Teams365 Blog - POTENTIALS REALIZED

teams 365 #3416: Friday Flashback - #TEAMS365 #391: THE DREADED D WORD - DELEGATION!

5/12/2023

One area both new and experienced team leaders struggle with is in the area of Delegation. How do you find delegation as a skil lset and practice yourself?

If you are one of the many leaders who struggle with this area then this week's focus on delegation is for you. You may already find yourself with way too many things on your plate, and not enough time to do it.

To get a handle on what might be "delegation material" schedule the following 10-15 minute activity:

1. Pull out your current to do list, along with your accountabilities for the next quarter.
2. With these in mind, take a look at the current key priorities. These may be shaped by KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), Team Goals or any other Organizational Goals which are priority this quarter (or year).
3. What are the tasks that only you can accomplish?
4. What are the tasks that you need to be involved with, but can be supported by others?
5. What are the tasks that you really need support from others to accomplish (i.e specialized skills may be needed, due to complexity etc)?
6. What are the tasks on your list that really need to be completely handed off - who can do them? What support and direction do they need?
7. With these items off your plate, how much more time will you have?

Once you have gotten a line of sight on the tasks which need to be handed off, we can then start exploring how to do this. We'll be looking at tips for that this week, and you may also want to refer back to other posts I've written on delegation namely
Teams365 #90 - Delegation Tips which you can read here OR
Teams365 #315: Leadership a - z - D is for delegation which you can read here

Have a great start to your week!

With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
Potentials Realized
Author of From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013) and Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team Authorized Partner
Everything DiSC® Authorized Partner
Contact us and let us know how we can support you in helping your team reach its' full potential: (416)996-TEAM (8326)

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized |Reconnecting Workspaces | Group Coaching Essentials
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Instagram @ReconnectingWorkspaces
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out my TEDx talk

Looking to bring your workplaces back together, whether you are remote, hybrid, or face-to-face? Pick up a copy of my new book, Reconnecting Workspaces, at Amazon.

TEAMS365 #2451 –- 8 Layers of Remote Work – Part 1

9/15/2020

The remote workspace is varied, and we don’t always see the context of our colleagues. For any of you who have a copy of my remote working whitepaper, you will know that in it I explore the 7 Enablers of Remote Work. You can read more about these 7 essential elements here.

Recently I have started sharing more about the layered nuances of remote work. Some of these are skills, some components that are standalone.

In today’s article I wanted to dig deeper into the 8 Layers of Remote Work, which interestingly turn out to be the 8 Ds.

Let’s look at each one of them in turn:

Digital
Decisions
Delegation
Distractions
Design
Dialogue
Do
Depth

The digital economy has existed for several decades, having been jettisoned into exponential growth this year as part of the 2020 pandemic. I recently came across an old edition of a book by Dan Tapscott who wrote the book Digital Economy back in 1995. I’m thinking I must have picked up the copy when I was a grad student. In one of next week’s blog posts, I’ll be going into the 12 hallmarks of a digital economy. The digital space is one of the important layers which is impacting business, teamwork and leadership. Whether all work is virtual, or some components have reverted to face-to-face, how are things different than at the start of the year (or decade)?

Decisions are the second layer of remote work. There is a cost to making decisions, and as we discussed earlier this week in the September Remote Pathways podcast community call (link to https://youtu.be/Fb_FQdR3Ifk ), decisions are a critical part of getting things done in the remote space. Given that we usually don’t operate in isolation, making decisions remotely may take more time.

Another significant shift that we’ve been seeing happen is people’s comfort in making decisions without having as full, or complete, information as they might have had in a face-to-face context.

Delegation is another critical component of remote work. The nuance with remote work is that we may need to be more proactive in delegating and may need to be more strategic in getting people to focus. For the foundations of Delegation check out this Linked In Pulse post I wrote a few years ago on delegation here.

Distractions is another key layer of remote work. In fact, distractions have the potential to really derail professionals of all kinds in the remote space, particularly if our motivation levels are low, or we are not motivated. What are the distractions you want to take note of? For more on digital distractions check out this recent Teams365 blog post - #1480 on Minimizing Distractions here.

Tomorrow’s post is going to pick up with the last four of the 8 Layers of Remote Work. From these first four, what’s important to note?

All the best,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Coaching Skills Training | Leadership Development | Teamwork
Growing Team Leaders, One Conversation at a Time™ in the Remote Space
Contact us to discuss leadership, coaching or performance needs for your and your team
Phone: (416)996-8326

TEAMS365 #2435 – Week in Review

8/30/2020

Welcome back to our Sunday weekly wrap up. This week we’ve explored a variety of topics including:

It’s also almost the end of the month. What time have you built in to take stock of how the month went? I hope that you’ll join us in a few days for the month end review and monthly planning post. Stay tuned!

Be sure to note your metrics as you move into the new month.

