​As part of the summer series this month, today’s blog post shifts to a focus on creativity. As we unwind from the busy pace of the rest of the year, we may find that our creative juices start to flow. It’s often said that we need space and time to get our creative spirit awakened.

Creativity can take many forms and it can also be incorporated to our every day experience. Today’s post is an invitation for you to consider what creativity means for you, when it occurs and what it can look like more fully in your work.
There are some really good articles which give us a better understanding of creativity. Check out these articles:
​
7 Surprising Facts About Creativity According to Science from Fast Company 

Jillian Groening’s article: 52 Science-Based Facts About the Creative Mind

Here are a number of questions for you to consider as you think about creativity in your work:

1. What does creativity mean for me?
2. I’d like to ____ in order to bring more creativity into my work.
3. My favorite creative outlet as a younger person was….
4. The time of day I find I am most creative is…./the places I am most creative are….
5. The ingredients I need in order to be creative is…
6. I’d like to ___ in order to be more creative.

A few weeks ago I published a 30 minute call as part of my 2018 Coaching Business Builder workbook series entitled “Summer Projects for Coaches”. Even if you are not a coach, you may find that this resource is of interest to you.

Check it out at my YouTube channel.

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

One of the areas I spend a bulk of my time in is the area of mentoring. I thought it would be useful to return back to a post I shared back in July 2014 on the differences between mentoring and coaching. Both are key conversations to incorporate in organizations today. What are you doing to foster development in your teams?
​​
Here’s Teams365 # 212:
​
In terms of the development of members of your team, mentors, coaches and leaders all play important roles in building capacity of the team, individually and collectively. You can view past posts about mentoring here and coaching here.

Mentoring is often an underutilized method of support in organizations today. Mentors provide the value of being able to provide tremendous insight into the culture of an organization, how to "practically" get things done, and also into networks and technical issues important for different roles. Along with my colleague, Susan Combs, we continue to hear from organizations that are interested in adding mentoring, but they don't know where to start to support their mentors and proteges/mentees. This summer we launched the Mentor RoadMap(TM) series of workbooks for mentors and proteges. Organizations who have gone through the initial beta tests have found the resources to be invaluable! Interested in learning more? Contact us to set up a conversation about how mentoring could benefit your organization.

Coaching also can play a key role in the development of the team - as individuals and also as the team itself. Research by the International Coach Federation has found that coaching has a number of productivity benefits, as well as other related areas. The 2009 Global Coaching Client survey found that:

Increased productivity measures include:

• Improved work performance (70%)
• Improved business management (61%)
• Improved time management (57%)
• Improved team effectiveness (51%)

Improved positivity measures include:

• Increased self confidence (80%)
• Increased relationships (73%)
• Improved communication skills (72%)
• Improved work life balance (67%)

We've focused on coaching skills for leaders here at the blog this month, and sometimes it can be useful to bring in an internal or external coach to work with your team. Contact us to learn more about what this could look like with your team.

At the same time, teams excel because of great leaders. This is the emphasis here at the Teams365 blog. Helping you as leaders, and aspiring leaders, become better at what you do - through new skills, refined approaches, new insights and self-awareness. In a few weeks we will be launching one of our first Teams365 Team Leader Foundation programs on Time Management. The first of more than a dozen training modules for team leaders. New modules will be offered monthly and I hope that you will join us in the coming months with a focus on your own development. Learning is online so you don't have to travel!


Best wishes,
Jennifer

​It’s Sunday and time to borrow from the PlanDoTrack blog. Earlier this week I shared this week’s Effective Virtual Conversations tip around honing listening. I recently shared this blog post over at the PlanDoTrack site. 

Here’s what I wrote about listening for Virtual and Remote Teams:
​
Last week I focused on the first of three coaching skills which can be important to equip all virtual and remote team members with. While these are often considered “coaching skills for leaders” in the virtual and remote environment, building this capacity in our virtual team can enhance productivity, peer support and results.
​
Last week I explored GOALS. This week let us look at listening.
​
Communication occurs in many channels in the virtual space – from conversations by phone, to texts, to email and IM (Instant Messaging).

Each one has its advantages and disadvantages.

