Teams365 Blog - POTENTIALS REALIZED

TEAMS365 #2253 – Month In Review

3/1/2020

Welcome to a new month! This month’s focus is going to be on teamwork, including remote work. With an increasing number of professionals looking to get up to speed quickly with remote work, I hope that you will find these posts useful, and will share them with others.

Before we get started, it’s time to do a quick stocktaking of the month that’s past and set some goals for the month head.

Looking to last month:

What were your major accomplishments?
What progress did you make towards your annual goals?
What was your biggest learning?
What surprized you?
What skills and strengths did you leverage?
What habits did you develop?
What helped you be successful?
What do you need to leave behind?
What annual goals are you making progress on? Which ones are stalled or need a review?

Looking ahead to March and the end of Q1 of the year:

What are your top 3 priorities?
What do you want to make sure you focus on?
What do you need to say no to?
What relationships are important to foster?
What habits are important to create or maintain?
What’s going to be a stretch?
What’s the one thing you might shy away from? What will help you achieve this?
What will help you be accountable to your goals and plans?
What’s your contingency plan?
What needs to be “knocked out of the park” this month?

If you did not get the chance to check out this week’s blog posts, please take a look at the following:

Monday’s Teams365 2247: Effective Virtual Conversations Tip 133: Catch people doing things right. Read it here.
Tuesday’s Teams365 2248: Working From Home -When you have to. Read it here.
Wednesday’s Teams365 2249 – Meeting Questions – Keeping them efficient, even if you aren’t face to face
Thursday Teams365 2250 – Team Building Tip 276 – Micro-Pause. Read it here.
Friday’s Teams365 2251 – Flashback Friday – 4 Essential Ingredients for Collaboration. Read it here
Saturday’s Leap year post and some of the past posts to look back at. Read it here.

Enjoy your reading!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders | Remote Pathways Podcast
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Everything DiSC
Phone (416)996-8326

Get your planning on with the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner or Coaching Business Builder
Looking to enhance your virtual conversations? Webinars? Pick up a copy of Effective Virtual Conversations at Amazon.
Contact us to discuss how we can support you and your teams and organization with remote work.
Check out upcoming programs on our calendar!

TEAMS365 #2224 – February’s Focus on Collaboration, Teamwork and Relationships

2/1/2020

Welcome to the Teams365 blog for February 2020! This month we turn our attention to relationships, partnering, teamwork and collaboration. While teamwork is always a central focus for us here at the blog, this month we’ll be exploring the wider waters of collaboration and relationships. Whether you work in-person, or remote, business success is contingent on relationships. As I like to say, “Remote does not mean disconnected”.

Yesterday afternoon I hosted my regular virtual Month End Planning and Review session. If you enjoy these posts and want to join us for a live co-working session, join me at the end of every month for a one-hour virtual monthly planning and review session. Imagine what 60 minutes of focused time on your monthly accomplishments and planning for the next month could do.

Learn more about this program, and upcoming dates, and SCHEDULE it in to join us for the next one later this month.

Given that we are starting a new month, it’s time to take stock around your last month – I hope that you will take 10-15 minutes today to review and reflect on these questions.

Looking to last month:

What were your major accomplishments?
What progress did you make towards your annual goals?
What was your biggest learning?
What surprized you?
What skills and strengths did you leverage?
What habits did you develop?
What helped you be successful?
What do you need to leave behind?

Looking ahead to February:

What are your top 3 priorities?
What do you want to make sure you focus on?
What do you need to say no to?
What relationships are important to foster?
What habits are important to create or maintain?
What’s going to be a stretch?
What’s the one thing you might shy away from? What will help you achieve this?
What will help you be accountable to your goals and plans?
What’s your contingency plan?

Enjoy your reflection and planning!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders | Remote Pathways Podcast
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Everything DiSC
Phone (416)996-8326

Get your planning on with the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner or Coaching Business Builder
Looking to enhance your virtual conversations? Webinars? Pick up a copy of Effective Virtual Conversations at Amazon.
Check out upcoming programs on our calendar!

TEAMS365 #2161 – Month End Reflection

11/30/2019

Well another month has slipped by and it’s time to focus in on how this last month went. How did the “last mile” of November fare for you? What are you needing to carry forward to the new month?

In this month’s last post of the month, it’s an opportunity to focus in on what you did accomplish and earmark items for the final month of the year. What do you want to and need to pay attention to as you move into the final month of the year?

