Category: Leadership-a-z

#Teams365 #328: #Leadership a-z is for Initiative, Influence, Impact..

11/24/2014

We are at the start of a new week and we are at I for impact, influence, ignite, initiate, and initiative.

The team leader's role has direct impact, and the tangible returns you see can have significant motivation. The skill of influence is one that team leaders need to master early on given the upward and downward communication to their own boss and team members. Influence has been defined as " the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself.".

Influence becomes a critical skill set when you are not in the driver's seat. So using the skill of influence to ensure a project roll out continues as smooth as it should may involve strong relationships with your stakeholders, team members and boss.

Influence is grounded in trust, respect and strong relationships. Without these it is not possible to influence. For those interested in the topic, a great read is Influencer: The Power to Change Anything by Kerry Patterson et al.

Part of the team leader role is to support team members to connect with what ignites them, so that they can bring their best self to work every day. Supporting team members to connect with strengths, passions and what they are great at, is an important focus in 1-1s as well as other team development activities. I've blogged regularly on these topics this year and I hope that you have a range of ideas that you might be able to pull from.

Finally, I is for initiate and initiative. Great teams get things done. Cultivating initiative on each team member's part requires that we don't micro-manage, rather we let people get their work done. How are you encouraging team members to initiate work, changes and evolutions?

What else related to the word I comes to mind when you think of the team leader role? As always, please feel free to comment below.

Have a great start to your week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Coaching
Email me to schedule a time to talk about your 2015 team and leadership needs
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#Teams365 #323: Leadership a-z: H is for Habits

11/19/2014

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Today we are at the H in the Leadership a-z series. Last year when I undertook the Leadership a-z over at my old BizToolkit blog, I also focused on habits. You can read that post here. Habits are consistent actions, often undertaken sub-consciously. As Charles Duhigg explores in with a multitude of great examples, habits are things that allow us to really succeed for flow in work and life.

What habits are supporting you in your work? Which ones get in the way?

One of the areas many of the leaders I work with struggle around is in the realm of time management and focus. Email inboxes which are overflowing and "seemingly" take control of their entire day is one area we often focus on. Habits might involve getting into the practice of turning off email at certain time so you can focus. Engaging team members into a conversation about using other types of communication channels (such as picking up the phone or dropping down the hall) to replace those times where email isn't the best approach.

Other clients I work with want to develop habits with their team, such as the habit of meeting on a weekly basis regardless of what is happening. There can be a real allure to think that there is not enough time and other things are more pressing, when in fact, it is often that 10-20 minute touch point that really helps the team to focus, prioritize, reduce overlap and communicate. As a habit, the meeting just happens regardless of what's going on.

Habits are key to high performance. What new ones would you like to cultivate for yourself? With your team? What insights do your team members have about habits?

It is often said that habits take at least 21 days of continuous effort to create. Barbara Frederickson has found on a cellular level that one percent of our cells get replaced every day. That means habit on an even deeper level have the opportunity to change within a little more than three months. You can read more about Frederickson's research here.

In closing, what habits are working for you right now? Which ones need some attention?

Have a great rest of the week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Coaching
(416)996-8326

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#teams365 #316: Leadership a-Z: E is for Emotional Intelligence and....

11/12/2014

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Today we are onto e of the Team Leadership A-Z and our journey takes us further into some rich terrain.

Let's take a look at further areas team leaders will find themselves working around:
Engagement - Engagement, including employee disengagement, is a major issue facing businesses today. With almost 50% of employees being disengaged or activity disengaged according to Gallup, how do we encourage our team members to bring their best to work every day? As team leaders you play a key role in encouraging your team members, and creating conditions so they can engage. Consider with your team members individually what motivation and engagement means to them.

Empathy - Empathy, or our ability to be able to walk in someone else's shoes, is key in supporting employees who feel heard and valued. As you reflect on the week so far, how have your team members felt heard, or listened to? How have you been empathetic?

Excellence - Working with the team to create excellence. What does excellence mean for you?

Elephant - When I work with teams who have unsurfaced conflict, or areas that are being skirted or not talked about, we call it the "Elephant in the Room". Is there an elephant in your room as a team that needs to be addressed?
Emotional Intelligence - several posts this year have been dedicated to EI - what it is, why it's important. I did a series of posts around this topic back in January. You can read some of them here.

Except - Other than the word BUT, except is a key phrase that quickly shuts people down. Watch how many times except is said in your context (For example, you did a great job, EXCEPT, this was not right). What impact do you notice about except?

Electrify - Being part of a high performing team is like things are on fire, or electrified. What's the state of passion, and ignition, in your team right now.

Elect - Many of the e words we've explored right now connect with perspectives and choice. Whether we choose to address the elephant in the room. Whether we choose to bring our best selves to work. Whether we choose to follow work that fuels our passion, which may not have the other factors (such as security, benefits etc). What is it that you elect to choose today?

Execute Business today is all about execution and results. In order to get great results we do need to be able to slow down and make sure we're making the right decision, and have the right data to execute at our best. What does execution mean for your team?

Excel - What do you as a team excel at? As we've seen in past posts teams that lean into their strengths are more productive and positive. This can be an upward spiral, providing more motivation, more effort, and more results which feedback, or feed forward to the team.

Finally, emotional intelligence (EI). As I've written about earlier this year, as you move into the team leadership role, EI is just as important at times, or even moreso, than the technical skills. Earlier this year I took a look at some or the foundational EI skills. You can read past posts here.

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
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)

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#Teams365 315: D is for Delegation

11/11/2014

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Over the past few days we've been exploring the intial letter of the leadership a through z. Today we are at D. I wanted to focus in today to the topic of delegation, an area new team leaders often struggle with. One of this year's articles available for team leaders is around the idea of delegation. I wanted to share it with you today:

Delegation - Getting More Done While Building Team Capacity

Article by Jennifer Britton, Potentials Realized. Copyright 2014.

Leaders today often struggle with finding the time to get everything done. Part of unlocking the key to more effective time management is delegating effectively. As leaders it is essential that we shed many of the tactical tasks to allow for focus on the strategic and people issues of business. Delegation can be a challenging activity for supervisors and managers new and seasoned. Oftentimes it is not about the fear of letting go, but simply how do I make delegation work.

Most leaders are already familiar with the Five W’s framework of decision making - What, Where, When, Why and How. The five Ws also provides us with a quick framework and checklist around effective delegation. This article explores the Five W framework as it relates to delegation, and also identifies several pitfalls for successful delegation.

First, why is delegation important? Delegation is an important skill set for both leaders and team members. For leaders, delegating effectively does ultimately allow free more time to focus on strategic issues as well as the things that only you can do as a leader. Some leaders feel that delegation takes a lot of time, however, the time invested upfront leads to great rewards later on.

From a team perspective, delegation helps to develop skills and capacity within the team. It can also be a motivational boost for those who want more responsibility and/or learning in their role From talent management and succession planning perspectives, delegation is an important part of building sustainable teams and organizations.

The Art of Delegation – The 5 Ws and How

The five W’s - What, Who, Why, Where, When - is a very well known framework for decision making. It is just as effective as a framework to set up team members for delegation success. Planning and communication are also critical initial steps in the delegation process.

What – A first step in creating successful delegation is defining the WHAT. What are the tasks which you can delegate? What are the things that you could pass off to others leaving you with the time and space to focus on strategic and tactical issues? What activities would be motivational for others to take on?

In general you should not delegate to others key responsibilities tasked to leaders such as team management issues including performance management, feedback, coaching, and conflict resolution.

