Teams365 Blog - Potentials Realized

#TEAMS365 #2016 Effective Virtual Conversations Tip 101

7/8/2019

This week’s Effective Virtual Conversations tip asks you to consider the area of Goal Setting. Providing space for people to set and share their goals in the virtual space can be an important connector in the virtual space.

If group members are meeting over an extended time, it may be useful to have people share their progress using a:

One Page Plan
A Dashboard

Tracking goals can be a motivating process. To avoid it becoming a “check box activity” or goal fatigue, provide opportunities for people to connect into what’s important about the goal, or the overarching WHY.

In exploring the why you might ask questions like “What’s possible?”, “Three years from now, where do you want to be?”

Questions to consider:

What are the key goals you are focusing on this month?
How is progress towards these goals coming?
What is the WHY behind the goal? What would you like to make sure you experience?
What do you want to do to keep your goals visible?

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 #2014 - Weekly Journaling Prompt 57

7/6/2019

This week’s Weekly Journaling prompt gets you to explore the question “One thing I want to make sure I complete by the end of the year is….”

This is a great opportunity to pull out your goals for the year and to see where you are with the goals you have set out.

What is complete?

What is still in process?

What is the one thing you DEFINITELY want to make sure does get complete?

Enjoy your reflections this weekend, and if you haven’t done so, take a look at the Quarterly Reflection Prompts I shared back in March. It’s just the start of Q3 and some of these questions may be a great addition to your reflection.

Enjoy!
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 #2007: Mid-Year Checkpoint

6/29/2019

As we step into the middle of the year, it can be a great time to create a pause to undertake a quick mid-year checkpoint. Most Saturdays I share a Weekly Journaling Prompt, but this week you might want to explore these mid-year questions:

My theme this year is….
What have your successes been ?
Where has your focus been?
Who have you been working with?
What’ s been happening?
What have you taken a stand for?
What have you become known for?
What have been the major milestones?
What goals have you achieved?
What’s your focus for the rest of the year?

I shared these questions mid-month with the professionals who attend the Learning Lab and Design Studio, and they loved the reflection space.

Enjoy your time reflecting as well!
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.

#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 #1982 – Team Tune Up

6/4/2019

Given that we are stepping into mid-month, let’s take a look at where your team is at. Is it time for a team tune-up?

As we move into mid-year, some of the things we might want to keep in mind are:

What rhythm have we gotten into in terms of work and results?
What rhythm have we gotten into in terms of meetings?

AT your next team meeting, consider building in some time for a team check in or tune-up. Questions for each person to reflect on and possibly share:

What do I need from others in order to be successful?
Things others on the team should know about my work right now are…
My priorities for the next six months are…
My greatest success has been…
Our greatest success this year has been…
One thing that is really important for us to address is…
One thing I need from my leader is…
The feedback I want to offer to my leader is…
The feedback I want to offer to my teammates is..
The one connection I wish I had…
If I had a magic wand I would….

Depending on how frequently you meet, it might be possible to have you share 1-2 of these questions as an entire team for the next few meetings.

Wishing you 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 #1980 – Weekly Journaling Prompt #52: AT your Best....

6/2/2019

It’s time for another weekly journaling prompt. These are geared to get you to build in a pause point every week and think about what is important to you.

This week the question is “at my best I am….”

In past posts I've shared the benefits of journaling. You can read that post here.

One of the activities I take a lot of teams through is this reflectin of who they are when they are at their best. Reconnecting with what's worked, and who we are when we are leveraging our skills and strengths can create a strong pivot.

Today I hope you will find some time to create a few minutes to capture reflections of times when you were at your best.

Enjoy your writing!
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 #1979 - Stepping into a New Month

6/1/2019

Welcome to June! What’s exciting about this month for you? What are your new goals?

As we step into a new month, I’m excited to be focusing on undertaking a mid-year review with you this month. We’ll be reconnecting with some of the core activities that help teams and organizations excel:

Team Tune Up
Systems Check
Feedback and Performance Check
Coaching and Mentoring
Streamlining Meetings
Presentations
Knowledge Management – Capturing Successes and Strategic Issues

It’s also an opportunity to take stock of the past month and look ahead to what you want to create in June. Before we go further, I hope that you will take a few minutes to explore these questions. Grab a pen and journal and let’s go. Given that we are stepping into the middle part of the year, what do you want to note about what you want to create by the end of the month? By the end of Q2?

