This week’s Weekly Journaling Prompt gets you thinking about the question “My biggest opportunity is….”.

I hope that this week’s question will provide you with a pause the reflect on what is happening around you. When we get in the flow of work, we may not take notice of what opportunities do abound.

What is your biggest opportunity right now?

Enjoy your reflections!
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:
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“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?
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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.
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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.

​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

This week’s Weekly Journaling Prompt gets you to consider the question “The biggest distractions right now are…”

Udemy In Depth undertook a study entitled the 2018 Workplace Distraction Survey. You can read it here. 

Distractions abound in today’s world – from digital distractions to other. What distractions are you noticing?

Distractions can take their toll on many levels – on our focus, on our stress levels, or our ability to get things done we want. What is the impact of the distractions you are seeing?

Part of stress reduction and productivity is feeling in charge of, or being able to influence, our distractions. What steps can you take to reduce or minimize some of the distractions right now?

Enjoy your journaling,
Jennifer

Team identity and culture is something that we all shape. Team identity is critical in the context of virtual and remote teams. It helps us understand who we are and how we do things. A strong team identity helps me know that as a member of this team, I am expected to:

• Raise issues quickly
• Rather than complain, seek for solutions
• Support others and provide information to others on a regular basis about the work I am undertaking, opportunities I see for collaboration

Ways we can start to form a strong team identity include:

1. Having the team identity key values. For example, innovation or respect.
2. For each one of these values, have the team identify the behaviors which illustrate that value. For example, for respect – Consider impact before speaking; take ownership of mistakes; reply to requests in a timely manner (and as a team identify what timely means); when raising issues also offer possible solutions.
3. Having the team own “How we do things here. What’s acceptable and what’s not”. In owning it, we call out behaviors which are not aligned with our agreements.
4. Identifying logos, icons or metaphors of what the team is. For example, a team that is about creating a WOW experience might embrace “The Orange Bird” as their mascot.
5. Creating a drawing or tableaux of what the team is aspiring to. Several years ago, vision boards were very popular. Teams too can have their own team vision board which they can situate in an area of high traffic. If its’ a virtual team, take a photo and include in it any sides you are sharing with your virtual meetings. Review it regularly.

Bad behavior doesn’t just happen. It’s permitted. What are you doing to call it out?

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

Welcome back to our forty-fourth Weekly Journaling Prompt. I hope that you have been enjoying these quick prompts as part of your regular journaling practice.

Today’s prompt is “Things I Am Happy About….”

In my late teens and early twenties, I was fortunate enough to spend the bulk of my summers working in the beauty of Algonquin Park, about 3 hours north of Toronto, at a summer camp. When I wasn’t on the swim dock where I spent several summers leading a team, or with campers, I was hanging out with an amazing group of young women. In those days we had no access to TV, internet or a phone (yes, it was the late 80s and early 90s!). Evening entertainment came in the form of journaling, music and hanging out.

One book which was very popular in those days was a good book called “14,000 things to be happy about.” I remember how one summer it inspired a majority of the staff to start their own happy journals. This was something I carried around the world with me for years and still have on my bookshelf…..Take a look closely at today’s graphic -that’s my happy book! Once in a while (i.e. once or twice a year) I take a look back at it and am amazed how short sentences can bring forward an amazing flood of memories.
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What would you add to your happy book?

Enjoy!
​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 
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development).

Happy spring! Has the new season sprung where you are?

In my work as a coach I see a lot of seasonality – beginnings, ends and excitement for change. As we step into the new season today, I wanted to share some of the spring questions I had posted in Teams365 #811.

I hope that you will take a few minutes to reflect on these questions today:

What are your goals this season?
What new habits and practices do you want to put into place?
What relationships do you want to put attention around?
What else is significant for you this spring (or fall)?

Looking backwards:
What successes did you have over the last quarter?
What helped you?
What got in the way?

What changes do you want to make this spring?
What and who will help you be successful?
 
