Teams365 Blog - Potentials Realized

#Teams365 #1383: Weekend Quote

10/14/2017

This weekend's quote comes from Eloise Ristad who wrote "When we give ourselves permission to fail, we, at the same time, give ourselves permission to excel".

In today's business world, a lot is being written about the importance of creating an enabling environment for people to take risks in the business context, without knowing if the solution they are looking for will work. This is part of innovation. Part of creating that type of ongoing learning context is giving the team "permission to fail". If team members are unsure of what will happen if they take a risk, things will continue status quo. And we know that status quo thinking is not the thinking needed in many industries today.

Check out these different articles:
Ron Ashkenas and Lisa Bodell's article in HBR on The Reason Your Team Woln't Take Risks. Read it here.
Salim Ismail's Entrepreneur Article 3 Ways Companies can Foster Smart Risk Taking. Read it here.
Josh Linkner's article in Inc on 7 Steps to a Culture of Innovation. Read it here.

What is the environment you are creating as a team around risk?

Have a great weekend,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

Looking to enhance your virtual conversations - Conference calls? Webinars? Virtual coaching work? Pick up a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. You can also purchase a copy direct from our site, signed by me!

#Teams365 #1376: Weekend Quote: Motivation

10/7/2017

This weekend's quote comes from Antoine De Saint-Exupery who wrote "If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea".

This quote gets us thinking about the deeper layers of motivation and drivers. What are the things that shape actions in your team. To do lists, or values? A yearning for impact, or checking it off. The topic of capacity building is one that I work around every day. Many times the conversations we have do not yield immediate surface results, but have the impact of making a shift in the longer term, under the water line.

What is creating passion, and drive for your team right now? How can you give people an opportunity to connect more to what is below the water line?

Have a great weekend,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

Looking to enhance your virtual conversations - Conference calls? Webinars? Virtual coaching work? Pick up a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. You can also purchase a copy direct from our site, signed by me!

#Teams365 #1362: Weekend Quote

9/23/2017

I love today's weekend quote which comes from Erin Meyer who wrote:
"When you meet your workmates by the water cooler or photocopier every day, you know instinctively who you can and cannot trust. In a geographically distributed team, trust is measured almost exclusively in terms of reliability".

What are the behaviors that are building trust on your team right now? (Virtual or other)
What are the behaviors that are hindering, or breaking, trust?
What's does reliability mean on this team?

One of the key themes in Effective Virtual Conversations is the need for virtual facilitators and virtual leaders to take time to build trust and connection with their groups and teams. Otherwise, it's hard to realize the potential of the call or team itself.

What needs attention in this area? What do you want to do?

Have a great weekend,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

You can grab a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. You can also purchase a copy direct from our site, signed by me!

Looking to schedule some team development this fall? Contact me to discuss whether the Everything DiSC or the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team may be a great starting point.

#Teams365 #1355: Weekend Leadership and TEamwork Quote

9/16/2017

This weekend's quote comes from Joe Paterno who wrote "When a team outgrows individual performance and learns team confidence, excellence becomes a reality" .

The shift from individual contributor collective to a collaborative team is a shift. What is helping you with this shift? What is getting in the way? What is possible with your team effort?

This past week we've been looking at the realm of virtual facilitation. If you lead a virtual team, what is possible for team performance on your team? What will it take to shift from a collection of individuals into a team?

Have a great weekend,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

You can grab a copy of my new book, Effective Virtual Conversations, at Amazon. You can also purchase a copy direct from our site, signed by me!

Looking to schedule some team development this fall? Contact me to discuss whether the Everything DiSC or the Five Behaviors of a Cohesive Team may be a great starting point.

#Teams365 #1327: Weekend Quote

8/19/2017

Today's weekend quote comes from Ken Kesey. I think fondly to many summer days spent as a university student reading Kesey's books, years ago. I must have read this and had it imprinted on my mind, as his quote of "Take what you can use and let the rest go by", has been a derivative of a saying I've used for many decades with groups and teams I have worked with.

Consider your current experiences. What is really useful? Where do you need to let things go?

Have a great weekend,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

#Teams365 #1306:Weekend Quote

7/29/2017

This weekend's quote comes from Alan Alda. He wrote "You have to leave the city of your comfort and go into the wilderness of your intuition. What you'll discover will be wonderful. What you'll discover will be yourself.".

Much of what we do as leaders involves growth, and stretch zones. As Alda writes part of this involves moving out into those stretch areas or wilderness areas.

Where are you growing as a leader? What are your current stretch zones?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

Connect with us to be the first to know more about launch events around my newest book - Effective Virtual Conversations - coming out later this summer.

#TEams365 #1293: Sunday Quote on Silence

7/16/2017

Silence is the element in which great things fasten themselves together - Thomas Carlyle

I llove today's quote as it is truly reflective of some of the intentional space I try to cultivate in the work I do with teams, leaders, and also in my own professional practice. Many of us operate in a context where silence is at a premium or is non-existent. As Thomas Carlyle writes, it is an essential element for fusion, synthesis and connection.

Where are you able to create more moments of silence or what I call "pause points"?
What recent examples do you have where silence has allowed for new thinking, insights or action?
How much more silence would you like to bring into your week?

One of the lessons for me so far this summer post-surgery has been the importance of taking down the pace to do more strategic thinking and creative work. While it was not easy to even clear my calendar and took weeks of many long days, it's been worth it.

How can silence support you right now?

Have a great Sunday,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

Connect with us to be the first to know more about launch events around my newest book - Effective Virtual Conversations - coming out later this month.

#Teams365 #1286: Teamwork Quote

7/9/2017

Today's Sunday quote comes from one of my favorite authors - Peter Senge. As a young graduate student 25 years ago, I was inspired and intrigued by Senge's writing around systems theory and teamwork. As I moved into the early years of my career I found so many of his writings relevant regardless of the different global locations I would find myself working within.

Who are some of the authors who have inspired and influenced your work? How does Senge's quote connect for you and your team?

Have a great weekend,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

Connect with us to be the first to know more about launch events around my newest book - Effective Virtual Conversations - coming out later this month.

#Teams365 #1272: Sunday Quote

6/25/2017

It's Sunday and a day of rest. After having surgery earlier this week, I've been reminded of how important it is to know your limits. It is also important to slow down, in order to speed up. For the next four to six weeks I'll be taking it easy with recovery. As someone who loves to usually be on the run with a million things to do, slowing it down and enjoying the small steps has been my lesson of the week. What has been your lesson this week?

Have a great Sunday,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

Connect with us to be the first to know more about launch events around my newest book - Effective Virtual Conversations - coming out later this summer.

#Teams365 #1265: Sunday QUote

6/18/2017

Over the last few weeks I have been talking a lot in coaching skills training with coaches and leaders about the importance of taking time to pause and think before taking actin - even if it's only for a few minutes.

Many of us operate today in a context which is "go, go, go" and it is often these short nano-seconds where we can pause and think that help us make more informed actions.

Today's quote comes from Emerson who writes, "The ancestor of every action is a thought".

As you approach your actions this week, especially those important ones, consider some of the layers of awareness around the issue which might further refine your decision. As you reflect, this might include thinking further about:
perspectives you hold around the issue
assumptions you, or others, are making
options available
beliefs you are holding about the topic
values which are important to you

What are the actions you are planning to take this week that warrant a little more pause?

Have a great Sunday,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Coaching Team Leaders
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats.
Follow us on Twitter @Teams365
Phone: (416)996-8326

Connect with us to be the first to know more about launch events around my newest book - Effective Virtual Conversations - coming out mid- to-late July.