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

As we step into Quarter 2 it can be useful to do a bit of a review – on the individual level, and also with our teams.

For some individual reflection, take a look at the recent Quarterly Reflection Worksheet I created for the PlanDoTrack series of programming I offer around Planning, Productivity and Remote/Virtual Teams. Take a few minutes to complete that before you get too far into the month.
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At the same time, it can be useful to do a checkpoint around these items:

1. How are we going in our progress to our most important goals? Rate this on a 1-10 and get input across the team?  What will help you move the #s upward?
2. Have we had a recent feedback conversation “both ways” – between leader and team member? What’s going well? What’s not? Be sure to provide positive and constructive feedback.
3. What issues need to be addressed, or have the potential to derail us?
4. What team practices are working well? Consider meetings, social events, peer mentoring, 1-1 meetings etc.
5. What systems are helping with information flow and knowledge sharing?
6. Projects – Where are projects at? What is the status of communication? What project issues require attention? How are they doing according to the spotlight (Red, Yellow, Green)? –Check out this spotlight blog post for more!
7. Matrix relationships 
8. Reporting
9. Finances
10. Other Systems which need attention..

And ANYTHING ELSE?

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

Happy April Fools Day! Every April I celebrate the milestone of moving back to Canada after spending almost 15 years working and living abroad. Some stints were short, others became indefinitely longer than planned, AND I look back to my many years of service in the global arena with great fondness.

Coming home to Canada was precipitated by many factors in 2004, namely the loss of vision in one of my eyes. While I’ll never have full vision, I can say strongly 15 years later, that I’ve learned to navigate most things very well, and given my focus on the virtual space, don’t often even think about it!
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This month at the blog we’ll be focusing on the theme of Team Springboards, in honor of the new season. I’ll be continuing to focus on some practical things you can incorporate with your team – whether it’s remote or virtual or intact.  The start of Q2 provides an opportunity for reset and also stock taking. Before we know it, summer will be on the doorstep for Northern Hemisphere teams, and winter, encroaching for Southern Hemisphere teams.

This month will mark the start of our 15th anniversary celebrations given that Potentials Realized marks its 15th birthday on April 7th. Stay tuned for monthly spotlights and resources around the key areas we provide services in to leaders, teams and business owners.

Best, 
​Jennifer

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

​This week’s weekly journaling prompt gets us to consider the question: “This quarter the theme is….”.

Part of the challenge in today’s VUCA context (were things may be ever-changing as well as volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) is that there is so much to focus on. Having an annual or quarterly theme can help us to ground and focus on what is most important.
What is your theme for this quarter?
As a coach who has asked my clients (often leaders, teams or business owners) this question thousands of times here are some of the themes my clients have set over the years:

• Acceleration
• Laser Beam
• Harpoon
• Clarity
• Rest
• Waterfall – to signify a trust in continued flow

My own theme for 2019 is magnify. I’m finding that this is a great touchpoint for me to return back to as I make decisions, prioritize and consider where to place my time and attention.

This week I hope that you will engage with the question – What is your quarterly theme?

Enjoy!
​Jennifer

It really feels like the start of spring (or fall) with the start of the new quarter, and with it comes the opportunity to develop some new habits for productivity. With this month's focus on "springboards" I thought it would be useful to revisit Teams365 #1345 as part of today's FlashbackFriday. IN that post I had included a focus on ten areas which are useful to consider in setting up your routines. I hope that these will be useful to consider as you step into Q2:

"Here are 10 areas to think about in terms of your back to work routines:

1. Meetings - There's an opportunity this fall to get more strategic with our meetings. Saying yes to more productive meetings, and being selective with ones that may not be as efficient. In my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, I cover 8 Essential Questions to Ask Before Your next Virtual Meeting. I put them into a bookmark which you can download here, just so they are always top of mind. Want a hard copy? Email me with your mailing address and I will pop one in the mail to you! (First 100 who do!)

2. Staying on top of email - While it may take a little more time that just one day, this week survey the types of emails you receive. Are you on a number of mailing lists that you can unsubscribe from? How many times are you touching email? More than once? Consider what's going to help you stay on top of email and not let it leak all over. I heard a recent statistic that most workers are receiving 150 emails a day - I have to fact check this but I'm sure if you are like me you will see the value in potentially corralling your inbox.

3. Managing Interruptions - there are dozens of interruptions we face every day - from the ding of an email to someone dropping by. What's going to help keep you focused? Some work time spent out of the office (whether at home or a library?). One study found that it takes 23 minutes to recover from an interruption.

4. One-on-ones - If you are a leader, one on one time with each staff pays off in spades. What is the routine you want to adopt in this area this fall? How will you track it? What type of one-on-ones do people prefer (face to face, phone time, length, structure?). Take a few minutes to take the pulse on your one-on-ones. You may also want to check out some of the past posts I have written on this topic as well.

5. Getting away from your desk at lunch - a recent CBC poll here in Canada found that 39% of employees surveyed eat their lunch at their desk. You can read it here. 
Stepping away from our desks at regular intervals is good to let our brains relax as well as enabling our body to move. While some might advocate that it gets you out the door earlier at night, what's going to be realistic around taking lunch away from your desk each week?

6. Clearing the clutter - Whether it's clutter on the desk, in the car, briefcase of home, clutter can weigh us down over time. What's the regular routine you want to get into this fall around clearing the clutter. Perhaps it is dedicating 10 minutes a day or several times a week to clearing clutter in a different place. Set your timer and see how much of an impact it makes!

7. Leaving time for exercise - Exercise provides us with a recharge to our body as well as our mind. What routine do you want to adopt for exercise this fall. Is there a class you have always wanted to take? Exercise is one of those things we may not do unless we schedule it in. Take a few minutes today to schedule in your exercise routine.

8. Taking time to cultivate important relationships - Another area that often gets short changed is spending time fostering peer relationships. Whether it's connecting with your boss, your peers, or other stakeholders, what needs attention this fall? Take a few minutes today to note this, and schedule it in. As Peter Drucker said, "What doesn't get scheduled, doesn't get done!"


9. Tackling that one project that's been hanging over your head, or finally saying no to it. Most of us have one project that's been on the back burner, or side burner or front burner and just isn't going anywhere. What can you do to finally finish this or say no to it. Take a few minutes this week to get this one moving to completion, or deletion.

10. Spending time on your development - In today's VUCA world (Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous), our continued development is paramount. Business changes in an instance. What professional, and personal, development will keep you growing and learning? Take a few minutes to note and schedule what you want to do for yourself this fall.

And of course, spending time with loved ones. At the end of the day, does anyone remember how much time at work or do they remember us for the time we have spent with them.

I hope that you'll take a few minutes today, or this week, to reflect on these areas as you get back to work.

Download a copy of the Back-to-Work Worksheet Here