What are the other questions which are important to consider right now?
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Enjoy your reflection,
Jennifer

Here we are at post 1900 of the Teams365 blog. I had no idea more than 5 years ago that I would be continuing to blog this long at the Teams365 blog. What started out as an experiment, has become an important part of my writing process. The Teams365 blog has also become a valuable resource for teams and leaders of all kinds. If you have enjoyed and benefited from past posts, share in the comments which have been your favorites. Also be sure to let others know about the resource!
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If you have been following along my Thursday series, you’d know that today is a Team Building Tip day. I started these as a series of questions for team leaders to bring into their weekly team meetings. Since starting the series, the questions and images have become more sophisticated! Check out the first post here!
 

This week’s TBT gets you thinking ahead. In today’s VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous context) world, we know that having a clear vision which can guide you through the choppy waters of more granular details can be useful. I hope that you will consider using this week’s question of “A year from now, at the start of 2020, we will have ________” as a valuable conversation sparker, and potentially a sign post to guide your efforts towards over the next 3 quarters!

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. Learn more and enroll here.

Today’s Flashback Friday takes us back to December 2015 and my post entitled  “2016 Resolutions and Support To Make Them Happen”– you can read it here.

Here’s what I wrote:

"As you have been thinking about your 2016 plans, I'm sure a few new resolutions have cropped up. Some common ones I've heard from team leaders in recent years have included:

* Spending more one-on-one time with team members
* Making meetings more efficient
* Getting a handle on email management and/or other office organizing issues
* Creating more defined boundaries with time on and time off of work
* Creating more defined boundaries around technology
* Becoming more efficient with time
* Getting more exercise (especially at lunch time to create a break and thinking time!)

What are your new year's resolutions? Take a look at the statistics around new years resolutions which StatisticsBrain.com have shared here.

They note that 45% of American adults create new years resolutions with 8% being successful. That's a pretty low percentage. I've recently had dialogue with a number of team leaders I coach and support around things they may want to do to raise that amount and be more successful.

Here are four things you might want to consider in making your resolutions stick into 2016:

1. Be clear in articulating them. The StatisticsBrain.com article  notes that those who are explicit in making new years resolutions are 10x more successful in achieving their goal.

2. Write them down and make them visible. Many of us, myself included, set resolutions but don't make them visible. Post its, or a reminder on your phone can help to
What will help keep your goals visible?

3. Share them and create some accountability partners around them. Share your goals with others and create some accountability partners who can cheer you on, or hold your feet to the fire (whatever is needed by you in that moment!). We know from lots of studies how important having an accountability partner really is.
Who do you want to share your resolutions with? Who can be a support or accountability partner to you?

4. Be selective in the number of resolutions you choose. It's very easy to create a long laundry list of things you want to do AND the more we add to the list, the harder it may be to remember, or the more diffuse our efforts become. You may have one or two major goals in different areas of your life, OR a small handful across areas (such as finances, relationships, career/business, family, health etc).
Ultimately, what are the resolutions you want to focus on?"


As we step into the new year of 2019, I hope that you’ll be able to incorporate some of these tips. What are your resolutions for the new year? What will help them stick?

Have a great day,
Jennifer

This week’s Journaling prompt gets you to reflect and write on the statement of “I am most looking forward to…”

Building in time each week to reflect ad write in an unstructured way helps to focus, clarify and sometimes even ease the mind.
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The Huffington Post published an article last year by Thai Nguyen entitled “Ten surprising benefits you’ll get from keeping a journal” highlighting some of the benefits of journaling ranging from support to goals, mindfulness, emotional intelligence and others such as. Read the article here.

What do you see as the benefits from writing a journal?

For more than a decade as I lived and worked throughout Central and South America, working for the UN and several grassroots development organizations, I kept a regular daily journal. Journaling has always been an amazing tool for me to:

• Capture ideas and events
• Clarify thoughts and explore options
• Identify themes in my work and life I may not have connected before
• Help to identify and focus on priorities

If you have missed any of the past Saturday journaling prompts, view them here. 
 
Enjoy your weekend,
Jennifer