Teams365 Blog - Potentials Realized

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 #2160 – Flashback Friday: Bringing Projects to A Close

11/29/2019

We’re just a few days away from the start of December and this is the time of year when EVERYTHING needs to get done. With that in mind, I thought it would be useful to take a look back at last year’s post about Bringing Projects to a close from Teams365 #1794. Here you go:

“At this time of year, the clock is ticking and it may now be GO TIME to get projects across the finish line. Where there was once time and leeway, now things need to get done and completed. What is it going to take to get the project completed before the end of the year?

To bring the project across the finish line consider:

What is it going to take to bring this project to a successful close?
What resources are needed? Do we need to pull new resources?
Are there any lessons learned from other projects that we can incorporate?
Are there any specialized, or talented, human resources we can bring in at this time to move the project quicker? Are there experts or seasoned team members who can complete tasks more quickly than others?
What elements can be completed consecutively? We often think that tasks are sequential (i.e. this has to be done before that), when in fact, we might be able to complete some tasks consecutively.
What does complete look like? Think about quality and scope. Are we still within the original scope of the project, or has there been scope creep?
Do we want to reconfirm project requirements, checking for any assumptions which may not be correct?
What can we do to minimize distractions and focus on what is really important? Are there some tasks which need to be devolved from those on the project team so they can focus 100 % on the task at hand?
What does project close out look like?
How can we capture the learning so we don’t repeat these cycles next time?
What’s going to help your projects move to completion phase quickly?”

Enjoy the conversation,
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 #2153 – FlashbackFriday: Team Wrap up – Six Questions

11/22/2019

Some teams will start winding down in the next while. Before it gets to be the last minute, it can be useful to schedule some time to do a formal team wrap-up. Here are several questions you may want to ask/discuss. They were originally shared in my earlier Teams365 blog post.

Here are six questions to be asking yourself and your team to finish off on a "high note":

1. What projects need to be completed prior to the end of the year? What will it take to wrap these up?
2. What, if anything, needs to wound down before the end of the year - processes, accounts, reports?
3. If we need more people power on a project before the end of the year, what do we let go of?
4. Before we disband for the holidays, what lessons learned and recommendations for next time do we need to capture?
5. What new habits do we need to develop as we get back to work in January?
6. What do we want to celebrate?

What else do you want to make sure you have dialogue about before the team starts to disband for the year?

Enjoy the conversation,
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 #2150 – The Last Mile of the Year

11/19/2019

We’re about six weeks away from the end of the year, a time which I like to frame as the LAST MILE of the year. It’s at this point where we start getting really clear on what needs to get done, what needs to get carried forward and what needs to get delegated.

Today’s post is an encouragement to think about what you want to accomplish in the last six weeks of the month. As we consider the last mile there may be many areas we want to consider including:

Projects:

What are the projects which still need attention?
What are the projects which need more resources to wrap up?
What has moved out of scope and needs to be readjusted?

One-on-one time with your team:

When was the last time you held 1-1's with your team?
What are conversations which need to happen before year end?

Team Events:

What team events need to happen before year end?
What supports do they need individually? Collectively?

Planning and Performance Events:

Have you already prepared your 2020 plans – at the organizational, team and individual levels?
When did you last hold a performance conversation with each team member? Ask for feedback yourself?

Stakeholder Events:

What stakeholders do you want to reach out to?
What conversations and/or collaborations are important to have?
What updates are important to provide?
Who do you want to set meetings up with before year end, or at the start of the year?

Communication and Reporting

What reports need to be completed?
What information needs to be shred with others?
What reports need an update?
What tasks have you been putting off? What needs an update?

Other Items:

What other items need to be wrapped up?
What do you need to put in hold or closed off on?
What are you going to do to capture lessons learned and lessons to carry forward?

The last couple of weeks of the year can feel like a whirlwind, and sometimes the important tasks get set aside and missed, including time set aside for the team. In one of my newsletters this month I included 8 different ways to wrap the year up with groups and teams – link to newsletter here.

What daily steps do you want to take going forward to get important items focused on?

Best wishes,
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 #2145 – Team Building Tip #262: RESULTS FOCUS

11/14/2019

This week’s Team Building Tip takes us into another check point -this week around your results focus. As indicated in the posts over the last couple of weeks as we step into the new year it can be valuable to consider where we want to focus and what we want to focus on.

Part of this decision gets us to think about what are the RESULTS we want to FOCUS on?

Consider the following in your next team meeting:

How are we doing with all of our annual/quarterly goals?
What needs attention?
What has given us the most impact this year?
What activities have detracted from our purpose/vision/goals?
What distractions have we faced?
What’s going to help us magnify and accelerate our results?
What is absolutely critical for us to complete before year end? What do we need to say NO to in order for this to happen?
What may we need to shift?

Enjoy the conversation!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success focusing on the Remote Space
Author of 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.
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.
Coming soon - the Remote Pathways™ Podcast

#TEAMS365 #2132 Welcome to November – Reflections as you start the month!

11/1/2019

Welcome to a new month here at the Teams365 blog. Our focus for the month of November is going to be on getting you prepared for year end, navigating disruption, and also continuing with our remote teamwork tips.

Today’s business context can be very volatile. With this in mind, we’re going to focus in on a number of key topics you have probably been hearing about:

VUCA
Focus
Attention
Systems

In addition to this, we’ll explore:

Year End Vision
Year End Team Acknowledgements
Vision for 2020

It’s also the start of the month which means that it’s time to spend a few minutes reviewing October and doing some planning for the month of November.

As you think about October:

What were your main accomplishments?
What skills and strengths helped you?
What distractions got in the way?
What surprized you?
How did you navigate the changes you were faced with?
What projects, tasks and activities are going to carry forward?
What Q4 goals have been achieved? What’s shifted already?
What else is important to note?

As you look ahead to November:

What are your top 3-5 priorities?
What’s important to take action on and wrap up this month?
What key activities are important to put boundaries around?
What distractions do you want to minimize?
What relationships are important to note?
What habits to you want to count on?

What else?

If you have a copy of PlanDoTrack or Coaching Business Builder take note of the metrics you have been tracking in your Monthly Daily Trackers and be sure to complete the Month in Review as well as your Monthly To-Dos, and new month in review.

With 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.
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 #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 #2108 – Performance Reviews in the Remote Space

10/8/2019

This week takes us into the interesting landscape of performance reviews in the remote space. Just as feedback is important in the in-person realm, feedback in the remote space is also important. Perhaps even more so, given the isolation and possibility that things can get off the rails very quickly.

Just as in in-person work, it is important to provide feedback and checkpoints on a regular basis. Usually the pace around everything is faster in the remote space, so consider how you might build in monthly or bi-weekly checkpoints for team members to see how they are doing.

Questions to consider when shifting performance reviews and conversations to the remote space:

HOW do we evaluate? Considering your feedback process is critical for remote workers. We want to be sure that they are getting regular, consistent feedback. No comments, or radio silence, is not enough. Consideration around HOW we evaluate - through written feedback, verbal feedback, review of job products - is a great starting point.

What are the different sources of feedback? Given that people are liaising with lots of different members, WHO is well placed to provide feedback? HOW do we invite them to provide feedback?

Getting really clear on outputs - In the remote space what we see in work is usually the end product. Being super-specific around outputs and what success looks like is very important in any type of performance conversation. Measuring on the process is usually a little trickier as it often is not seen, so consider how you are speaking to success measures and outputs in your performance conversations.

Provide multiple checkpoints - Formal feedback cycles may be much quicker than in-person given that we usually don’t see each other and informally connect with updates. What are the checkpoints you are going to put into place to make sure that people are feeling supported, and that issues are being “caught” in time?

Micro-monitor, don’t micro-manage - Micro-monitoring is a key part of virtual team success. When we have staff who work remote, it’s key that we are monitoring their results and outputs, rather than trying to micro-manage what they do. Micro-management is usually impossible or improbable given distance. Together with members of your team, set up a schedule to track, report and discuss key metrics and milestones.

What is important to put into place for your performance reviews?

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.
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 #2100 – Effective Virtual Conversations Tip 113

9/30/2019

It’s Monday at time for our next Effective Virtual Conversations Tip. This is tip 113 in the series. Be sure to check out the weekly Effective Virtual Conversations Tips here. You can find out more about this book and related programming over at EffectiveVirtualConversations.com.

This week’s tip gets you to consider the question “What digital distractions are impacting you?”. From pings to things flashing across the screen, interruptions in the digital space can quickly take us off focus. While Gloria Marks research has shown that it can take upwards of 22 minutes to regain focus, sometimes we don’t have that long.

What are the things we can do to create more focus in the virtual/digital space?

Go on airplane mode or non-wifi for parts of the day when you need deep concentration
Work on different devices – i.e. a smaller laptop for writing projects
Schedule "deeper thinking" work at different parts of the day
Make a point of spending part of a work day outside of the office. For example, I spend 2-3 hours working out of a public library once a week. In addition to being a great research resource, it also is an place where I know I will be able to work without the usual distractions. I usually target to take action on the one project that has been left hanging for that week. It gives me a keen sense of satisfaction as I do to leave after my time spent.

As another resource you may want to check out, I continue to enjoy the writing of Cam Newport in his books – Deep Work and Digital Minimalism. If today’s topic is of interest to you, you may find these books interesting.

Questions to consider:

What are the digital distractions you are most aware of?
When do they happen?
What are 3-5 things you can do RIGHT NOW to create more focus and minimize distractions. DO IT NOW! (Before you get up or click on or reply to the next email). Thank you!

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.
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 #2099 – Weekly Round Up and Preparing for Q4 Planning

9/29/2019

It’s Sunday which means that it’s time for a weekly roundup. A quick reminder of this week’s posts –

We are just about to step into Q4 with Quarter 3 just behind us. Given that it is a Sunday, it is a great opportunity to do a quick review and roundup of quarterly planning.

Questions you will want to reflect on are:

What were your key goals for Q3?
What did you achieve?
What needs to be wrapped up in the next few days?
What goals/projects/tasks need to be carried forward?
What do you want to focus on for Q4?

If you have not seen the quarterly planning session I recorded earlier this year, grab a pen and about 30 minutes to work through the video and related prompts here.

Enjoy!
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.