Here’s several questions to get you thinking about this month end:

What were my major achievements this month?
What “last mile” activities did I get to complete? What’s still on the list to complete before year end?
What do I want to celebrate?
As I consider my goals (and resolutions) I made at the start of the year, how am I doing with these on a scale of 1-10? Which ones are becoming new habits or something I can check off?
Which ones need to be let go of?
As a leader, what have I noticed about my team this month?
As a leader, what notes should I make about performance issues (if I haven't done it already!)
The thing that has helped me be most productive this month has been ______
The thing that has helped me be most successful this month has been ______
The thing that has helped me be happiest this month has been ________
The thing that has helped me be most healthy has been _______

As I think about the summer overall:

My biggest accomplishment has been....
My biggest learning has been....
My ability to flourish has been supported by....
I'm proud of....
The one habit which has really helped me has been...
I want to continue….

Looking ahead to the month of December:

My top 3 -5 goals this month are:
The things I absolutely want to finish are:
My priorities are:
Wild success at the end of the month will look like …. (Yes, this is one of my favorite questions which I ask each month in PlanDoTrack…)
The interruptions and disruptions I want to minimize are….
The habit I want to focus on is…
I want to take daily steps around…
I want to reach out to….
I want to say NO to…
I want to keep an eye on…
I’m excited about….

Enjoy the reflections!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders | Remote Pathways Podcast
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Writing
Phone (416)996-8326

As we step into the end of the year, get your planning on with the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner or Coaching Business Builder
Looking to enhance your virtual conversations? Webinars? Pick up a copy of Effective Virtual Conversations at Amazon.

TEAMS365 #2131 Team Building Tip #260: What's the Cost of NOT???

10/31/2019

As we go to wrap up the month of October, we are that much closer to the end of the year. Today is an opportunity to focus in on the opportunity cost of things you are doing, and not doing. Today’s team prompt is the question: "What is the cost of not…"

You might consider things along the lines of:

What is the cost of not undertaking (insert task, activity or project)?
What is the cost of not delegating?
What is the cost of not prioritizing?
What is the cost of not minimizing digital distractions?
What is the cost of not focusing?
What is the cost of not celebrating? Acknowledging others’ efforts?

Take your pick!

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.
For those looking for tips, tools and ideas about remote work and support for your remote teams, be sure to check out these tags and resources.

#TEAMS365 #2071 Stepping into September – Planning and Monthly Reflections

9/1/2019

Welcome to the month of September! Today’s post is two-fold – a look back at this past week, and an opportunity to pause and undertake some planning for the month ahead. Many readers are enjoying a long weekend this weekend, so I hope that you can take a few minutes before things gear up for work and school on Tuesday.

This month’s September Series is going to focus on getting back to the swing of things, setting yourself up for success and myths around Virtual Work. We’ll be exploring some tips around productivity, boundaries and habits.

First, let’s look back at this past week’s posts:

If you haven’t read them, I hope you will check them out.

Now, here’s this month’s planning questions, and month end reflection questions:

What were my major achievements this month?
What do I want to celebrate?
As I consider my goals (and resolutions) I made at the start of the year, how am I doing with these on a scale of 1-10? Which ones are becoming new habits or something I can check off?
Which ones need to be let go of?
As a leader, what have I noticed about my team this month?
As a leader, what notes should I make about performance issues (if I haven't done it already!)
The thing that has helped me be most productive this month has been ______
The thing that has helped me be most successful this month has been ______
The thing that has helped me be happiest this month has been ________
The thing that has helped me be most healthy has been _______

As I think about the summer overall:

My biggest accomplishment has been....
My biggest learning has been....
My ability to flourish has been supported by....
I'm proud of....
The one habit which has really helped me has been...
I want to continue….

Looking ahead to the month of September:

My top 3 -5 goals this month are:
My priorities are:
Wild success at the end of the month will look like … (Yes, this is one of my favorite questions which I ask each month in PlanDoTrack…)
The interruptions and disruptions I want to minimize are….
The habit I want to focus on is…
I want to take daily steps around…
I want to reach out to….
I want to say NO to…
I want to keep an eye on…
I’m excited about….

Enjoy your reflections and planning!
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 #2039 – Monthly Round up and Month in Reflection

7/31/2019

This month we have explored a variety of topics resonant for the mid-year rhythm:

Digital Detox
Work-life
Focus
Simplification
Habits
Creativity

What are you noticing about your work flow and energy right now?

