As we go to wrap up the year, I wanted to take a look back at the many different focus areas here at the blog during 2020.  Some of you may know that this blog started as an experiment for me back on January 1st, 2014. I wanted to see what would happen if I dedicated time every day to writing. More than 2500 blog posts later, and several other books which were borne through this writing, the Teams365 blog continues to go strong.

As someone who has written about remote work for many years, 2020 brought it in, in volume. If you didn’t take a look at yesterday’s post around the Top 10 podcast episodes from the Remote Pathways for 2020, please take a look.
 
Some of the key themes we touched on this year included:

• Team Effectiveness in the Remote Space
• Virtual Productivity
• Leading in Disruption
• Leadership
• Standing Out Virtually in the Remote Space
• Remote Work Foundations
• Team Essentials

I also continued with the regular weekly series as well, including:

• Monday’s Effective Virtual Conversations tips AND the more recent Stand Out Virtually Ideas
• Thursday’s Team Building Tips – Questions to incorporate into your work
• Friday’s Flashback – dipping into more than 52 past posts
• Saturday’s Weekly Journaling Prompts – what have you enjoyed about these?

​I look forward to continuing to provide blogs and posts into 2021!
 
With best wishes,
Jennifer

One of my favorite creative projects this past 18 months has been the creation and launch of the Remote Pathways podcast. It’s been warmly embraced by listeners globally. The Remote Pathways Podcast explores the PEOPLE, PLACES and PROCESSES to REMOTE WORK.

I thought it would be interesting to share with you our top 10 episodes for 2020. Here’s what we, and our listeners, LOVED listening to:

• Trust Safety And Connection (Still the #1 listen!) (Episode 13) 
• Conflict the Remote Space – Episode 10 
• Enneagram with Teresa McCloy (Episode 14) 
• Strengths in the Remote Space (Episode 8) 
• Every Professional is a Leader in the Remote Space (Episode 17) 
• Remote Workplace Mindset and Wellness Vision with Special Guest Jennifer Grote (Episode 24) 
• Team Effectiveness (Episode 15) 
• Workplace Productivity, Projects and Leadership with Cindy Hooker 
• Pivot with Kristin Winkle-Beck (Episode 26) 
• Mentoring with Susan Coombs (Episode 10)  
• Co-Working in the Remote Space 

Enjoy!
Jennifer

Wishing you and your loved ones a very wonderful holiday season!

Thank you for joining us throughout the year for the focus on all things virtual and remote leadership, teamwork and conversations.

We look forward to continuing to serve as a resource for you.
​
Enjoy your day!
Jennifer

Yesterday I spotlighted posts on effective virtual conversations. Today I wanted to share ten posts from 2020 about remote work, teams and leadership. These were definitely popular posts from 2020:

• Building Connection in Your Remote Team #2514 
• Teams365 # 2276 – Teams in the Remote Space 
• Teams365 #2304: Remote Enablers in Focus 
• Teams365 #2346: 5 Types of Team Meetings to Incorporate Virtually this Month
• Teams365 #2453: What’s getting in the way
• Teams365 #2137: Navigating VUCA as a Team
• Teams365 #2109: Remote Team Buster – They’ll Understand
  

Check out these three articles I published over on Thrive Global as well:

• In the Spotlight – Teams who work from home
• 3 Areas to Consider as your team makes the shift to remote work
• Rapid Change – Areas for Teams to Explore 
  

What are you going to continue to focus on as you move forward with your work?

Best,
​Jennifer

Where did the week go!? This week we covered a wide range of different posts including:

• Saturday’s Weekly Journaling Prompt #133 – “This time, next year, I hope…”
• Friday’s Flashback to Teams365 #1245 – Six Things Virtual Workers Need (be sure to bring this into your conversations!)
• Thursday’s Team Building Question and Habit Check
• Wednesday’s focus on Wednesday Wisdom for Remote Teams
• Tuesday’s focus on 5 Things to Keep in Mind with your Next Virtual Call
• Monday’s focus on the Stand Out Virtually Principle: Strong Hand on Process

​Enjoy the rest of the weekend!
Jennifer

What a week it’s been! We’ve covered the terrain of Saturday’s Weekly Journaling Prompt of which elements are important, to Friday’s post on 10 things to fit in before the end of the year.

Other posts this week have included:

• Monday’s focus on Stand Out Virtually’s Principle – Be Consistent
• Tuesday’s focus on Building Connection in Your Remote Team
• Wednesday’s focus on Celebrating the First Year of the Remote Pathways podcast
• Thursday’s focus on the Team Building Question of What Do We Want to Fit into the Last Mile of the Year?

Enjoy the reflection and catching up!
​Jennifer

Next week signals of our first year of the Remote Pathways podcast. When my co-host Michelle Mullins and I started this journey a year ago of exploring the people, pathways and processes to remote work, we would have had no idea how the year would be placing such an emphasis on remote wok.

