One of the biggest areas of time utilization that teams points to as not as effective as it can be is virtual meetings. In today’s post, I wanted to explore five key areas which can derail and demotivate teams. As someone who works with professionals who want to become more proficient in the virtual space, getting a handle on these five meeting pitfalls are key.
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#1 – Not prioritizing meetings.
Many times, virtual meetings are postponed because not everyone is going to be there. In fact, it may be more useful to start from the assumption that not everyone is going to be there, and people can catch up with a recording or the transcript. Regular team meetings and communication are important. They provide an important channel for sharing information, taking the pulse, and/or keeping the team connected.

#2 – Not putting everyone on the same platform.
One of the greatest challenges today is the blended meeting space, where you have some (or a bulk of people) calling in from one location, and others dialing in from separate locations. This can sometimes augment the disconnection across a team. Try putting all people on the virtual platform for a change and see what happens as you incorporate the different engagement strategies (see #5) and as you intentionally create dialogue and sharing across part of the team that may not normally be connected.

Putting everyone on the same platform is a great equalizer and if you are wanting to truly build a team, it means that common ground is needed.
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#3 – Not having a plan – 8 Meeting Questions.
A lot of meetings in both the virtual and in-person space are poorly organized. Before kicking off any meeting, be sure to check out the 8 Meeting Questions I share in Effective Virtual Conversations:

In Effective Virtual Conversations, I shared 8 Essential Meeting Questions to ask at the start or end of any meeting. These include:
1.      What’s the purpose?
2.      What takeaways do we want?
3.      Who needs to be on the call?
4.      What preparation is needed for us to be most effective in the meeting?
5.      What pace to do we want in order to keep it engaging?
6.      What will help keep the focus?
7.     What’s absolutely essential? (What’s essential, versus what will be nice to cover? If you can’t cover it, where can people go for more information around topics?)
8.      What follow up might be required?

(Reference: Jennifer Britton, Effective Virtual Conversations, pp 304, 2017)

#4 - Speaking at, rather than speaking with, the group.
It’s easy for people to slip into the trap of "speaking at” rather than “speaking with” virtual groups. The use of process is key for engagement, and it’s important that you let your group/team know about what they can expect in terms of input and interaction. Follow through with this and learn to be comfortable with “silence” and also handing the reins over to others.

Instead of opening the floor up to dead silence, let people know that you are first going to call on everyone in the team in a certain order – i.e. First name (forwards, backwards), East to West or West to East, Job Role, length of time with the organization...

Process creates clarity and it also creates safety.

#5 – Not using or underutilizing the tools available.
From recording the calls so you don’t have to spend weeks typing up the meeting notes, to using the different engagement functions virtual meetings CAN be interactive. Depending on what the purpose of the meeting is, consider how you might use:

• Polls – for voting or pulse check across the team
• Chat – To capture ideas, brainstorming, comments, and/or team agreements. Depending on the platform you use, you may be able to save the chat easily with your recording. This text file can then get sent to everyone.
• Use annotation to have people share their thoughts – agreements, priorities, what their strengths are. Annotation allows people to highlight and circle items on the screen
• Breakouts – probably one of the favorite transformers I see, breakouts allow people to move into their own private meeting space and have a smaller discussion. This can be invaluable if you are wanting to get the team’s input on things or boost motivation for change. If we are always feeling like we are TALKED at, rather than part of the conversation, it’s hard to have a good meeting.

As you go to organize your next meeting, what pitfalls do you want to keep an eye on? What changes do you want to make?

Best,
​Jennifer

One of this week’s focuses has been about creating more focus in today’s digitally distracted world. For our Friday Flashback, I thought it would be interesting to reach back to a post from earlier this year where I highlighted Digital Distractions. Take a look at it here:

From open office spaces to a focus on collaboration, there can also be a pendulum swing in organizations where sometimes things go too far.
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As I mentioned over the weekend, there are a number of studies exploring this topic of distraction including Udemy In Depth’s 2018 Workplace Distraction Survey. You can read it here. 
 
The report asserts that distractions have an impact on productivity. Some of the distractions noted in that study are talkative co-workers, email and others.
Many of the distractions I hear of in the work of my clients are:

• Unscheduled meetings
• Co-workers dropping by to chat
• Email
• Social media which takes you “down the rabbit hole”
• Materials and information which are not readily accessible and have not been stored in the locations you thought they would be in

What are you doing to minimize the distractions? What do you find distracting?

