtual Facilitation Skills Intensive online program - November 25-26, 2014 OR the two day in person Facilitation Skills Intensive program in Toronto (December 15-16, 2014)
(416)996-8326

#Teams365 #291: Essential Leadership Read #10: Tribal Leadership

10/18/2014

The tenth Essential Leadership Read book is Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization.

The book explores the fact that Tribes - groups of more than 50 - play a key role in organizational culture today.

You can view what Dave Logan has to say about Tribal Leadership and the different stages organizations are at in his TED Talk. You can view it here.

If you have read Tribal Leadership, how has it impacted the way your organization works and interacts?

Have a great weekend,
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

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 #284: Essential Leadership ReAd #9: The Confidence Code

10/11/2014

The ninth Essential Leadership read is the Confidence Code: The Science and Art of Self-Assurance by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman.

Confidence, along with presence, is a key issue facing leaders today. The book will be of interest to women of all leadership positions, as well as aspiring leaders. It includes a number of insights from very successful women on what confidence and self-assurance means and looks like as a female leader. I personally connected with a number of the stories included which spoke about how even with great success and expertise in our given areas, confidence and self-assurance may continue to be a focus as we continue to move forward with our careers. The book also includes personalized strategies which many female leaders use to boost their own self-assurance and success.

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. You can also join us for a 4 or 6 month Teams365 group coaching program geared to take a deeper dive into your strengths and capacity as a leader - starts Tuesday October 15 at 5:45 pm Eastern by phone

Teams365 #277: Essential Leadership Read #8: Collaboration

10/4/2014

This week’s essential leadership read is Collaboration from Morten Hensen. This book explores the foundation of great collaboration.

Through the book Henson challenges us to consider what good collaboration looks like and how to go about it. He also challenges us to really think about when collaboration works. As he writes: Bad collaboration is worse than none at all.

Consider your recent experience with collaboration. When has it worked well? When did it go really badly? Was collaboration the best choice?

This book is a must-read for leaders who are wanting to encourage more collaboration in their teams, or leaders who are in organizations looking to move toward a more collaborative team based approach.

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
Potentials Realized - Leadership | Teamwork | Coaching Skills Training for Leaders | Team Retreats | Coaching for Team Leaders
Supporting Team Leaders One Conversation at a Time(TM)
(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. You can also join us for a 4 or 6 month Teams365 group coaching program geared to take a deeper dive into your strengths and capacity as a leader - starts Tuesday October 15 at 5:45 pm Eastern by phone.