This week’s Weekly Journaling prompt gets you to reflect on the question “What I want to say a big NO TO is….”

Whether it is getting a handle on time, or clutter, or something else, saying NO can just be as powerful as saying YES.

This week I hope that you will enjoy journaling around the question: “What I want to say a big NO TO is…”

Kind 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.

​It’s Sunday which means that it is time for another Video Montage from PlanDoTrack. Take a look at this week’s video montage.

In bringing this work out into the world, one of my favorite program offerings at the moment is the four-hour PlanDoTrack Virtual Retreat.  Check it out here.

The program is geared for business owners and professionals who are looking to reconnect or create their vision OR take action on a creative project. We meet throughout the four-hour retreat every hour as a group, leaving you ample time in between our group touch-points to engage in structured activities to help you PLAN, take action (DO) and TRACK your results.

Here’s what two participants from the April session wrote about their experience:

"The PlanDoTrack session was everything I hoped for and more! These 4 hours were a super useful and productive pause to work on my business vision and goals for the year. It was a hands-on approach, very much helped by the worksheets in the Coaching Business Builder and also Jennifer's guidance.
I would certainly do at least one more session!”
- Rute Silva - Organizational Development Consultant/Executive Coach - PCC 

"Jennifer - thank you for creating a space to allow me to focus on the deep work that I am committed to getting out into the world.  On a normal day, the whirlwind of life would have prevented me from putting pen to paper and designing a problem that could have easily been put off until "someday". Today I prioritized the important over the urgent and I feel so accomplished to have created content that will make a difference. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. If you are committed to creating a program, a business plan, content, or whatever is meaningful to you and your clients, but you do not have the space or time to focus, this program is a game changer. Block the time. You will be thrilled with the outcome and the support along the way.” 
- Jacyln M. Bradley

The next one will be held on Thursday May 30th from 10 am – 2 pm Eastern/Toronto.

I hope that you will join us. The cost is $129 US and includes a virtual retreat workbook, structured exercises to work on during the afternoon and access to me during the 4 hours for some individual coaching.

You need to bring a copy of the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner, OR the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner, an idea of what you want to focus on, and four-hours of dedicated space.

Reserve your spot at the next PlanDoTrack Virtual Retreat – Thursday May 30th here.

Look forward to connecting!
​Jennifer

Happy Saturday! It’s time for another Weekly Journaling Prompt here at the Teams365 blog. Have you downloaded your copy of the first 6 weeks booklet?

For a short while, readers here at the blog will have access to this resource for free. Use code THANKSTEAMS365 when prompted. 

Today’s weekly journaling prompt gets you to consider the question:

What I want to more fully embrace is…?

I hope that you will take a few minutes today or this weekend to journal on this question. After you have journaled, review what you have written and note:

• What do you notice about this?
• What’s holding you back from embracing it more?
• What changes do you want to make?
• What else is important to note about this question?

Enjoy your reflections!
​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.

Welcome back to another weekly journaling prompt.  This week’s post gets you to fill in the blanks around:
 
“When I ______ I will ______.”

Did you know that I have now pulled together the first quarter (12 weeks) of the Weekly Journaling Prompts into their own standalone digital resource? You can pick up a copy of them at our Potentials Realized store.

Enjoy your writing & reflections!
​Jennifer

It’s hard to believe but here we are at the end of another month. I hope that you will take some time to build in a reflective pause to consider:

1. What have your major accomplishments been this month?
2. What goals have you achieved – for the month? The quarter? The year?
3. What habits and practices have helped you? what got in the way?
4. What projects have started? Ended? Will continue?
5. What resourcing has been useful? What else do you need to be successful?
6. What relationships are important to focus on going forward?