Some safe tasks to delegate include technical issues and projects which others may have an even deeper skill set in. There may be other tasks which create learning and development opportunities for others. Some of these might include involvement in special projects, coordinating special events, or participation in meetings where they represent yourself and the team. Routine activities such as paperwork and standard reports. While you may need to complete the final version of some reports it may be beneficial to involve others in the draft stage

Once you have decided on the task you want to delegate, you will want to paint a clear picture of what the desired outcome is, and what resources will be needed for the person to accomplish it. Resources may include financial resources, time, people and also the authority to get things done. It is also important to think through what your expectations are in terms of task completion - quality, timeframes and reporting. Using the SMART framework in goal setting can also help you break down the task. A reminder of the SMART framework - Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Timebound.

Who –

Just as important to successful delegation s getting clear on the WHAT, the WHO to delegation is just as critical. The Who involves matching the best person to the task or activity involved. Jim Collins’ analogy in Good to Great is about getting the right person in the right bus and in the right seat.

Consider who on your team might benefit from, and be motivated by, the opportunity to take on the task. Do they have the skills,(or the ability to stretch, to achieve the goal? What else would be needed to complete the task? What support would they require along the way?

Finding the right match between the person and the task is critical for delegation success. Careful consideration of the WHO contributes to delegation success.

Why - The third W is the Why. Once you have decided what you are going to delegate and who is going to take on the task is, it is important to set up a delegation hand-off meeting. During this meeting, communicate clearly what needs to get done and why this task is important. Paint a clear picture of what the end result will look like with the person you are delegating to. Let them understand the Why of this project or task? Provide them with relevant information so that they know how this task fits into the bigger picture and why this task is important for the team and/or organization. It may also be useful to discuss with them why this task is important to them and how it contributes to their own career path.

Where - The fourth W is about WHERE to Go. Where can the person go for support? What resources are needed to successful completion - from your perspective and from their perspective? It is important to have dialogue around who can they reach out to if they need support along the way. Ensure that the person you are delegating to has the adequate resources, and the authority, to complete the task.

When – The final W is the WHEN. In setting a team member up for delegation success it is important to discuss what are the major deadlines and project milestones associated with the task. How will you communicate about how the task is coming? When do you want to hear back from them on this task? Create a common understanding around time frames, success factors and what the final product will look like. Again, the SMART goal setting framework can be a useful framework to share with your team members. Finally, the WHEN reminds us about the importance of feedback throughout the delegation cycle.

Avoiding the Delegation Pitfalls

Regardless of task or industry you work within, there are several delegation pitfalls to keep in mind.

One of the major traps for leaders is the trap of micro-managing. There is a difference between micro-managing and micro-monitoring. Clarifying expectations and the end result at the start of the process, helps to mitigate with micro-management. It is also important to recognize everyone will have a different way to approach tasks, so if certain processes do need to be followed, ensure you specify this at the hand-off.

Another common delegation pitfall is not checking in along the way. These “delegation touchpoints” or mini-meetings are easy to overlook in today’s world of meeting fatigue. It can be common for the leader to let the person run with it, without check points along the way. Do not assume that everything is ok. Delegation touch points are critical and ideally should be scheduled at the hand-off to build a shared expectation that you are there for support throughout the process

A third delegation pitfall is not developing a common understanding of the end result. During or shortly after the delegation hand-off meeting have the person being delegated to re-articulate key milestones, and outcomes. Have them spell out the SMART goals they have set for task completion.

Finally, another very common area of delegation sabotage is assuming that the person delegated to has sufficient authority and responsibility to get the job done. Delegation touch point meetings should cover this pitfall as well.

Through planning, and ongoing communication, tasks you delegate onto team members can be valuable learning and growth experiences. Set up times to check in on progress and identify roadblocks that are emerging. Once the task is completed, review and identify learning and lessons learned. Identify other areas where that team member can continue to use these skills. Take this delegation close out as an opportunity to recognize and celebrate task completion with the team member.

Delegation not only frees up time for leaders, it builds capacity within the team, which is critical in the long-term. What do would you, and the team, benefit from delegating today?

About the Author Jennifer Britton

Jennifer J. Britton is the founder of Potentials Realized, a Canadian-based performance improvement company. An award winning program designer, she works with groups, teams and organizations in the areas of leadership, teamwork and performance. Jennifer is the author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2009), the first book to be published on group coaching globally. Her second book, From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching was released last summer, and widens the lens to team coaching, as well as organizational capacity building.

Drawing on more than two decades of experience as an experiential educator and former manager with the United Nations and other international organizations, her global clients span government, corporate and non-profit sectors, from financial services to education and healthcare. She has spoken and trained on the topic of group coaching and coaching skills for groups as diverse as staff teams from UNICEF West and Central Africa, numerous chapters of the International Coach Federation, to national consulting and insurance firms, to international health care organizations.

Since early 2006, her Group Coaching EssentialsTM teleseminar training program has supported hundreds of coaches in the creation and implementation of their own group coaching programs. This, along with the Advanced Group Coaching Practicum and Group and Team Coaching Intensive, are all ICF approved Continuing Coach Education programs. Jennifer offers a range of group coaching programs and retreats for the general public in addition to the coaching and training services she offers to organizations. In addition to being a thought leader in the field of group and team coaching, she also is a practitioner herself. Her main areas of interest include leadership development, particularly for team leaders, teamwork and organizational capacity development. She also provides support as a mentor coach.

Credentialed by the International Coaching Federation, Britton was originally trained and certified by the Coaches Training Institute. She has also completed advanced coaching training in the areas of ORSC and Shadow Coaching. A Certified Performance Technologist (CPT), Britton holds a Masters of Environmental Studies (York University) and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology (McGill).

Connect online at: www.potentialsrealized.com, @jennbritton (Twitter), EffectiveGroupCoaching (Facebook) and http://biztoolkit.blogspot.com (Blog). Contact us by phone at (416)996-8326.

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#Teams365 #314: Team LEadership a-z: C is for Commitment and More

11/10/2014

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The Leadership a-z is going to take us to almost the end of the year. Today we are going to explore the "Cs" of team leadership. Throughout this year I have covered topics such a Coaching Skills for Leaders. You can read the posts and view the cartoons here (approximately posts 190-197). We've also explored team culture, and dedicated the August Team Leader Breakfast Cafe call to that.

Personal characteristics such as curiosity, creativity, courage, compassion and calm are also very important for highly effective team leaders. How do these characteristics show up for you? What does courage mean for you as a leader? Which ones of these characteristics are important for which team members?

Collaboration has been another theme this year at the blog. Critical for today's environment we are often working with team members to boost collaboration across the team, or with other teams and silos. Click here to see what I've written on collaboration this year.

Many of you may have undertaken training in the Situational Leadership model which asserts that depending on the task at hand and a person's competence (skills) and confidence, our leadership style needs to adapt to support them. Consider a team member who is learning how to complete a new performance report using a new piece of software. The support they require will be different from that of a person undertaking the 90th standard weekly report. The Situational Leadership model encourages us to look at what support is needed for each person, with each task.

At the same time confidence, or self-confidence, is key for each team leader. What do you notice about your levels of confidence as a leader? How has this shifted this year? W|hat's different about you today?

Two final words which are included are consistency and commitment. How are you leading consistently? What feedback would you get from others?
Finally, what does committment mena for you? The team? the organziaton? What are you committed to as a leader? As a team?

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
Potentials Realized
Leadership, Teamwork and Coaching
Looking for support as you plan for your year end team retreat? Contact us to speak about facilitation or design services.
(416)996-8326

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Teams365 Blog

#Teams365 #328: #Leadership a-z is for Initiative, Influence, Impact..

#Teams365 #323: Leadership a-z: H is for Habits

#teams365 #316: Leadership a-Z: E is for Emotional Intelligence and....

#Teams365 315: D is for Delegation

#Teams365 #314: Team LEadership a-z: C is for Commitment and More

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