Teams365 Blog - Potentials Realized

#TEAMS365 #2072 – Effective Virtual Conversations Tip 109

9/2/2019

This week’s Effective Virtual Conversations tip gets you to think about the question “How much has your work changed in the last year?”. The pace of technological change continues to create interesting waves and push backs.

Think about these questions:

What platforms were you using this time last year? Five years ago? Ten years ago?
What was your work characterized by – last year, three years ago, five years ago? A decade ago?
How were you working a year ago? Three years ago? Five years ago?
What type of conversations were you having virtually? Team meetings, team development, educational etc.?
What about digital distractions? Digital minimalism?
What devices were you using a year ago? Three years ago? How has this changed how, when and where you do your work?

In the last year, we have had great writing released including Cal Newport’s Digital Minimalism which explores the experience of those who detox digitally.
The last year has also seen a huge wave of the audio-book, the podcast and other audio devices, thanks to the present nature of Apple Car Play, Alexis, and Google Home Minis.

It’s also likely that your work may have become either more global or focused in nature, depending on the industry you are in, and the geographic location you reside in. Technology thankfully is reducing barriers.

What do you note about how your work and ways of working have changed in the last year?

What additional changes do you want to embrace?

What do you want to change?

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 #2049 – Weekly Journaling Prompt 62

8/10/2019

Today’s Weekly Journaling Prompt gets you to think about the question – “The comfort zone I have stretched this year is….”

Learning, change and growth usually happen within or just outside the comfort zone. What are the things you have done to grow? Change? Stretch? What benefit have they had?

Enjoy your journaling this weekend and be sure to catch up on past posts.

If you want another way to look at these, check out the Quarterly Volumes of the Weekly Journaling Prompts available in a quarterly format at our store.

All 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 #2030 - EFFECTIVE VIRTUAL CONVERSATIONS TIP #103

7/22/2019

This week’s Effective Virtual Conversations Tip is #103 in the series and gets you to consider the question “What’s getting outdated and needs an update?”. In the realm of technology things are regularly getting updated - from devices, to software, to systems.

In your work, and office right now, what could benefit from an update? What is looking a little frayed or worn?

Also consider what you need to archive and/or back up.

Updating items could include:

Devices
Cords
Back-ups
Presentation Materials (i.e. slide decks, workbooks)
The platform you are using
The way you archive materials
Welcome emails/typical emails sent to people

What might benefit from an update?

Enjoy the reflection and action,
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 #2024 – Simplification

7/16/2019

This week’s theme is emerging to be “simplification”. In yesterday’s post I shared several strategies to simplify your virtual conversations.

Simplification is also a useful strategy in a context where disruption, change and distraction is prevalent. The cost of these things on productivity, and cognitive load is high.

Simplification in work can look like a number of things. Consider the work of Jane a project manager. To her simplification might include:

Dedicating blocks of the day (i.e. the first few hours of each day or all day Tuesday) to certain projects and/or tasks
Delegating tasks that are not essential during critical phases of the project
Creating a series of templates for reporting and/or tasks which need reporting regularly
Batching other “unlike” tasks to certain times of the day when she can move quickly from task to task, without feeling like it is getting in the way of deeper work

Other team members might include these items on their list of simplification:

Unsubscribing from lists that are not of interest anymore
Dedicating certain blocks of time to social media
Dedicating a certain day of the week to a focus on certain tasks – i.e. professional development or networking

During times of change, consistency also plays an important role. This can include consistency of message, consistency of touchpoints, and consistency of focus.

Consistency of message can include reinforcing key messages in several channels - so sharing something in a team meeting, then following up a day or two later with an email, and also reinforcing in a 1-1 conversation.

Consistency of touchpoints can involve letting people know that each month you’ll be scheduling a 1-1 with them for 30 minutes. This can help to get people into the regular routine of meeting and noting their key issues of discussion.

