Teams365 Blog - POTENTIALS REALIZED

TEAMS365 #2422 – Effective Virtual Conversations Tip 163

8/17/2020

Happy Monday! Did you know that this week I am hosting a 5-day challenge online - geared to provide you with 5 days of focus on helping you Stand Out Virtually! I hope you will consider joining us – each call will be available for a 24-hour period if you can’t make the live call time which is 9 am ET/Toronto/New York time. We’re meeting from today until Friday August 21st.

Today’s tip connects in with some of the themes I’m addressing this week which are engagement, interactivity and visuals.

Today’s Effective Virtual Conversations Tip gets you to think about how you might use word clouds as a way to capture and present information.

Two resources I have used in the past to present data to teams and organizations I work with are – WordClouds.com and WordArt.com.

For a cool interactive polling feature, check out MentiMeter.com. You can create real time word clouds using polling.

What other resources do you like to use?

Be sure to check out these resources and also share with us additional ones you use!
With best wishes,
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 #2366 – Effective Virtual Conversations Tip 151: Team Feedback and the REVET Model

6/22/2020

This week’s Effective Virtual Conversations tip, which you can usually find under the hashtag #letstalkvirtual, is all about Team Feedback. With many teams opting to stay Working From Home for the foreseeable future, team feedback is an important loop to help teams excel.

What are the processes you have in place to keep team feedback moving?

We know that feedback is best when it’s specific (detailed about what the person did well or not well, behaviorally – via things that we can see or tangible outputs). Feedback is best when it’s regular, and as close to the event as possible. The longer between feedback and activity, the less valuable it is.

Feedback can be useful when we receive it from those around us – our bosses, our peers and those we interface with on projects, or stakeholders. Who are you receiving feedback from?

For many years I have written about, and talked about, the REVET™ model of feedback. We want to make sure that feedback is:

R – What are the roles the person inhabits; what projects are they involved with? What are their goals?
- Considering these questions helps us to make sure that feedback is relevant for the person.
E – Reflect on performance expectations
- What have been the expectations set about performance? What are the key issues they are focusing on, and most likely value feedback around?
V - What do they value?
- Some people value feedback delivered frequently and off the cuff. Other team members may prefer to have feedback offered in a structured fashion, or by writing, with some time between receiving the feedback and then having the performance conversation.
E – Specific examples. Providing specific examples is absolutely essential for an effective performance conversation.
- Always make sure you have specific examples which you have personally witnessed. If not, you may not be the person to provide feedback in that manner. You could facilitate the discussion with the person and those who seem them every day 1-1.
T – Timing. What is the most appropriate time for the conversation? Is it a mid-morning? Evening? Lunchtime conversation?

(Copyright 2020 – Jennifer Britton, VRTWL)

If you have a copy of Effective Virtual Conversations, you’ll also want to check out what I write about Appreciations and Acknowledgements on pages 257 – 258. It’s important to take time to pause and share appreciations with each other. This serves to boost trust, and connection, across the team. I recently have included this activity in my latest mini-course for teams – the Remote Team Builders. You can find it here.

What are the things you are doing to create a team feedback loop?

Best wishes,
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

Check out our Digital Resources to support you in your work and conversations

#TEAMS365 #1913 – Virtual Team Activity Resources

3/27/2019

Over the last few years I have written about a number of virtual team resources I think you will find interesting and valuable.

Also, if you haven’t taken a look at my latest book, PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner for Remote and Virtual Professionals, be sure to check out the related blog which includes posts related to virtual teams, working remote and virtual productivity. You can find the blog here.

Recently I have been posting 2-3 times a week with unique posts geared to these topics, including a new Friday series which is running throughout 2019 geared for virtual business development.

If you are on Facebook, join us at the PlanDoTrack Facebook page, with resources geared to productivity and also virtual professionals. You can connect here.

I have set up a virtual communication group over at Mighty Networks called the Conversation Sparker Zone. You can connect around topics related to virtual teams, productivity, business development and/or group and team coaching issues. I hope that you will join us and drop in for some conversation. Click here to join the conversation. Once there you can select which threads you want to follow.

Finally, I am continuing to host regular calls related to Effective Virtual Conversations (my 2017 book). The latest call was held earlier this week. Check past calls at my YouTube Channel. Calls are usually held on Mondays from 11 – 11:30 am ET on the first and second week of the month.

What resources do you want to explore for your virtual team?

Warm regards,
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.

#TEAMS365 #1906 – Creative ways to articulate your virtual team culture

3/20/2019

Yesterday’s Teams365 post #1905 focused on virtual team culture. Be sure to check it out if you haven't done so.

Today I wanted to explore three different ways you might support your team in identifying their own virtual team culture.

As a reminder, team culture usually points to three things - who we are, how do we do things and what is important to us.