Research shows that a significant portion of our understanding comes from tone, which is lost when we lean into digital channels of communication – text, email and IM. This can lead to a lot of misunderstandings, misinterpretations and lack of clarity.

Our listening can be heavily influenced by a number of factors:

• Distractions (what we have on our plate, not reading things fully)
• Our relationship with the sender (what do we know about their context, their intent, their focus and priorities)
• Our understanding of the topic
• Thinking about what we want to say, rather than listening for what is really being said

When we are able to meet for voice conversations, we may hear the tone, if we are listening for it. Adding on visual cues – like streaming for a meeting instead of just using the phone – can add additional layers on to the conversation. Being able to share our screen and work together real-time can also help us understand the full context.

What are the things that are helping and hindering your virtual conversations?
Are distractions getting in the way? How are you using all the tools you have available?  What are you doing to increase your understanding of other’s context and priorities?

There are many more tools and ideas available for virtual teams in these various resources from me:

• Part 3 of my 2017 book, Effective Virtual Conversations, focuses on virtual team development, meetings and communication. 
• Check out the posts related to Coaching Skills and Virtual and Remote Teams over at the Teams365 blog.

Let me know how I can support your virtual team development. From virtual retreat facilitation, to offering virtual team coaching services, we specialize in virtual team support.  

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.

This week’s Effective Virtual Conversations Tip focuses on the question “On what platform will connection between calls work best?”. In coaching we have a saying that the “’impact of coaching happens in between the calls”. It is often the actions, insights and connections made in between your virtual sessions where people put ideas into practice, connect the dots, pass ideas forward, that learning and momentum happen.

The platform which connects group members in between the calls can be instrumental in enhancing this. There are many options which are possible including:

• Private Community Groups such as Mighty Networks
• Secret Facebook Groups (non-searchable)
• Chat groups on your own Learning Management System – we use Teachable as our e-learning portal
• Text

​What is going to keep the conversation going for the groups you are working with?

As you go to select your platform, consider these items:

• The purpose – is it to share successes, resources, links, files, other
• Accessibility and mobility
• Confidentiality

Best,
Jennifer

Welcome back for the Sunday Teams365 video. This week I've focused a couple of posts on Peer Coaching, an essential element for high performing teams. If you are a leader wondering how to boost your team's skills in the area of team coaching, today's video touches on five key areas you will want to consider equipping your team with.

Sit back and enjoy it. You can view the original Teams365 post that inspired it here at Teams365 #199: Peer Coaching Skills. Read it here.

What are your next steps around peer coaching with your team?

Hope that you are enjoying the long weekend!

Best wishes,
Jennifer

As part of this week's #FlashbackFriday I am reaching back to a couple of older posts I wrote in 2014 on Peer Coaching. This is an area which is often overlooked in workplaces today, especially in team-based environments.. Are you equipping your team with skills in the area of peer coaching?

Here's what I wrote back in Teams365 post 199:

"Over the last couple of weeks  we’ve been focusing in on coaching skills for leaders. A reminder that we can also build coaching skills on the part of the team members we work with. In fact, peer coaching can be a powerful tool for teams, and groups, to leverage.

Core peer coaching skills to foster:

1. Asking great questions. You may want to revisit the Baker’s Dozen post earlier this week or some of the many questions we’ve posed over the past six months. Powerful coaching questions are typically short (5-6 words), are open-ended, and seek to expand understanding or support action.

As I’ve written in past posts, WHAT questions often open up the largest terrain. How questions may put people into a process mindset (HOW CAN I DO THIS) which may get people stuck. WHY questions may put people on the defensive.

2. Listening deeply - Really being present and listening to their colleagues, with out judgement and interruption

3. Knowing when to jump in with advice - Coaching is not advice giving. As peers you may have valuable insights to offer.  If you are tempted to jump in with advice, ask if this is wanted/valued.

4. Really being present - In today’s pressure pot of business, it’s invaluable to have a moment to pause and reflect and also be heard. Really being present is key for success.

5. Support for accountability - Peer pressure can be a positive thing when used as a support for accountability around goals you, yourself, have set. How can you hold each other accountable for the actions and commitments you have set for yourself?

What other peer coaching skills would be useful in equipping your team members with?"