Consistency of focus is not always easy to achieve. This might involve helping the team focus in on certain key tasks, while minimizing others until the bigger projects are completed. It could also involve dedicating certain team members to certain projects, and having other team members focus on a different, unrelated task.

What are that things you can do to create more simplification and consistency in your work?

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 #2003: Key Trends – Navigating Disruption

6/25/2019

Disruption is part of the landscape of many industries and workplaces today. Whether things are changing dramatically due to technology or geopolitical impacts, change is pervasive for many.

While we can’t change the pace of change, we can adjust our approaches to it.

What do we do to continue to be effective and positive in times of change?

Three practical things we can do are:

Cultivate curiosity – While many leaders would assert “easier said than done”, cultivating curiosity is important for today’s business landscape. Cultivating curiosity can be an important skill to develop in team members AND embed in the culture of an organization.

For more on cultivating curiosity, check out this earlier Teams365 blog post I wrote on Cultivating Curiosity Teams365 #1955 and what the research says Teams365 1961 – Encouraging Curiosity.

Be clear on the big picture goals – Adopting a 30,000 foot view on work, life and context can also be a valuable strategy for buffeting against the shocks of change. While the meta-view (big picture view) is not one that everyone adopts easily, seeing the big picture helps with the micro-shocks we can feel on a regular basis when things change. This is why it’s really important to continue communicating and meeting during times of change. Helping share the big picture so people don’t find themselves in the “Weeds”, cut off from what’s happening in the bigger picture is critical.

Become comfortable with knowing when things are “good enough” to let go, and that learning may always be needed. The embracement of “growth mindset” on the part of organizations in support of their staff, it encouraging. When we come from what Carol Dweck has coined “growth mindset” it gives permission for experimentation, learning, and not quite being ready “yet”.

Disruption may mean that reverse mentoring (junior to more senior professionals) is just as important as traditional mentoring (senior to more junior professionals). It also provides us with an opportunity to pause and see how we are adjusting to change. Are we as “good at change” as we thought we were?

A reminder that last month I focused on Teamwork in Uncertainty (link to tag of Teamwork in Uncertainty).

Teams365 #1955- Teamwork in Uncertainty: Cultivating Curiosity. View it here.

Teams365 #1954 – Managing Uncertainty – Building Trust and Connection on Your Team Virtually. All workplaces can benefit from this topic – it is one of the #1 questions we receive here at Potentials Realized. Check out the post here.

Teams365 #1962: Teamwork in Uncertainty: Empowering your Team with the Space to Experiment. Link to: (not a live link yet)

Teams365 #1968: Teamwork in Uncertainty: Pivot

Teams365 #1969: Teamwork in Uncertainty: Comfort with the Unknown: link here

Enjoy the conversation,
Jennifer

You may also want to check out the following blog posts as well:

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 #1978 – May Month End Review: Teamwork in Uncertainty

5/31/2019

This month we explored the topic of Teamwork in Uncertainty. From looking at the statistics of readers, it seems like it was a very resonant topic for those who visited the Teams365 blog this month. If you haven’t taken a look at this month’s posts, please be sure to check out:

1968 – Tuesday May 21: Teamwork in Uncertainty – Pivot
1969 – Wednesday May 22: Teamwork in Uncertainty - Comfort with the Unknown
1974 –– Tuesday May 28: Teamwork in Uncertainty – Strengths and Go-Tos
1975 – Wednesday May 29: Teamwork in Uncertainty – Synergies

As we step into the end of May, I thought it would be useful to reach back to one of the posts from last May on Prioritization.

One of the most disruptive things about disruption is the impact on our focus. Prioritization becomes a key skill set to cultivate.

Here’s what I wrote last May about leading in complexity -

“Prioritization is a skill set we draw upon regularly in times of complexity. Prioritization allows all team members to regularly scan and manage their workload.

Key to prioritization is:

Having the tools to prioritize
Feeling empowered to make decisions and take responsibility for managing workload
Understanding what is most important – to the different players of the team, as well as the different time frames you are working on (short term, medium term)

In past Teams365 posts I’ve explored a range of prioritization skills including the Urgent/Important Matrix (we often attribute to Covey), as well as a Decision Matrix where we weigh what’s important in making our decisions.

