​This week’s Team Building Tip gets you to consider the question: “_____ is strengthening our relationships”.
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Teams which excel are great at getting results AS WELL AS having strong relationships. On the relationship front we want to hone areas such as:

• Knowing each other
• Understanding each other’s strengths and styles
• Being able to understand what supports vs. what triggers others
• Providing feedback and communication
• Being able to work across differences, and difficult issues
• Team Spirit (having a sense of team identity – see yesterday’s post on this)

As a team this week consider the things you are doing to strengthen your relationships. This might include practices such as:

• taking a coffee break together each week,
• ensuring that team meetings happen on a regular basis for virtual teams,
• spotlighting the work and background of one of the team members each month in an internal email and/or newsletter,
• connecting peers in peer pairings to get to know each other, and their work.

​What are the things you are doing as a team to strengthen relationships?
 
Hope that you are enjoying your mid-week,
Jennifer

This week’s Effective Virtual Conversations Tip focuses on the question “On what platform will connection between calls work best?”. In coaching we have a saying that the “’impact of coaching happens in between the calls”. It is often the actions, insights and connections made in between your virtual sessions where people put ideas into practice, connect the dots, pass ideas forward, that learning and momentum happen.

The platform which connects group members in between the calls can be instrumental in enhancing this. There are many options which are possible including:

• Private Community Groups such as Mighty Networks
• Secret Facebook Groups (non-searchable)
• Chat groups on your own Learning Management System – we use Teachable as our e-learning portal
• Text

​What is going to keep the conversation going for the groups you are working with?

As you go to select your platform, consider these items:

• The purpose – is it to share successes, resources, links, files, other
• Accessibility and mobility
• Confidentiality

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

Teams excel when they have a clear focus on results, and the resources and tools to accomplish them, and when they are also focused on relationships.
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This month I have been sharing different activities virtual and remote teams may consider integrating into their work. If you didn’t take a look at last week’s post on Creating Virtual Team Culture, take a look at it now.
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Today’s post invites you to consider integrating appreciations in your work as a virtual team. What are the pauses you have created so people can thank others and acknowledge them for their strengths?

Peer feedback is often found to be more valuable and impactful that feedback from a superior or other.

To facilitate this activity, make sure you have adequate time. It may take 15 minutes or more. If you have a larger team (8 or more) have people work in triads (use breakouts for this if you are virtual – which is likely).

One at a time, have someone in the “appreciation seat”. Their colleagues are asked to share:

1. What is an example when I have seen you at your best this week/this month/this quarter?
2. I see one of your strengths as….
3. I appreciate….

This should then be rotated so each person gets a chance to receive feedback.
This exercise can also be added onto by discussion around additional questions such as:

• One thing I wish you would do more of is….
• I can rely on you for…
• One request I have for you is….

This can provide space for more support and difficult conversations.

Enjoy!
​Jennifer

Happy spring! Has the new season sprung where you are?

In my work as a coach I see a lot of seasonality – beginnings, ends and excitement for change. As we step into the new season today, I wanted to share some of the spring questions I had posted in Teams365 #811.

I hope that you will take a few minutes to reflect on these questions today:

What are your goals this season?
What new habits and practices do you want to put into place?
What relationships do you want to put attention around?
What else is significant for you this spring (or fall)?

Looking backwards:
What successes did you have over the last quarter?
What helped you?
What got in the way?

What changes do you want to make this spring?
What and who will help you be successful?
 
What are the other questions which are important to consider right now?
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Enjoy your reflection,
Jennifer

Over the next few weeks I will be sharing a variety of Virtual Team Builders to support you with quick activities that are going to support virtual and remote teams in focusing in on results and/or relationships.

Virtual Teams benefit from time spent in getting to know each other – who is who, who does what, and what priorities they are working on. Virtual team building activities don’t need to take a lot of time.
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Something most teams will want to build in across time are quick warm-up exercises to create connection.

The first exercise I wanted to share (which will be followed next week by 2 more), is by creating connection through Icons.
 
As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, creating trust and connection across a group is critical. If it’s a virtual and remote team you are working with, you might be working across geographic locations. You may have a team member calling in from Asia, one from Australia, one from Africa, one from New York, one from Europe.

Part of creating connection and team success is ensuring that people get comfortable and feel confident on the call, especially if they might be using a working language that is not their first language.

In my work over the last several decades I’ve liked to incorporate photos and icons as “door openers” and metaphors for conversation.

Before I started Potentials Realized, one of my last roles was as a sub- regional manager. I had staff in 10 countries and out of our team of about 30 at one point there were 20+ different nationalities.
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In creating connection across a virtual team, we want to give the team an opportunity to:

• Get to know each other
• Understand who we are as a team
• Explore what's important to us
• and understand how we are similar and how we are different.

These questions and the exploration of these questions is a really critical component of the virtual team leader's role.