What conversations are important to have?

​Here are some other articles of interest:

Check out this article from Financial Times – “Digital Distractions are Making Us Dumb and Twitchy” which also includes some great tips from Professor Cal Newport.

Suresh Subamdam’s article on Is Your Work's Communication Channel Turning Your Team Into a Bunch of 'Slack'-ers?

Take a look at Digital Responsibility’s website and ideas on Digital Distraction.

Wishing you all the best,
​Jennifer

This week’s Team Building Tip gets you to think about what you are putting your attention around. What we measure gets done. What we focus on, may improve.

Creating intentional focus is critical for success in a disrupted business context. It’s often the consistent action that gets things going.

In contrast to the question you, as a team, will want to consider – what are you NOT putting attention around?  What does need some attention?

As we step into the early part of September, it’s likely that things are going to ramp up again. Having a discussion this week with your team who is in the office around what you are and are not focusing on, and changes you want to make, can help set you up for success this fall.
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Enjoy your conversations!
Jennifer

This week’s Teamwork Foundation post gets you, as a team, to consider how you are as a team with respect to alignment. Teamwork today is dependent on alignment.

Alignment around purpose.

Alignment around values.

Alignment around goals.

When a team is not aligned, it’s likely we’ll see these types of behaviors:

• Duplication
• Gaps
• Performance issues and lack of clarity around goals
• Weaker team culture – no one is sure what they are working on or what’s important

In order to boost alignment, we want to:

• Help team members see the bigger picture
• Help teams prioritize so they can focus on what’s important
• Build connection across the team
• Understand who does what
• Clarity and strengthen team culture

What is important to note around alignment within your team right now?

Best,
​Jennifer

This week’s weekly journaling prompt invites you to take a little bit longer this week to pause. This week’s prompt gets you to complete the following sentence “I can downshift _____ in order to ______”.

Many of us still have one more month before what’s often termed the “second new year “the start of the September work month.

What is important about renewal for you right now?

What might you need to let go of, or do less frequently, or in a different way, in order to create space?

What’s important to downshift? To simplify?

With speed and distraction framing the work world (if we choose!), I wanted to share this quote:

“In an age of speed, I began to think, nothing could be more invigorating than going slow. In an age of distraction, nothing can feel more luxurious than paying attention.” — Pico Iyer
 
What do you want to downshift?

Enjoy your reflection!
Jennifer

This week’s Weekly Journaling Prompt gets you to write around the prompt of “I appreciate….”

Appreciations can range from:

• Taking stock about the things that are working can be important
• Saying thank you to others in your work of life on a regular basis
• Making a practice of taking stock at the end of the day three things you are grateful for. This exercise which comes from positive psychology has been shown to have positive impact.

Here’s an article you might want to explore from Forbes entitled: 10 Reasons You Need To Show Appreciation Daily By David Sturt and Todd Nordstrom

What are you going to do to focus on appreciation this week?

Best,
Jennifer

​It’s Sunday and time to borrow from the PlanDoTrack blog. Earlier this week I shared this week’s Effective Virtual Conversations tip around honing listening. I recently shared this blog post over at the PlanDoTrack site. 

Here’s what I wrote about listening for Virtual and Remote Teams:
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Last week I focused on the first of three coaching skills which can be important to equip all virtual and remote team members with. While these are often considered “coaching skills for leaders” in the virtual and remote environment, building this capacity in our virtual team can enhance productivity, peer support and results.
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Last week I explored GOALS. This week let us look at listening.
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Communication occurs in many channels in the virtual space – from conversations by phone, to texts, to email and IM (Instant Messaging).

Each one has its advantages and disadvantages.

Research shows that a significant portion of our understanding comes from tone, which is lost when we lean into digital channels of communication – text, email and IM. This can lead to a lot of misunderstandings, misinterpretations and lack of clarity.

Our listening can be heavily influenced by a number of factors:

• Distractions (what we have on our plate, not reading things fully)
• Our relationship with the sender (what do we know about their context, their intent, their focus and priorities)
• Our understanding of the topic
• Thinking about what we want to say, rather than listening for what is really being said

When we are able to meet for voice conversations, we may hear the tone, if we are listening for it. Adding on visual cues – like streaming for a meeting instead of just using the phone – can add additional layers on to the conversation. Being able to share our screen and work together real-time can also help us understand the full context.