Enjoy
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Coaching Skills Training | Leadership Development | Teamwork
Growing Team Leaders, One Conversation at a Time™ in the Remote Space
Contact us to discuss leadership, coaching or performance needs for your and your team
Phone: (416)996-8326

TEAMS365 #2431 – Delegation in the Digital Space

8/26/2020

Delegation is a critical part of leadership and team success. It has always been a tricky area, even before many workers moved to working virtually. What is your state of confidence and comfort with delegating, especially if you are working in the remote and virtual space?

Given that many things get MAGNIFIED in the remote space – the good, the bad and the not so great, what is important for you to focus on?

As with many items, let’s go back to the basics around delegation. Starting with the 5 Ws, consider the:

WHAT
WHY
WHEN
WHERE
WHO and
Of course, add the HOW

All of these elements are critical to discuss in the digital delegation space. Of particular note be sure to share as much as possible around the:

WHAT - What’s really needed with this task? Be clear on what the end result is and what “success will look like”. Moving back to a management by objectives framework, how many of us led pre-internet, can be useful in terms of getting granular about what’s expected?
WHY - The why around delegation often gets missed. What is important about this task? How does it fit into the bigger picture? Have you shared enough about the context? Remember, in the virtual space we often doing look “beyond the screen”. What’s important to share around this piece?
WHEN - Be sure to build in enough checkpoints for this. What are the milestones and when will you check in?

There’s a tendency to not delegate because it’s unclear what other’s may have on their plate. This is where regular communication and one-on-ones become critical for discussion.

What are the elements which are important to note around delegation in the digital space? Be sure to check out other Teams365 posts on Delegation here.

Enjoy your week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Coaching Skills Training | Leadership Development | Teamwork
Growing Team Leaders, One Conversation at a Time™ in the Remote Space
Contact us to discuss leadership, coaching or performance needs for your and your team
Phone: (416)996-8326

TEAMS365 #2326 – Remote Team Development – Process Mapping

5/13/2020

As teams have settled into how to work best, it’s likely that while some tasks are getting completed, there may still be many areas which are not as effective. These may be tasks that aren’t getting completed as planned, things that are getting backlogged on a regular basis, or tasks where there is confusion as to who needs to do what.

One area which can be of benefit for teams to explore is the topic of process mapping. Process mapping is a visual way of mapping out what needs to get done, when, and by who.

If you were to meet in person, process mapping would have us map out the different tasks and activities, who needed to do them and when. An easy way to do this is by using post-its and having people identify what the activities are, then listing them out, and assigning task responsibilities and also timelines.

If you are doing this in the virtual space, you can also make sure that you share a whiteboard and have the team discuss and complete the different steps needed. I’ve taken a screenshot here of a task that was created around a report.

Note who needs to do what as well as the timelines required, plus the flow. This was made on zoom whiteboard using annotation.

While this may not be comprehensive it does help to identify resourcing, timelines, and where there may be gaps.

What do you notice?

How might this support you and your work and projects right now?

Enjoy!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders | Remote Pathways Podcast
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Everything DiSC
Phone (416)996-8326

Get your Q2 planning on with the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner or Coaching Business Builder

Looking to enhance your virtual conversations? Webinars? Pick up a copy of Effective Virtual Conversations at Amazon, or join me for the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program

Contact us to discuss how we can support you and your teams and organization with remote work.

Check out upcoming virtual programs on our calendar

PDF copies of PlanDoTrack now available! Get yours here.

tEAMS365 #2143 – Creating Focus in The Last Mile of The Year

11/12/2019

From the time we get out of bed to the time we turn off the light, we are faced with a slew of decisions which need to be made every day.

Creating enhanced focus in the last six weeks of the year (what is often referred to as the “last mile”) can help a team, and organization, soar through the last part of the year, rather than frantically work to the end. This has been a focus of three of the annual coaching groups I host - The Learning Lab and Design Studio, the Coaching Biz Growth Lab, and the Teams365 Leadership Lab

Today’s post gets you thinking about several areas you may have some level of control over:

#1 – Decide and communicate what the key priorities are for the end of the year. What is an absolute MUST complete? What can be let go of (if anything) in order to make sure this can be completed.

#2 – Weed out the elements of work which are distractions and/or not adding value. This may be part of a wider discussion and review of your results for the year/decade. In the bigger picture, what could be let go of, in service to the work that really needs to get done?

#3 – Consider who is best tasked to do the work. There is often a fallacy that “everyone needs to be involved” or everyone needs to collaborate. We don’t want to collaborate for collaborations sake. Who is best suited to run with which tasks? Does everyone involved understand the timelines and contingencies (i.e. what needs to get completed first, next etc.?).

#4 – Consider questions around AMPLIFICATION and/or x ing your work (as in 10xing). What’s going to help to ensure success? What will that take?

#5 – Where has scope creep occurred? It’s inevitable that projects expand during their life cycle. Sometimes they expand too much. Where has scope creep occurred and what needs to be brought back into focus? Is there need for an extension or a part 2 of the projects you are working on?

#6 – Where can digital distractions be minimized? Recently, I shared a post on digital distractions – Teams365 #1933. Read it here. What are those distractions and where can these be minimized?

What’s going to help you thrive through the last part of the year?