Here are some questions to consider:

As you reflect on May, what have been your successes and accomplishments?
What are you most proud of?
What successes this month do you want to duplicate? What has been some of your key learning?
What key relationships have helped you so far this year? Which ones need more attention?
What has helped your successes? What has hindered?
What does your team need to be acknowledged for?

As you look to June, consider these questions:

What are your key priorities for June?
What are the key goals?
What are the major priorities?
What will you need to place attention on?
What changes do you want to make in June?
What resources do you want to tap into?
By the end of the month, which will be the middle of the year, what do you want to make sure you have completed?

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 #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 #1972 – Weekly Journaling Prompt 51

5/25/2019

This week’s Weekly Journaling Prompt gets you thinking about the question “Something I won’t forget….”

Our memories can easily fade and transmute with time. Writing things out provides us with a clearer indication of what did happen.

As you consider the events from the last few months, what are the things you want to remember? What are the things you don’t want to forget next time….?

A quick reminder that I have pulled the Weekly Journaling Prompts together in a quarterly format. You can pick up and download the first 12 weeks of the series in a new downloadable booklet format at the Potentials Realized store. Here are a few shots of Volume 1 – the first 12 weeks in action.

Enjoy!
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 #1971 – #FlashbackFriday: Mistakes Made By New & Experienced Virtual & Remote Team Leaders & Skills Needed In The Virtual Space

5/24/2019

This month’s theme is about teamwork in complexity. One of the more complex areas can be the virtual and remote space. Let’s look at mistakes made by new and experienced virtual and remote team leaders.

I also thought it would be interesting to reach back to a skill-based post as well. Here’s what I wrote about virtual and remote leadership skills:

Today we reach the W in the A-Z of Virtual and Remote Team Leadership. As virtual and remote team leaders, having a wealth of skills and experiences to draw on can be invaluable. Given the need to lead across distance and ever-changing contexts it can be useful to have a broad base of skills to draw up on. Many of us are Jacks or Jills of all trades. The ability to lead confidently in uncertainty and across issues we are often unfamiliar with is key. Our ability to empower our team members to take the lead and advise on issues is also critical.

Questions to Consider:

When you think of your skill base as a team leader, what broad skills do you bring really help you lead effectively?
What new skills would you like to add to the table?
What experiences add to your mix?
What new leadership experiences would help you round out your style?

https://www.potentialsrealized.com/teams-365-blog/teams365-850-virtual-and-remote-team-leadership-w-is-for

I also wanted to remind you of some of the more common mistakes new and experienced virtual and remote team leaders make:

Today’s post explores common mistakes virtual and remote team leaders can make. In this post we are going to look at five different ones.

Not enough 1-1's – As I have said many times, being out of sight is not the same as being out of mind. Not spending enough time in one-on-ones can be detrimental to the levels of trust team members feel, the connection they feel with others, which will have an impact on levels of engagement. What is an appropriate frequency of meeting time with team members? What does it look like – phone calls, video streaming, onsite visits, or bringing staff into the office regularly?
Not learning on your feet – Part of being an effective virtual and remote team leader is your ability to be shifting, learning and adapting. Given that there is much less levels of control and greater span, the ability to learn on your feet and expecting this rather than feeling you will have all the answers, can make a big difference with team members.
Not being clear with goals – Goals can be a little different with virtual and remote teams. Whether people are matrixed and reporting into different areas, or whether goals can become competitive, providing opportunities to be clear with goals is important.
Not helping people connect with the bigger picture – Because virtual and remote team members are working with different levels of autonomy and independently, helping team members connect with the bigger picture is essential. This could include helping them understand more about corporate and departmental goals, giving them more access to strategic or corporate plans, and making goals and achievements more visible. Making goals more visible might include making the reporting structures more shared and visually appealing, or mapping out team goals on a weekly basis or other.
Not providing team members with the necessary responsibility and authority – A final mistake virtual and remote team leaders can make is not providing the necessary responsibility and authority to their team members so they can make the decisions they need to autonomously.

https://www.potentialsrealized.com/teams-365-blog/teams365-1177-common-mistakes-made-by-virtual-and-remote-team-leaders

What can you do to avoid these common mistakes?

Pick up a copy of the entire A-Z series at the Potentials Realized Store here. It’s a downloadable ebook format for $19 US.

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.