For more on the topic of prioritization, check out these additional resources:
This excellent article from MindTools.com - which has an incredible amount of other resources team members and leaders will also want to check out.

LiquidPlanner.com's article on How to Prioritize Work When Everything Is #1 - Read it here."

For those that are looking at prioritization through the lens of product design, you'll want to take a look at this excellent article 20 Product Prioritization Techniques.

In my books PlanDoTrack and the Coaching Business Builder I share four prioritization tools I use regularly with my clients and teams including the Urgent/Important Matrix and Strategic Issues Mapping.

The issue of prioritization takes on increased importance when we are working as part of a matrix or remote team. In these instances, our priorities may be varied and not as visible to ourselves and others. What is important for you to note around prioritization?

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 #1977 – Team Building Tip #238 – Perspectives

5/30/2019

Welcome back to another Thursday Teams365 blog post. This week’s question to explore is “What’s another way of looking at that?”

In today’s world of doing more with less, and ongoing change, it can be invaluable to reframe and adjust perspectives around our biggest challenges, and opportunities.

As you and your team consider what your biggest challenge is right now, ask the question – "What’s another way of looking at that?”. To get your ideas flowing around reframing consider these areas which might shift things:

Resourcing
Supports
Collaboration
What would you do if you knew you would not fail?
What is the flip side of this issue?
What would saying NO to ____ look like?
If we added ____ what would happen?

Exploring multiple perspectives around a challenge, or opportunity, often generates new ideas and insights.

Enjoy the conversation!
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 #1976 – Teamwork in Uncertainty – Synergy

5/29/2019

In keeping aligned with this month’s focus on Teamwork in Uncertainty, today’s blog post gets you thinking about how you can leverage synergy across your team.

When situations are complex and uncertain, it may be difficult to bring all the skills required for success. Therefore, being able to focus in on leveraging the skills that are available to you as a group or team can help maximize your skill base as well as what is available to you.

As I wrote in yesterdays’ post, knowing our strengths is important on the individual and team levels.

In synergy, we are looking at how 1+1 equals more than 2.

If you have completed some strengths-based work, some additional questions to explore as a team are:

What the core strengths we bring as a collective?
What can we harness as a team?
Where might we be over-developed?
What is missing?
Where are the gaps?
When we think about current projects what strengths would benefit them?
Who is best suited to support which project?
What else is important to note?

In situations of uncertainty, it can be important to consider risk, and also contingencies. Given that contexts may be changing rapidly leading from strengths allows us to do things quicker and with less energy expended, freeing up focus and energy for other items.

What’s is important to note around synergy?

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 #1969 – Teamwork in Uncertainty – Comfort With The Unknown

5/22/2019

Today’s blog post gets us thinking about values. Values serve as anchors or a compass, leading the way or anchoring us when we need to make decisions, prioritize and focus.

In an uncertain context, being clear about our behaviors as a team is critical. As we go to explore our values, we may first want to consider what our values are individually. To do this, we might explore the following questions:

What is important to me?
What are the things I will take a stand for?
What’s absolutely essential to have in my work/life?
What makes me angry/happy/at ease?

All of these questions will usually point to a value which is important.

Underneath the words of a value are the behaviors. What do the values look like in action? If I were to take my phone into the workplace and record behaviors, what would I see?

As a team, and especially a remote team, having a focus on values can help during periods of uncertainty. Even though the context may change, hopefully our values are not changing in the arena.

As a team, this week consider what your top 3 operating values are this year. What are you committed to, no matter what? Behaviorally, what do these values look like in action?

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 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.

#TEAMS365 #1968 – Teamwork in Uncertainty – Pivot

5/21/2019

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:

What is creating balance in the situation right now?
What is the fulcrum around what things are turning?
What is the important person/issue in this situation?
What is the most central item?
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.