Looking ahead to May:

1. What are you top 3 priorities?
2. What are your top 5 goals for the month? (Be sure to note these on your Month in Focus, and Your Monthly To-Dos in the PlanDoTrack)
3. By the end of May, what do you want to make sure you have achieved?
4. What are the daily steps or consistent actions you want to undertake?
5. What relationships are important to foster?
6. What are key tasks that need to get done? (Write these in the Monthly To Do List is you have a copy of the PlanDoTrack)

If you prefer to have a reflective pause, join me and adapt the questions in the recent quarterly review I hosted earlier this month, as part of the PlanDoTrack series. If you are looking to a guide to take your insights deeper around your virtual business and teamwork, be sure to check pick up a copy of either the Coaching Business Builder (for Coaches) or PlanDoTrack (for virtual and remote teams, leaders and entrepreneurs).

​Enjoy the pause!
Jennifer

For those that work on creating and delivering on-demand courses which people consume at a later time, this week’s Effective Virtual Conversations tip gets you to think about the question “To drip or not to drip?”. What’s dripping you ask? Dripping content that is.

When you create a course that may be several hours in length, it can be useful to consider if you are going to release all the information at once or if you are going to release it “drip by drip”. It could be released on a fixed schedule (ie. weekly, daily or monthly).

There are pros and cons to both approaches. When dripping content, it can provide a continuous stream in bite sized pieces. When releasing it all at once it allows the person consuming the content to do it at a pace that works for them. This may be really beneficial if someone has a limited window of time to work within, but it may not be as advantageous if the content needs to be put into practice before they move on. Withholding the content in that instance may be more advantageous so they need to “put it into practice” rather than move on.

Consider your design work right now – is it best to drip or not to drip? What’s going to work best? What do your colleagues do?

What do your clients want?

Take a look around and see what other courses do. Discuss with others what could work best.

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

This month’s focus at the blog is Team Springboards. Teams are the engines of many businesses today and being in top shape is important. Team culture is also important, given the context of virtual and remote work where matrix teams are an inevitable part of the equation. When working in matrix environments, it can be really important to strengthen your team culture and clarify how things are done in your culture. Again, team culture is about HOW WE DO THINGS. It’s our processes, our practices, and what’s acceptable and what’s not.

I thought it would be useful to take us back to a past post on Team Culture which you may want to explore as you go to define the different team cultures you are part of. Here’s what I wrote in Teams365 #1526:
​
“Team Culture: The Every Manager’s Desktop Reference defines organizational culture as “a set of shared values, goals, practices, and management styles that characterize an organization and are expected to be reflected in its public face and member behaviors” (pp 414, Every Manager’s Desktop Reference).

Today’s VUCA business context, characterized by ongoing change and flux, has pointed many teams to the importance of team culture. Our team culture may be different, or aligned with, our organizational culture. Simply put, team culture is “HOW WE DO THINGS”. It is the behaviors, practices and values which shape our every day interaction. Think about a team who has as part of it’s culture “customer service”. Actions and activities around providing exceptional service will be prioritized over ones that value quality and/or time, unless they are linked to customer service.

What are the adjectives that describe your culture?

Team Culture doesn’t always get the attention it deserves, and HR writers like Susan Heathfield reminds us “team members understand that 20% of the problems that they will experience as a team will fall within the context of the task or mission the team is assigned to accomplish. The other 80% of the problems they experience will relate to their team culture and the processes team members establish and commit to for interacting with each other as team members.” Here's a link to her great article Team Culture and Clear Expectations at The Balance.com.

There are many different models of what comprises team culture:

Culture includes our behavioral norms and agreements - How do we do things here? What is acceptable and not acceptable.

It also includes team identity – How do I connect with others, how do we see ourselves?
​
What we value: Culture is shaped by our values, beliefs and actions. It also includes our mindset. Consider what some of the mindsets are for you as a team. This might include: “We are able to flow with the changes that come our way” OR “We go above and beyond or “We rise to the challenge every time”.
When cultures are strong new members and external people can sense what our team is like. It’s almost a visible layer to others. This is especially true when we have a culture of collaboration, having each other’s back, or helping each other.

​What's important for you to note and be in dialogue around as a team with respect to team culture?”