Questions to consider:
What can you do to boost skills in the areas of listening, presence, questioning.?
What opportunities do team members have in coaching their peers?
When is coaching appropriate in your organization? When is it not the best way?

For those interested in this topic of peer coaching, I would also invite you to check out a longer article I wrote on the topic entitled "Leveraging Peer Coaching for Better Results". You can view it at Teams365 #1149.

Have a great long weekend,
Jennifer

Yesterday I spoke here in Washington DC on Team and Group Coaching Virtually. As leaders, many times we are called upon to coach our team members, but are they ready to be coached? Here's a post from 2015 which you might find interesting - Four Coaching Flags, or four things to be aware of when coaching your team.  Consider what are flags coming up for you and your team right now.

Here's what I wrote in Teams365 #784:
A key success factor to supporting any learning or talent development initiative is to make sure that the approaches we are using are the  right fit. Whether we are coaching, training, mentoring, it is important to take stock regularly on what's working and what's not.

Sometimes there are flags which signal that things are not going as they should. In the coaching approach you may see:

• Lack of follow through on the part of the person being coached
• Circling of the client
• Person not showing up for their coaching sessions
• Jumping from one topic to another
• Client not seeing value of coaching

Questions to ask:
Is this person coachable? Do they really want to engage in the coaching process? Without their active participation it is not possible to coach a person. While people can sit passively through a workshop, in coaching they need to be an active participant?

Is it time to revisit the coaching goals they have set for themselves? Are these goals SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timebound)? Are the goals stretch goals?

When the client "circles" it may be for several reasons. This often signals a place where the person is fearful or feeling dis-empowered It may signal an "inner critic" or "gremlin". For more information on this topic i'd highly recommend Rick Carson's book Taming the Gremlin.

Finally when a client is saying they are not seeing value in the coaching process it may be time to have them take stock of their accomplishments and learning since the start of the coaching process. Sometimes we are so in he phase of learning that we have not stopped to reflect and note what is different and what changes have happened.

There are several more flags you may see around coaching, however, thse are four very common ones experienced by coaches as leaders, as well as internal and external coaches. What other coaching flags have you experienced?

Have a great weekend,
Jennifer

​

​It's Friday and time to reach back to the vault of the more than 1200 posts here at the Teams365 blog. Today I chose to focus on the skill of empathy and am reaching back to Teams365 #812. Empathy is a core skill for all leaders, and also team members. Lately I have been undertaking many programs with teams and this topic has emerged as a growth area for most professionals. Here's what I wrote about Empathy, which was part of last year's series on the a-z of Virtual and Remote Team Leadership.

We are continuing with our a-z of Virtual and Remote Team Leadership. If you missed the first few you can catch up here. As we think about core "Essentials" for Virtual and Remote Team Leaders when we get to E what jumped into mind for me were two critical sets of skills - Empathy, and the  larger area of Emotional Intelligence.

Empathy is a key skill for team leaders today, especially if we are working remote and may not be present every day. It is important to recognize that the touchpoints you have with each person may seem augmented/expanded as they do not see you every day.

To empathize is to listen, and to be present for your team members. Notice your own defaults in terms of how you are available to different team members in different locations. To empathize does not always mean to agree or to solve a problem. Many times remote team members want to know that leaders are their and can hear their concerns. Asking remote team members questions which probe into their needs (is it to listen? Problem solve together? Brainstorm? Come up with options) and their recommendations is important.
Sometimes team members just need to talk through issues. In moving to a culture where team members are empowered, virtual team leaders must hone their skills in listening and asking questions. Questions should not be geared to immediately problem solve (for the leaders part) but rather to help the employee who is on the ground problem solve This may be done by asking question which help to expand awareness, challenge assumptions, make connections or facilitate action.

Another series of skills which are critical to virtual team leader success is in the area of Emotional Intelligence. In general, EI consists of more than twenty skills in the areas of relationship awareness, relationship management, self-awareness, and self-management. These skills range from optimism, to team leadership etc. Take a look at past posts around Emotional Intelligence

Questions to consider:
How empathetic are you?
How empathetic do your staff perceive you to be?
In upcoming conversations notice how present you are and what questions you are using to help boost awareness, and action on the art of your team members.
Take a look at the area of Emotional Intelligence. What skills are you strong in? What could benefit from some attention?