Back to the icon exercise, using your access to stock photography find a photo that offers a selection of icons. Have each person select an icon that they connect with, which represents what they bring to the team.

As you go around the table, this is a fun way to share a little bit about yourself in a way that hopefully is not too threatening. Select a graphic that has enough icons which provide enough variety to invite people into the conversation. 

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Now available – PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner - Order a copy today on Amazon
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development).
Check out the new 19 Tips for Productivity On-Demand Course. If this is your year to get things moving, check it out now. Join Jenn for bi-weekly live group calls until July.  Learn more and enroll here.

​Today’s post is around Virtual Team Tools. In January I hosted a call for the Effective Virtual Conversations book on 5 Virtual Team Builders. What are the things you are doing to build your virtual team? What are the things you want to focus on as a team? Be sure to take some time focusing on virtual team development.

As I wrote in yesterday’s post – Teams365 #1884 -having an intentional focus on virtual team development can be important for virtual and remote teams who are less apt to have a focus on team development.

Some examples of virtual team practices are:

• Weekly coffee breaks which the entire team attend. You could incorporate one of the weekly Thursday Team Building Tip Questions I share to spark dialogue across the team. View them here.
• Virtual Co-working times – for example, quarterly I host a Virtual Get Things Done afternoon. People are invited to bring their list of things to do and join us for a 4-hour co-working block. We meet at the top of every hour to check in. Benefiting from peer accountability and a focused support, hourly check ins also serve to keep the focus and push people through work which might not be as focused.
• Structured team meetings to build connection and focus on work.

What other types of virtual team practices will support the team in maintaining and building relationships, keeping the team moving, and getting things done?

Best,
​Jennifer

​Today’s post focuses on tips for boosting collaboration in the virtual space:

1. Be proactive in terms of what relationships are important to build. Are you taking time for regular outreach with a purpose?
2. Be systematic in discussing key elements of collaboration – what is the end result you are aiming towards, what will success look like? Who is in charge of doing what? When will you meet to review how things are going and make adjustments?
3. Agree on regular feedback loops. Feedback can be a challenge when you don’t know each other too well. What are the touchpoints you are dedicating to feedback? Creating formalized quarterly or mid-point check-ins can be valuable to earmark. Take a look at some of the mid-point or evaluation questions I have pointed to in the past.
   
4. Be clear on what you are each bringing to the relationship. What are the things that are going to help your next collaboration thrive?

Best of luck!
Jennifer

​This week’s Effective Virtual Conversation tip gets you thinking about the statement “Virtual teams need attention too”. It is often thought that “out of sight = out of mind”. Virtual teams receive a lot less attention and focus than intact, face to face teams. A 2016 study by Culture Wizard (insert link) found that approximately 22-23% of virtual and remote teams surveyed actually benefited from virtual team support.

Virtual teams need just as much attention, and perhaps even more focused space for dialogue and greating shared agreements and norms. Discussion around “how we do things” ensures consistency across a team, and a focus on what’s important.
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What are the conversations important for the team to have? What things need to be clarified or agreed upon?

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

This month our focus is on relationships and team work. What are the things we can do to help build relationships? Here’s what I shared in the 2016 post entitled “Four Keys to Building Stronger Relationships at Work” in Teams365 #771.

In light of this week's focus on relationships, today's post focuses on Four Keys to Building Stronger Relationships at Work. Even if we work virtually it is key to have a strong network of people around us, to collaborate with, and who have our back.

Four keys to building stronger relationships at work include:

1. Put a focus on it - In today's busy world what doesn't get focused on, often doesn't get done. It is important to put a focus on relationship building and dedicate time towards it. What does building relationships mean for you right now? Getting to know your team members better? Widening your network? Getting to know a person's role you are collaborating with?
Consider what your goal is in building stronger relationships at work and focus on it - schedule in some time this week around it.

2. Consider what is the win-win - Many of us don't just build relationships for relationships sake. Consider how your work/roles connect and how a stronger relationship can boost BOTH of your work. What is the common ground of your worlds of work? What would a win-win look like for both of you? Really get to understand how your roles align, overlap and how you can support each other.

3. Be Genuine - Building stronger relationships should not be seen as another "to do" on your list. Be genuine in fostering connection. Be interested in who the other person is. I think we can all think of people who build relationships without being genuine....

4. Consider how the sum is greater than the whole of the parts - In true collaboration and synergy today the sum is greater than the whole of the parts. Key to collaboration is knowing when to collaborate and when you are better doing things yourselves. Get clear on each of your relationships and when it is important to lean into them, and when it's important to go alone. What can you create/accomplish in collaboration? How is this greater than when you go it alone? When is important to go it alone?

What other tips do you have for others around building relationships?

If you prefer, take a look at the short video I created around the same topic in Teams365 #1503 here. 

Best wishes,
Jennifer