Here's the original post.
​
What’s important to note about the cultures you are part of right now?

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Now available – PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner - Order a copy today on Amazon
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development).
Check out the new 19 Tips for Productivity On-Demand Course. If this is your year to get things moving, check it out now. Join Jenn for bi-weekly live group calls until July. $129 US. Learn more and enroll here.

This month’s focus is on Team Springboards, things that help teams. Let’s take a look at a laundry list of things that help teams excel. Individually they are quite straightforward, collectively they are powerful. As you review this list you might consider giving yourself a rating on a 1-10, with 1 being low and 10 being high.
​

1. Clarity around goals
2. Strong team culture
3. Knowledge of each other
4. Connection with other team members
5. Understanding what people do on the team
6. Knowing who to go to for _____________ (insert issue)
7. Clarity around roles on the team
8. Clarity about how to surface issues
9. Confidence that issues raised will be heard
10. Confidence that issues raised will be addressed/considered/responded to
11. Clarity around how performance is measured
12. Resources needed to do the work
13. Mechanisms to flag resources needed
14. Feedback channels
15. Acknowledgement for work well done
16. A clear vision of what the team is aiming for in terms of this year’s/quarter’s goals
17. Effective Team Meetings on a regular basis
18. Clear channels for communication
19. Opportunities for development
20. Opportunities to have fun and connect with others

What else?

Enjoy the conversation!
Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Now available – PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner - Order a copy today on Amazon
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development).
Check out the new 19 Tips for Productivity On-Demand Course. If this is your year to get things moving, check it out now. Join Jenn for bi-weekly live group calls until July. $129 US. Learn more and enroll here.

​It’s Sunday, which means that it’s time for another Video Montage from the #90DaysPlanDoTrack. If you have not seen these Instagram gems before, they are short questions I pose on a regular basis to encourage some consistent action in your work or business, to create more momentum towards your most important goals.

Take a look at the Video Montage #16 here.

If you haven’t viewed the earlier ones, take a look at those posts here.

Best wishes,
Jennifer

​It’s hard to believe but Potentials Realized turns fifteen years old today. A big thank you to all of your support over the years in ensuring that the business is even more vibrant and popular today than it was 15 years ago when I metaphorically “opened the doors”.

Over the next 12 months I’ll be hosting a series of celebrations. Each month I’ll be dedicating a post or two to a different focus of the work provided, and also, I will share a different case study or example. There will also be some monthly events to celebrate 15 years.

Today I’m pleased to unveil the new 15 years logo. Back in late 2003 as I was preparing to move back to Canada and establish this business (which still didn’t have a name yet!) I was in a coaching conversation where I was being coached about my vision for the business. The image of a water drop clearly came into my mind, representing the ripple effect I wanted my work to continue to have. While it was only a vision in my mind, I imagined that my work would still allow me to connect with professionals all over the world, providing them with tools, insights and skills to help them ripple their own work out.

A big thanks to Eric for adding onto the logo for Potentials Realized – I’ll be using it for the next 12 months to signal this milestone.

My clients – the leaders, teams and business owners – continue to be at the heart of the success of the business. As the client base has grown, I have been thankful for many referrals (thank you!). I have also felt compelled to turn to an increasing amount of writing given that my books and writing travel much further than I can.

With the 10th anniversary of the release of Effective Group Coaching coming later this year, and thousands of the book sold, I am honored that I have been able to create a ripple effect in the area of group and team coaching, and in an emerging way a ripple in the realms of virtual conversations and remote teamwork.

This month I’ll be spotlighting this blog, given that this has become such a foundation of work and support to teams, leaders and professionals globally. What started as an experiment back in 2014 to see how to generate more traffic to the site, has become a favorite practice of mine where I dedicate a couple of hours a week to writing and curating content here.

Let us know about your favorite experience with Potentials Realized programming, or how you have been able to create your ripple effect by one of our programs or coaching.

Cheers to another 15 years…I look forward to our paths crossing!
Jennifer