We’ve released 24 great episodes exploring the terrain of the remote workspace. From entrepreneurial pursuits to project managers, sales professionals, to virtual facilitators, the landscape of remote work is vast. We have also focused on helping people explore some of the key areas that help people thrive, for example, our episodes with:

• Theresa McCleod and the Enneagram – Episode 14 
• Conflict Management and our guest Gayle Oudeh – Episode 13 
• Kristin Winkle-Beck and her discussion with us around Pivoting to Virtual
• Or Jennifer’ Grote’s presentations on Strengths (episode 10) or Wellness in the Remote Space (episode 24)
  

Check out some of my other favorite episodes:

• Remote Working Myths – Episode 19 
• Every Remote Professional is a Leader and Needs Leadership Skills – Episode 17 

 
We are looking forward to having you join us for season 2!
Enjoy your conversations,

One of the challenges of today’s remote team is that of connection which has implications for results and relationships. When people don’t feel connected it has impact on productivity, teamwork and also results.

What are the ways you are connecting your team?

Many teams these days are incorporating some, or all, of these:

• Weekly or daily huddles (as time zones permit)
• Virtual Co-Working Sessions (Check out The Remote Pathways podcast episode on Co-working 
• Peer partners who meet around key accountability measures

What are the things you are doing to help people feel connected and aligned with your purpose?

What are the best vehicles for you as a team to stay connected?

For more on the topic of building trust and connection, check out these other Teams365 blog posts:

• Teams365 #679 – Four Ways to Build Trust with Your Team 
• Teams365 #1168 - Five Ways to Build Trust in Your Virtual Team 

Enjoy your conversations!
​Jennifer

Welcome back to this week’s week in review. This week we explored:

• Saturday’s Weekly Journaling Prompt – “I’ve stretched by..”
• Friday’s Flashback’s focus on skills needed for remote work
• Thursday’s Team Building Question getting you to think about feedback
• Wednesday’s From the Vault Exploring 10 things remote teams need
• Tuesday’s post on Remote Teamwork
• Monday’s focus on Screenshots as this week’s Effective Virtual Conversations tip

 
It’s also the first day of the month so time for monthly review questions and setting up for the new month:

1. What were your successes and accomplishments this past month? So far this year?
2. What are you most proud of?
3. What are your key priorities for November?
4. What needs to get completed by the end of the month, no matter what?
5. ​By the end of November, what are the top 3 goals you want to have accomplished? What will success look like around each of these? What do you need in order to be successful? What support do you need to make this happen?
6. What key relationships have helped you so far this year? Which ones need more attention?
7. What has helped your successes? What has hindered?
8. What does your team need to be acknowledged for?
9. What are you going to do to acknowledge and celebrate your hard work?

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
Jennifer

It’s Friday which means it’s time to take a look back at an older blog post. Today’s post brings us back to a post from 2018 - #1533: Empathy and Building Connection in Virtual Teams. I think it’s just as relevant today as it was when it was first published. What do you think?
 
One of the skills which is important to develop in the virtual world today is empathy. One of the challenges is that we don't get to see beyond the screen.  What are some ways we can be building more empathy and understanding with other virtual team members?

​What comes to mind in terms of ways you can boost more connection and understanding amongst team members?

​Empathy is a skill set critical for teamwork and leadership. In fact, I probably could do a series of post on this topic.  In today's post I want to zoom into the question of "what are some practical ways to build more empathy across virtual teams, while also boosting connection?". 

​There have been some great writings by others on the topic of empathy. Consider these articles -Empathy in Leadership - 10 Reasons Why It Matters by Tanveer Naseer. Read it here.
​Matthew Taylor's Empathy in Leadership: Coaching Leaders to Manage Their Stories. Read it here.
Center for Creative Leadership: Empathy in the Workplace. Find this here.

​As virtual teams, what are some ways we can build our skills in empathy while building connection:

​1. Provide opportunities for team members to get to know each other - online and offline. While some virtual teams will never meet, building in time for "getting to know" each other is critical. This could entail dedicating some time to sharing "What's outside your window?" or "…on your desk" as I describe in Chapter 7 of my new book Effective Virtual Conversations.

​2. Create formal learning partnerships with others on the team. Many virtual teams benefit from having peer partners to meet with on a regular basis. This helps us to learn more about each other, what projects we are working on. As we listen and learn more trust, connection and understanding is created.

​3. Be present and listen. We continue to see how important the ability to focus on virtual conversations is. Nothing will destroy trust and connection faster than hearing other person on the end of the phone or streaming typing away, writing an email while you are speaking together. What will it take to be present, focus, and deeply listen in your virtual conversations?

​4. Listen for the deeper layers - Typically in listening we may be staying at the surface. Hearing with one ear and thinking about what we are going to say back to the other person. In the deeper listening needed by virtual teams today, listen to what the person is saying. Notice the pace, pitch of the conversation. Notice what is the emotion behind the words? What is being said? 
​
​5. Take time to share more about your world, your work, your priorities. An important part of empathy is understanding. It's a two-way street - being open to share, and being receptive to listening. how much are you sharing about your world, your work and your priorities?

​There are multiple ways be can be focusing on the skills of empathy as we build connection on teams. What are some approaches you as a team want to focus on?

​With best wishes,
Jennifer