Have a great weekend,
​Jennifer

Over the next few Saturdays we are going to take a look at different teamwork skills in focus. Exceptional teams don't usually emerge as exceptional. They develop over time skills in different areas.

​The first area we are going to look at is Listening. In a team context listening is of utmost importance - it's listening on mutliple levels. Listening to what the other team member is saying, and also listening for how it connects with your work. Listening is also hearing the emotional and requests behind the words. When teams are in conflict, there is usually a request behind each complaint that exists.

​In listening we want to listen o n multiple levels:

​1. To the words that are being shared. This in fact only comprises about 8% of the message.
​2. To the tone, pace and pitch of the statement - what do you notice about the energy and impact of how the words are being spoken? This comprises more than 30% of the message.
​3. To the body language. What do you notice about the person's gestures? How they are standing? What does their body language say about how open or closed they are? Body language comprises about 55% of the message when we are in face to face settings.

​One of the challenges with team communication today is that so much is done by instant messaging or text in which we have no tone or body language to help make sense of what the words really mean. The impact of this means that words and the way they are interpreted are heavily influenced by the levels of trust and connection that exist within the team. You may be interested in checking out these two posts for boosting trust and connection in your virtual teams:

​Teams365 #258: Create Connection within Your Virtual Team. Read it here.

​Teams365 #610: Four Ways to Build trust in your team.

​There are some past posts I've written on listening, which is also a paramount skill in coaching. Take a look at these past posts related to listening:

​Teams365 #914: The Foundations of TeamWork - Listening - Read it here

​Teams365 #192: Listening And Coaching as A Leader. Read it here

Have a great Saturday,
Jennifer

​

It's Friday which means it's time to take a look back at a past post. Given yesterday's focus in Team Building Tip #117 on Coaching, I wanted to revisit TEams365 Post #777 - Four Foundations of the Coaching Process. There is a lot of cnfusion as to what coaching is and what coaching is not. Regardless of coaching model, most coaching approaches will incorporate these four areas, as well as focus on a couple of other things - use a strengths-based approach, and focus on the future rather than the past.

​Here's what I wrote about the four foundations of any coaching process:
​"Many different activities get labelled coaching in today’ environment. Today’s post shares four foundations of the coaching approach. Whether we are coaching others as leaders, or work a an external or internal coach, these four foundations ground the variety of approaches which fall in the category of coaching.

1. Accountability – accountability is at the core of any coaching process. Coaching is not just about having a conversation, it is about taking action. Coaching is an approach where the person being coached is responsible for taking action. Accountability in coaching does not mean telling someone what to do.  If the person being coached does not want to be in the drivers seat than coaching as a modality is probably not the right fit or solution for that conversation.

2. Goals – Coaching is about getting results. Each coaching conversation will focus on a goal – articulated or not. Perhaps someone wants to become a better public speaker or more effective at managing their range of emotions at work. In coaching,  It can be good practice to start the conversation by asking what the goals are for the coaching conversation. You’ll want to also connect these goals with the goals in the bigger picture. Finally, best practice is to wrap up by asking how did we do on our goals today.

3. Coaching is not about fixing. There often is a misperception that coaching is to “fix people’ or a remedial approach. In fact, the coaching philosophy is grounded in the ability of each person being coached as being resourceful (able to effect change), and  creative (able to come up with their own solutions). The role of the coach is to help the person being coached discover these answers or connect with others who can help them do that. Most coaching models are grounded in an appreciative standpoint.

4.  Coaching is not a one off conversation. Coaching is not about a one-off conversation. If supports a process of change which takes placer over time. The ability for the coach (internal, eternal or leader ) to circle back and check in is critical.

While there can be many different models of coaching, and different contests (i.e. individual coaching, team coaching, group coaching) most all are rounded in these coaching philosophies. If not, what is probably being  labelled coaching, might not be. For more information check out the International Coach Federation, the global body governing professional coaching. You can find them at www.coachfederation.org." - Excerpt from Teams365 #777 Four Foundations of the Coaching Process

​What is considered coaching in your organization? What adjustments would you like to see this year?

Have a great weekend,
Jennifer

​