Here’s a quick listing of different activities you might consider incorporating:

Who we are:
Virtual teams which excel know each other. They have strong relationships across the team, which allows them to call on others, and “have each others’ backs”. To strengthen your connection, consider these activities:

Have the team create a list of words/adjectives which describe who you are. Shape these into a word cloud which can be visible to the team.
Discuss the question “Who are we when we are at our best?”. Again, use the words to create a graphic about who you are.

At your next team meeting, have each person share one thing others may not know about them.

At your next team meeting, have each person share something that is unique to their location (this works especially well if you have a global team).

In your next meeting, share your screen which includes a variety of photos or icons. Have each person select the photo or icon which represents what they bring to the team.

How we do things:
Each team will have its own unique practices and ways of doing things. This will vary from team to team. Spending time discussing how you do things, and what the expectations are, creates clarity and builds trust, boosting both performance and results.

To explore this topic further consider:
Discussing “how we do things” (communicate, make decisions, work across differences, address conflict) can be a series of different discussions and activities. It might include a Rules of the Road which everyone has signed off on.

What makes you unique and distinct in terms of how you do things?

Another tool is to look at the IS/IS NOT table. This can include it is, it is not…

What is important to us:
Clarity around priorities and goals for the entire team helps with alignment, prioritization and decision making. Spending time on a regular basis discussing what is important to us may also involve:

A list visible to the entire team (ie. Think Intranet or other post on)

Top 5 Goals for the month
Top 5 Priorities for the week
Top 5 Priorities for the quarter
Enshrining your Team Agreements or Ways of Working into something that is visible. Some teams have enshrined this into a plaque, a screen saver or other.

For more on these topics, and a demonstration of what some of these can look like (photos), take a look at my January 2019 Virtual Team Builders call which I did as part of the Effective Virtual Conversations series. You can check it out here.

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).

Looking for training or coaching support for your virtual or remote team? Contact Jennifer to discuss how we can support you.

#TEAMS365 #1899 – Virtual Team Builder – Using Icons to Explore Topics

3/13/2019

This month I am highlighting different virtual team builders. These are all things I use regularly with different teams I work with. From health care, to social services, public service to IT. Yesterday I spotlighted a quick energizer/warm up called COINS, and today I wanted to talk a little about using ICONS to explore different topics.

Here’s what I wrote about incorporating icons into a virtual team session:

“Another exercise I use regularly in helping teams get to know each other, and stat to build trust is sharing a slide which has a variety of icons on it. You will see an example below. While I show this on the screen I have select an icon which represents what they are bringing to the group/team that day or what they are thinking about around the topic we are exploring.

This exercise has the advantage of providing a springboard for some interesting themes to emerge in the conversation.

Here's an example of a recent icons slide I shared. I purchased the original graphic over at Adobe Stock.

I’ve used iterations of ICON activities for different teams I’ve worked with. Sometimes we are exploring the topic of feedback, other times, difficult conversations, goals for the year, or sometimes goals for the year. The benefit of using ICONS is that it can provide new layers to a conversation. When people are working in different languages, or even the same language, it can provide some new nuances to a conversation, energizing it in different ways.

How might you incorporate more around icons in your work?

For more on creating engaging virtual conversations, and virtual team development, check out my 2017 book, Effective Virtual Conversations.

Best,
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.

#TEAMS365 #1898 – Virtual Team Builder – COINS

3/12/2019

As I wrote in my most recent Effective Virtual Conversations newsletter, one of my favorite “ad-hoc” virtual team builder activity is one called COINS. I picked this up from a colleague several years ago who uses it regularly for in-person programs. I’ve found it to be just as effective in virtual programs.

Here’s how I described it in this month’s newsletter:

Exercise #1 - COINS
This exercise involves team members selecting some change/coins that they have available at their desk (or maybe in their pocket or their briefcase or purse).

First they need to select a coin and then notice what is the year on that coin.

The invitation is to share one thing about your work, your life, or what you were doing in the world during that year.

Perhaps I picked 2004. That was the year Potentials Realized, my company was started. Maybe I pick a coin that was 2009, which was the first year one of my books was published - Effective Group Coaching, or maybe I picked 2017 and I decided to talk a little bit about releasing Effective Virtual Conversations.

So coins is a lower risk exercise. Hopefully people have materials on hand.

This exercise can be a real conversation starter especially if you are working with a global team. It is interesting for people to show their national coinage. It also gives people a chance to talk a little bit more about how coins operate or how currency operates in their own context.”

How might you incorporate an activity/conversation starter like COINS in your next activity?

For more on creating engaging virtual conversations, and virtual team development, check out my 2017 book, Effective Virtual Conversations.

Enjoy the conversation!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Coaching Business Builder (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 we explore topics related to productivity, teamwork, coaching, business development and leadership.