What are the things that are helping and hindering your virtual conversations?
Are distractions getting in the way? How are you using all the tools you have available?  What are you doing to increase your understanding of other’s context and priorities?

There are many more tools and ideas available for virtual teams in these various resources from me:

• Part 3 of my 2017 book, Effective Virtual Conversations, focuses on virtual team development, meetings and communication. 
• Check out the posts related to Coaching Skills and Virtual and Remote Teams over at the Teams365 blog.

Let me know how I can support your virtual team development. From virtual retreat facilitation, to offering virtual team coaching services, we specialize in virtual team support.  

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.

Given that we are stepping into mid-month, let’s take a look at where your team is at. Is it time for a team tune-up?

As we move into mid-year, some of the things we might want to keep in mind are:

• What rhythm have we gotten into in terms of work and results?
• What rhythm have we gotten into in terms of meetings?

AT your next team meeting, consider building in some time for a team check in or tune-up. Questions for each person to reflect on and possibly share:

• What do I need from others in order to be successful?
• Things others on the team should know about my work right now are…
• My priorities for the next six months are…
• My greatest success has been…
• Our greatest success this year has been…
• One thing that is really important for us to address is…
• One thing I need from my leader is…
• The feedback I want to offer to my leader is…
• The feedback I want to offer to my teammates is..
• The one connection I wish I had…
• If I had a magic wand I would….

Depending on how frequently you meet, it might be possible to have you share 1-2 of these questions as an entire team for the next few meetings.

Wishing you the 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.

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:

1. As you reflect on May, what have been your successes and accomplishments?
2. What are you most proud of?
3. What successes this month do you want to duplicate? What has been some of your key learning?
4. What key relationships have helped you so far this year? Which ones need more attention?
5. What has helped your successes? What has hindered?
6. What does your team need to be acknowledged for?

As you look to June, consider these questions:

1. What are your key priorities for June?
2. What are the key goals?
3. What are the major priorities?
4. What will you need to place attention on?
5. What changes do you want to make in June?
6. What resources do you want to tap into?
7. 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

This month we explored the topic of Teamwork in Uncertainty. From looking at the statistics of readers, it seems like it was a very resonant topic for those who visited the Teams365 blog this month. If you haven’t taken a look at this month’s posts, please be sure to check out:

1968 – Tuesday May 21: Teamwork in Uncertainty – Pivot
1969 – Wednesday May 22: Teamwork in Uncertainty  - Comfort with the Unknown
1974 –– Tuesday May 28: Teamwork in Uncertainty – Strengths and Go-Tos
1975 – Wednesday May 29: Teamwork in Uncertainty – Synergies

As we step into the end of May, I thought it would be useful to reach back to one of the posts from last May on Prioritization.

One of the most disruptive things about disruption is the impact on our focus. Prioritization becomes a key skill set to cultivate.

Here’s what I wrote last May about leading in complexity -
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“Prioritization is a skill set we draw upon regularly in times of complexity. Prioritization allows all team members to regularly scan and manage their workload.

Key to prioritization is:

• Having the tools to prioritize
• Feeling empowered to make decisions and take responsibility for managing workload
• Understanding what is most important – to the different players of the team, as well as the different time frames you are working on (short term, medium term)

In past Teams365 posts I’ve explored a range of prioritization skills including the Urgent/Important Matrix (we often attribute to Covey), as well as a Decision Matrix where we weigh what’s important in making our decisions.
 
For more on the topic of prioritization, check out these additional resources:
This excellent article from MindTools.com - which has an incredible amount of other resources team members and leaders will also want to check out.

LiquidPlanner.com's article on How to Prioritize Work When Everything Is #1 - Read it here."

For those that are looking at prioritization through the lens of product design, you'll want to take  a look at this excellent article 20 Product Prioritization Techniques.

In my books PlanDoTrack and the Coaching Business Builder I share four prioritization tools I use regularly with my clients and teams including the Urgent/Important Matrix and Strategic Issues Mapping.

The issue of prioritization takes on increased importance when we are working as part of a matrix or remote team. In these instances, our priorities may be varied and not as visible to ourselves and others. What is important for you to note around prioritization?

Best
Jennifer

Jennifer Bri​tton – 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.