As we step into the month of August, the work routine may adjust once again, AND I hope that you will be able to return back to these posts once again.

Today is the last day of the month, signalling a time to pause and take stock on what the last month was like, and do some planning for the month ahead.
Here are a variety of questions you may want to explore:
Looking back to the month of July:

What are you pleased with achieving?
What didn’t get completed but is going to be carried forward?
What strengths did you leverage this month?
What got in the way of your plans/achievements?
What helped to MAGNIFY or AMPLIFY things?
What helped you FOCUS?
What helped you SIMPLIFY?
What else is important to note about your month? (metrics, lessons learned, other…)
What did you do to renew?
What habits did you lean into?

Looking ahead to the month ahead:

What are your major goals?
What do you want to focus on?
What do you want to let go of?
What will help you simplify?
What will help you MAGNIFY or AMPLIFY?
What habits do you want to focus on?
What relationships do you want to pay attention to?
What actions/projects do you want to complete, not matter what?
What else is important to note?

Enjoy your reflection!

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 #2008 Month End Reflection

6/30/2019

As we step into the end of the month, we’ve had a number of core focus areas here at the blog -Mid-Year Stock Taking. A reminder to check out these posts if you haven’t done so already:

Team Tune Up
Systems Check
Feedback and Performance Check
Coaching and Mentoring
Presentations
Navigating Disruption
Downshifting and Renewal

I’m going to save my anticipated post on Knowledge Management – Capturing Successes and Strategic Issues for this coming week.

Given that it’s the end of the month and the quarter, let’s take a look at some core questions:

What were my major achievements this month?
What do I want to celebrate?
As I consider my goals (and resolutions) I made at the start of the year, how am I doing with these on a scale of 1-10? Which ones are becoming new habits or something I can check off?
Which ones need to be let go of?
As a leader, what have I noticed about my team this month?
As a leader, what notes should I make about performance issues (if I haven't done it already!)
The thing that has helped me be most productive this month has been ______
The thing that has helped me be most successful this month has been ______
The thing that has helped me be happiest this month has been ________
The thing that has helped me be most healthy has been _______

Quarterly Review Questions:

My major achievements this quarter have been _________
Key projects/tasks I started/completed/will continue…
Critical success factors were:
Key relationships I leaned into were:
What I need to carry forward to the next quarter is…
One thing I want to continue doing to ensure my success next quarter is…

Be sure to also take a look at the Quarterly Review Questions I posted at the end of March 2019. These can be used as Q2 reflections as well.

Looking ahead to July:
My priorities are:
My goals are:
I want to......
I'll be really happy at the end of summer when I.....

Enjoy your reflections and the wrap up of the month!

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 #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 #1947 – Month End Review and Reflection

4/30/2019

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:

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

Looking ahead to May:

What are you top 3 priorities?
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)
By the end of May, what do you want to make sure you have achieved?
What are the daily steps or consistent actions you want to undertake?
What relationships are important to foster?
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

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 #1917: Month End and Q2 Review and Reflection

3/31/2019

It is the end of another month, and also a quarter. What are the key things you want to make sure you take note of, celebrate and review?

Here are several questions you will want to explore as you consider month and quarter end:

Reflecting on March and/ or the entire quarter:

What have been your successes this month?
What didn’t work? Why?
What are the changes you would make in the future to that?
What has been your biggest learning?
What habits have supported you?
What things have gotten in the way?
Where have you been getting your results?
What metrics do you want to note?

Looking ahead to the next quarter or the next month:

What are the things you need to prioritize gong forward – next month? Next quarter?
What do you need to say "no" to?
What resources are going to help you be successful?
What relationships are critical for success?
What do you want to make sure you are communicating? To whom?
What do you want to make sure you schedule time in for?
Thinking about your metrics, what are the things that you want to track on a regular basis. What are the goals you hope to achieve or hit around these in the next period?

Last week I enjoyed leading a session using a new Quarterly Review form. I made this supplementary form available to those who receive my PlanDoTrack newsletter. If you'd like to become a subscriber and receive this monthly newsletter related to planning, and virtual team issues, please sign up here.

I hope that you will find some time today to celebrate your learning and achievements for q1. Please pass this link on to others who could benefit from some reflection and planning time.

Enjoy your reflections,
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.