#TEAMS365 #1630 – Monday June 18 – Effective Virtual Conversation Tip #49: Parking Lots

6/18/2018

Today’s Effective Virtual Conversation tip is that “Parking Lots provide a virtual space to leave issues for discussion later”. In any given program or meeting, it is likely that there will be additional items which cannot be covered during the conversation. Capturing these in a parking lot is really beneficial to make sure they don’t get lost. What is critical in any conversation is that the parking lot issues go somewhere and are not lost.

What can you do to create a parking lot in your work? What can you do to capture them? What will you do or schedule to make sure they are not lost?

With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Author of From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2016)
Looking to spark more conversation with your team? Consider the Conversation Sparker(TM) Cards
Set up a conversation about how we can support you and your team best
(416)996-8326

#TEams365 #1616: Effective Virtual Conversations Tip # - Pitfall #10

6/4/2018

We’ve finally made it to Pitfall #10 of the Effective Virtual Conversations Tip - the Multi-tasking Mindset. This is tip #47 in the series.

Here’s what I wrote in Effective Virtual Conversations about pitfall #10 in virtual facilitation:

“The multi-tasking mindset can be commonplace for many of us. What can you do to capture people's attention and keep it focused?
Solution: Consider these questions.
·         Are you making a request for people to disconnect from other technologies?
·         Are you changing the pace frequently (i.e. every 5-7 or 10 minutes)?
·         Are you creating opportunities for individuals to pause and engage at their desk?
·         What engagement strategies are you employing?”
As I have shared in other posts, engagement is critical in avoiding the “Death by Conference Call” mindset. We want to be using a variety of approaches – from breakouts where people can connect with each other, to using annotation to get people to share their ideas on the screen. It’s likely that when people are on their own devices, the allure of multi-tasking is going to be great, and if they are in dialogue with each other, they may find that more engaging and focusing.

What are the strategies you could use to support greater engagement in your calls.
For more ideas, check out some of the monthly Effective Virtual Conversation calls I’ve hosted since the book launched last July, including the October 2017 call on Breakouts that Sizzle. You can view the playlist here.

With best wishes,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Author of From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013) and Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2009)
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

#TEams365 #1588: Effective Virtual Conversations Tip #43: Pitfall #6

5/7/2018

It's Monday and time for another tip for your next virtual meeting, webinar or virtual conversation. It comes from my latest book, Effective Virtual Conversations.

Today’s quote explores pitfall #6 when technology breaks down. In virtual work it can be useful to consider that technology will likely break down, rather than be stable.

As I wrote in Effective Virtual Conversations,
“Technology glitches are one of the most common tricky issues facilitators can face. Always having a back up – or multiple back ups to guard against this. Check out the services you are using and have a back up. Make sure your connection works from your landline and mobile (and VoIP). Sometimes there can be a difference as to what you can access and where.
Know how to complete quick items like record, mute, unmute, raise hands, chat or work a white board. Practice is usually the only way to master these.”

One of the things that a lot of new virtual facilitators find challenging is working with new skill areas or having to multi-task with new skills in two areas. For example, reading chat and speaking at the same time may not be an easy approach, nor may creating breakout rooms while still speaking. Sometimes you may just want to provide a short pause to allow people to write something down or take notes about learning or next steps, while you are trying to do two things at once that you may not be familiar with.

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Looking to spark more conversation with your team? Consider the Conversation Sparker(TM) Cards
Set up a conversation about how we can support you and your team best
(416)996-8326

#Teams365 #1581: Effective Virtual Conversation Tip #42: Pitfall #5 #lettalkvirtual

4/30/2018

Over the last few weeks I've been exploring common pitfalls to watch out for when leading virtual calls - conference calls, webinars or virtual coaching sessions. A more common one is that the recording does not work. I f you aer hosting an ongoing group which has group members absent who are relying on the recording, this can be a big deal. Having a reminder or checklist to go through to make sure the recording is on when you start is one approach, as is having a back up on a different system, for example, recording to One Note on a computer if the recording feature you do have, does not work. I am saying here "on a different system" because sometimes the recording on the same system may not work. Be sure to test it in whatever set up you have.

Here's what I wrote about this pitfall in Effective Virtual Conversations:
Sometimes group members will not be able to attend calls and will want to catch up by listening to a recording. Sometimes this does not work.

Solution: Make a habit of checking and knowing that your recording is working. If you run a similar program over time it can be useful to have a recording for classes recorded each time. If the system's recording facility does not work, what can you put in place. My usual back up is often going to One-Note, which can usually record the audio component of my call. I always have a spare laptop on hand to do this so that it is not recording from the system.

Enjoy the start to your week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

Looking to enhance your virtual conversations - Conference calls? Webinars? Virtual coaching work? Pick up a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon.