Teams365 Blog - POTENTIALS REALIZED

TEAMS365 #2377 – Flashback Friday: Teamwork in Complexity – Experimentation

7/3/2020

This week we take a look back at a post which is probably even more relevant today than it was when I wrote it back in 2017 – Teamwork in Complexity.

What are you noticing about how teamwork is changing in your work in 2020?

What role does experimentation play in helping you be successful?

Take a look at this post:

This month we are exploring the skills required in teamwork, including listening and curiosity. Today I wanted to take a dive into a third skill area, that being the area of experimentation.

Experimentation is key for business leaders and teams today. Many times, the context is changing so quickly that we don’t have time to complete an entire roll-out before having to make a final decision. That can lead to a mindset of experimentation, where it is encouraged to try things out, see what works and what doesn’t.

In supporting experimentation in our team we want to:

Encourage and reward trial and error
Create safety around not getting “things right”
Provide team members with time and resources to experiment, beyond their everyday team responsibilities
Facilitate an evaluation of projects or “Experiments” that are completed or are even at the midpoint

Questions we may ask at project reviews include:

What’s working?
What’s not?
What are the things that need to be abandoned or tweaked?
What additional resources do we need?
What unknown obstacles have become visible?
What is the big learning we are taking?
What is the one thing/ or the many things we are going to do differently going forward?
Who else can we learn from (including our own past projects)?

Enjoy the conversations!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Coaching Skills Training | Leadership Development | Teamwork
Growing Team Leaders, One Conversation at a Time™ in the Remote Space
Contact us to discuss leadership, coaching or performance needs for your and your team
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out our Digital Resources to support you in your work and conversations

TEAMS365 #2375 –Mid Year Stock Taking: Happy Canada Day and Kicking off a New Month and the 2nd Half of the Year

7/1/2020

Welcome back and first of all, Happy Canada Day to other fellow Canadians. I hope that you are enjoying a day of rest and relaxation and maybe some good BBQ and sunshine.

As we kick off a new month, what’s important for you to keep an eye on?

What are your top 3-5 goals?

What are the most important habits and routines to consistently undertake?

Like we’ve done in past months, what do you want to ensure you focus on?

Once you are done that, earmark some time to focus in on your mid-year review.

Here are a number of questions to take stock of the first half of the year, and look ahead to July, as well as the second part of the year:

What have your successes been?
Who have you been working with?
I have PIVOTED BY…
Where has your focus been?
What have you taken a stand for?
What have you become known for?
Which goals are becoming new habits, or something you can check off?
What do you notice about your metrics?
Which goals need to be adjusted or let go of?
The thing that helped me be most successful this year has been __________
The thing that has helped me be happiest this year has been __________
What has helped me be most healthy has been __________
What I have noticed about my work/productivity/results and/or relationships is __________
What’s your focus for the rest of the year?
Looking ahead to the next six months, my top 3 – 5 priorities are:
My theme for the rest of the year is…
Success at the end of the end of the year includes:
I also need to think about __________

Aristotle wrote, “We are what we repeatedly do”. What are the habits and routines which shape your world?

Planning Support with Your Business
Looking for a mid-year Virtual Work Planning session for yourself or your business? Check out the half day, one day and multi-day VIP working day sessions. You can find out more here.

Enjoy!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Coaching Skills Training | Leadership Development | Teamwork
Growing Team Leaders, One Conversation at a Time™ in the Remote Space
Contact us to discuss leadership, coaching or performance needs for your and your team
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out our Digital Resources to support you in your work and conversations

TEAMS365 #2370 – FlashbackFriday – Teamwork Skills In Complexity – Experimentation

6/26/2020

Many of you know that I cohost the Remote Pathways podcast. It was inspired by a writing project I started last year about the Digital Dozen™, twelve different types of remote workers. This writing has been shaped by my own adventures in the remote space over the last three decades.

One of the most important areas I ‘ve seen for teams that thrive in complex and uncertain times is adopting an experimental mindset. This is a topic I wrote about a few years ago in Teams365 #1597 which I thought would be good to return to in today’s Flashback Friday. In fact, at the Remote Pathways Community, we’ve had Experimentation as our Quarterly Theme for 2020. What have you done this quarter to incorporate more experimentation?

Here’s what I wrote in Teams365 #1597:

This month we are exploring the skills required in teamwork, including listening and curiosity. Today I wanted to take a dive into a third skill area, that being the area of experimentation.

Experimentation is key for business leaders and teams today. Many times, the context is changing so quickly that we don’t have time to complete an entire roll-out before having to make a final decision. That can lead to a mindset of experimentation, where it is encouraged to try things out, see what works and what doesn’t.

In supporting experimentation in our team we want to:

Encourage and reward trial and error
Create safety around not getting “things right”
Provide team members with time and resources to experiment, beyond their everyday team responsibilities
Facilitate an evaluation of projects or “experiments” that are completed or are even at the midpoint

Questions we may ask at project reviews include:

What’s working?
What’s not?
What are the things that need to be abandoned or tweaked?
What additional resources do we need?
What unknown obstacles have become visible?
What is the big learning we are taking?
What is the one thing/ or the many things we are going to do differently going forward?
Who else can we learn from (including our own past projects?

What are you going to do to create more of a focus around experimentation?

Have a great weekend!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Coaching Skills Training | Leadership Development | Teamwork
Growing Team Leaders, One Conversation at a Time™ in the Remote Space
Contact us to discuss leadership, coaching or performance needs for your and your team
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out our Digital Resources to support you in your work and conversations

TEAMS365 #2367 –Back to the Basics with Teamwork: Roles

6/23/2020

It’s Tuesday which means that we are heading “Back to the Basics” with teamwork. One of the areas which gets really magnified in the virtual and remote space is that of roles. With matrix relationships being the norm for many teams who operate remotely, it’s not uncommon to have two, three or four different line managers. Someone who might be your “main” boss, someone who supports you on one project, and another who supports you technically.

At the same time, it’s likely that in addition to having different bosses, you also likely inhabit different roles. On some teams you might be a project lead, on others an activator and on others a person who gets things done.

With membership on so many teams, it can be important to clarify ROLES as well as be really intentional with building out the culture of your organization. Tomorrow we will look at the different components of building out a vibrant remote team culture where people feel connected with their team and help to shape the culture of it.

Spending time focusing on the roles which exist in a team is important. It’s important on several different levels:

First, what are the roles needed in order to get things done?
Second, who is ideally suited for each role. Consider who might be good at setting a vision, versus executing things and getting things done. Who is better at the granular detail versus the strategic view of things? Consider who is best placed for which role. Consider who gets put in a role by default – they do it just because they can, not because they want to. While this will work in the short-term, what happens in the long term?
Third, how do the different roles connect and fit together? Where is there overlap? Where are their gaps?
Fourth, what are the different roles and responsibilities? Who needs to do what, when? What happens if this doesn’t happen? Helping team members understand the bigger picture is essential for performance.
Fifth, what are the feedback loops from one part of the team to another? Take a look at Monday’s Effective Virtual Conversations tip on Team Feedback. What can you be doing to amplify your team feedback?

Roles are an often-overlooked part of team experience. What’s important to note?

Best,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Coaching Skills Training | Leadership Development | Teamwork
Growing Team Leaders, One Conversation at a Time™ in the Remote Space
Contact us to discuss leadership, coaching or performance needs for your and your team
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out our Digital Resources to support you in your work and conversations

TEAMS365 #2365 – Kicking off For Summer and Sunday in Review

6/21/2020

Welcome back to another Sunday in Review.

We’ve just passed the Summer Equinox, and I had indicated that many would want to take some time this weekend to note your goals and focus areas for the next 3 months of summer (or winter – if you are in the Southern Hemisphere).

Here are some questions to get you thinking about this season:

What are 3-5 key priorities for the next 90 days?
What do you want to do consistently for the next 90 days?
Is there one habit or routine you want to focus on?
What relationships do you want to cultivate?
What projects are in focus this season?
What do you want to be saying YES to? What do you want to be saying NO to?
If you track metrics, note your metrics today (sales, outreach, social, achievements) and compare them to 90 days ago, as well as think about where you want them to be in another 90 days.
What else is important to note?

This week we’ve taken a look at a lot of topics which are important and might warrant some more reflection or “percolation time”. Our posts this week were:

Enjoy the focus!
Jennifer

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

Get your Q2 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, or join me for the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program

Contact us to discuss how we can support you and your teams and organization with remote work.

Check out upcoming virtual programs on our calendar

PDF copies of PlanDoTrack now available! Get yours here.

TEAMS365 #2364 – Weekly Journaling Prompt

6/20/2020

This week’s Weekly Journaling Prompt gets you to think about the question “I love….”. You may have been reflecting on this question in recent weeks and months when the things that you love (people, places, activities) might have been off bounds due to quarantine, stay-in-place or other events related to COVID-19.

As many places are moving to some loosening of restrictions, what are the things you want to make sure you do, or enjoy, when you can?

A few months ago, back in late March I asked members on a community call to share their insights around the question “I love…” and it evoked many emotions. I hope that this weekend’s Weekly Journaling Prompt is one which is meaningful to you.

Today is the summer equinox for those in the northern hemisphere (and winter equinox in the southern hemisphere). What do you want to be putting attention around in the next few months? What are your goals for the next 90 days? Be sure to take some time today to write these out as well.

Best,
Jennifer

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

Get your Q2 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, or join me for the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program

Contact us to discuss how we can support you and your teams and organization with remote work.

Check out upcoming virtual programs on our calendar

PDF copies of PlanDoTrack now available! Get yours here.

TEAMS365 #2362 – Team Building Tip 250

6/18/2020

This week we hit the 250 mark of the weekly Thursday Team Building Tips. Which one has been your favorite?

Each week I have been providing you with a question to incorporate into your team meeting, to spark some new ideas. This week’s question is “What needs more percolation time?”.

As we’ve collectively seen in recent months, complex challenges when we are leading from a new paradigm often requires new ways of thinking. This may mean new concepts, new mental models, as well as new ways of doing things.
With this in mind, it may mean that things need to marinate, stew or percolate for longer.

The percolation time may feel very different than when thinking is fast, and action is fast.

What are the things you need to marinate on, or percolate on as a team? As an individual? What will help you NOT rush the process?

Enjoy today’s post and be sure to take some time to review some of the first 250 Team Building questions here.

Best,
Jennifer

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

Get your Q2 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, or join me for the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program

Contact us to discuss how we can support you and your teams and organization with remote work.

Check out upcoming virtual programs on our calendar

PDF copies of PlanDoTrack now available! Get yours here.

TEAMS365 #2356 – FlashbackFriday: Teams365 #1597: Teamwork Skills in Complexity: Experimentation

6/12/2020

My former world of work involved leading mega-projects in terms of post disaster management support. From coordinating teams of professionals from a wide variety of backgrounds (GIS specialists, architects, civil engineers, health care professionals) to rebuild different components of society (from roads, to land records, educational systems to health care). My work during the 1990s and early 2000s was outside of the norm, I believe, from what many leaders experienced. Flashforward to 2020, where everyone – leaders and team members alike – can benefit from thinking about teamwork and leadership skills to support them in navigating and thriving in complex environments.

Today’s post takes us back to one of several posts from May 2018 where I explored different teamwork skills required for complexity in a series of Teams365 blog posts. From exploring experimentations, to curiosity, problem solving, focus (and think about yesterday’s blog post about the RAS), to listening and synergy.

As part of today’s Flashback Friday post, let’s take a look at one of the skills that I think is probably most important to cultivate and sometimes requires a significant shift in terms of focus and mindset. It’s the skill of experimentation.
How often do you experiment?

Are you encouraged to experiment? Are youencouraged to try things out, even if they don’t work?

Here’s what I wrote, and as you read, consider how experimentation might support your work efforts.

This month we are exploring the skills required in teamwork, including listening and curiosity. Today I wanted to take a dive into a third skill area, that being the area of experimentation.

Experimentation is key for business leaders and teams today. Many times, the context is changing so quickly that we don’t have time to complete an entire roll-out before having to make a final decision. That can lead to a mindset of experimentation, where it is encouraged to try things out, see what works and what doesn’t.

In supporting experimentation in our team we want to:

Encourage and reward trial and error
Create safety around not getting “things right”
Provide team members with time and resources to experiment, beyond their everyday team responsibilities
Facilitate an evaluation of projects or “experiments” that are completed or are even at the midpoint

Questions we may ask at project reviews include:

What’s working?
What’s not?
What are the things that need to be abandoned or tweaked?
What additional resources do we need?
What unknown obstacles have become visible?
What is the big learning we are taking?
What is the one thing/ or the many things we are going to do differently going forward?
Who else can we learn from (including our own past projects)?

Enjoy your reflections!
Jennifer

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

Get your Q2 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, or join me for the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program

Contact us to discuss how we can support you and your teams and organization with remote work.

Check out upcoming virtual programs on our calendar

PDF copies of PlanDoTrack now available! Get yours here.

TEAMS365 #2343 –Weekly Journaling Prompt 101

5/30/2020

This week’s Weekly Journaling Prompt gets you to consider the question – “What do you want to celebrate?”.

As you think about the first five months of the year consider:

What were your major accomplishments?
What did you achieve?
What are the things you are proud of?
What is important to acknowledge?

I hope that you enjoy this week’s journaling prompt!

With best wishes,
Jennifer

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

Get your Q2 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, or join me for the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program

Contact us to discuss how we can support you and your teams and organization with remote work.

Check out upcoming virtual programs on our calendar

PDF copies of PlanDoTrack now available! Get yours here.

TEAMS365 #2339 - Ways to Keep Your Virtual Meeting on the Flow

5/26/2020

Keeping the conversation going with virtual meetings in the remote space can take some concerted effort and is critical in terms of getting right. For many teams, it’s going to be a while longer before they are back face-to-face.

Next time you are going to lead a virtual meeting or facilitate a virtual webinar, consider these tips:

Keep it varied. Keep the pace moving and adjust pace every 7- 10 minutes. This might involve polling people in a larger audience or focusing more on
Use the tools available. There are usually many tools we can activate in the virtual space to engage others. From annotation, to breakouts, polling, to chat, what do you want to ensure you do to bring in everyone’s voices?
Wrap it up before the top of the hour. Maybe even 5 – 10 minutes early. With back-to-back virtual meetings becoming the norm, what would it be like to adopt a 50- or 55-minute meeting length so people actually have time to move from one meeting to the next?
Leave 30-60 seconds for people to note what they are going to do and schedule it in. How many times have you left one meeting, clear on what you had committed to doing, and then by the end of the next hour had forgotten what it was?

Always run through your pre-meeting checklist before you get going…. check out my past post around 8 Meeting Questions you always want to ask. You can read it here at the PlanDoTrack Blog.

What’s going to help make your next meet be most efficient?

With best wishes,
Jennifer

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

Get your Q2 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, or join me for the Virtual Facilitation Essentials program

Contact us to discuss how we can support you and your teams and organization with remote work.

Check out upcoming virtual programs on our calendar

PDF copies of PlanDoTrack now available! Get yours here.