Wishing you the best,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success focusing on the Remote Space
Author of 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.
For those looking for tips, tools and ideas about remote work and support for your remote teams, be sure to check out these tags and resources.
Coming soon - the Remote Pathways™ Podcast

#TEAMS365 #2034 - Flashback Friday - New Leader Assumptions to Reframe

7/26/2019

July and August is a popular month for new leaders to assume their posts. With this in mind, I thought it would be useful to take a look back to a great post geared for new team leaders entitled “Five Leadership Assumptions for New Leaders to Reframe”.

Here’s what I wrote back in this 2016 post:

As a new leader there are a number of assumptions you can make which can lead to a lot of problems and/or headaches for you and your team. Here they are in random order.

Assumption #1 - Everyone needs and wants the same type of support.
In fact, every team member will have their own strengths, styles and personalities. Take time at the start to learn who each person is and how they want to be supported. Areas such as how they want to be communicated with can vary tremendously from team member to team member.

If we don’t bust this assumption chances are many of your team members will not connect with you. Trying to support everyone in the same fashion can also lead to lower levels of engagement and trust.

Assumption #2 - I need to do everything myself.
As a leader delegation is key. It’s important that we empower the team to do their work. Micro-monitoring is more important than micro-managing. While delegation is often considered an art form, mastering this skill early on can mean the difference between flow and overwhelm. For more tips on delegation, view this recent Linked In Pulse post I shared a few weeks ago on Delegation.

Assumption #3 - I always need to say yes .
From boundaries with your time, to learning to say NO (diplomatically to your boss and team) creating boundaries is a key skill for team leaders. As someone who leads from the middle - supporting those above and below you - being able to say no tactfully is an important skill to master as are the skills of negotiation. If it's impossible to say NO you may need to say "I can do this, but it will mean I can't do that. What do recommend as the primary focus?".

Assumption #4 - This is going to be easy.
As a leader we need to often make the hard calls and difficult decisions. Some naively step into leadership thinking that it will be a bigger pay cheque and similar work. Not quite. While things won't always be easy, the learning curve does slow down. Your first leadership role may present you wit the steepest learning curve. For those that enjoy challenge, successive leadership roles will usually provide additional challenge in different ways.

Rather than feeling like leadership is going to be hard, what's another perspective you can step into around that?

Assumption #5 - You are going to be just like the other person who filled the role.
Leaders can benefit from busting this assumption early on. As a new leader you'll be bringing referent skills, experiences and a different personality to the table. Make your work life easier by not putting on additional pressure trying to be just like the "other leader". Reminding your team and your boss and stakeholders about your unique strengths can create a win-win for all involved.

What other assumptions do you notice you are holding around leadership? What needs to be reframed?

You can read the original post here.

Enjoy your weekend,
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 #2022 Sunday Review

7/14/2019

Given that it’s Sunday, let’s take a look back at this week’s posts.

Friday, I shared a link to Delegation – The Dreaded D Word.
Thursday, we explored the Is/Is Not framework.
Wednesday, we focused on Renewal.
Tuesday, we focused on possible creative summer projects.
Monday’s Effective Virtual Conversations post focused on Goal Setting.

If you are interested in personal productivity issues, take a look over at the PlanDoTrack blog and take a look at the Weekly Planning Hack. I’ve done more than 20 in the series, which cover short things you can focus on to move the needle with your productivity. Past Weekly Planning Hacks have covered topics including Time Tracking, different apps you may want to use, and more.

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 #2020 Flashback Friday #391 – The Dreaded D Word – Delegation

7/12/2019

This week I reach back to the topic of Delegation. One area which is critical for focus is being able to identify tasks to delegate, and when delegating how to support the process.

For this week’s Flashback Friday, we explore Teams365 #391 which has links to other areas.

Here’s what I wrote:

One area both new and experienced team leaders struggle with is in the area of Delegation. How do you find delegation as a skill set and practice yourself?

If you are one of the many leaders who struggle with this area then this week's focus on delegation is for you. You may already find yourself with way too many things on your plate, and not enough time to do it.

To get a handle on what might be "delegation material" schedule the following 10-15 minute activity:

1. Pull out your current to do list, along with your accountabilities for the next quarter.
2. With these in mind, take a look at the current key priorities. These may be shaped by KPIs (Key Performance Indicators), Team Goals or any other Organizational Goals which are priority this quarter (or year).
3. What are the tasks that only you can accomplish?
4. What are the tasks that you need to be involved with, but can be supported by others?
5. What are the tasks that you really need support from others to accomplish (i.e specialized skills may be needed, due to complexity etc)?
6. What are the tasks on your list that really need to be completely handed off - who can do them? What support and direction do they need?
7. With these items off your plate, how much more time will you have?

Once you have gotten a line of sight on the tasks which need to be handed off, we can then start exploring how to do this. We'll be looking at tips for that this week, and you may also want to refer back to other posts I've written on delegation namely
Teams365 #90 - Delegation Tips which you can read here OR
Teams365 #315: Leadership a - z - D is for delegation which you can read here

What are the tasks which you need to delegate this year?

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.