This week’s Flashback Friday post takes us back to a post from 2017 on Remote Team Mistakes. Our focus these last few months has been on remote team mistakes. Here’s what I wrote in Teams365 #1163: 
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This month's focus here at the Teams365 blog has been on virtual and remote teamwork and leadership. Check out our March 2017 posts if you haven't been along on the journey so far.

Today's post covers a range of virtual team faux-pas or mistakes. Things that when overlooked, can lead to missed opportunities, and sometimes a reduction of trust and connection. Consider how you might as a team be able to avoid these and what solutions make most sense for you:

* Not trying to meet regularly - Regular meetings are important in the virtual domain AND an important corollary is that meetings should meet the needs of the group in terms of efficiency. What can be shared before or after the meeting rather than during the meeting. "Out of sight does not always equal out of mind."
* Not thinking that different team members need support - Being on a virtual team can be isolating. While many of us love the autonomy this provides, it does not mean that we don't need support. Be clear with support needs across the team. Regular 1-1s can be important in the virtual/remote world.
* Not considering what type of support different team members need - Given that teams are diverse and complimentary, it is likely that team members will need different types of support. Spend time this week inquiring what type of support is most useful if you don't know.
* Duplication of effort - Watch for how much duplication of effort occurs. This can be a signal that some changes are required around roles and responsibilities, priorities and/or communication.
* Priorities that become competitive - Having a line of sight across the team and priorities can be important in avoiding or minimizing this mistake
* Not having consistent measurement across the team  - What does success look like from each team member's perspective around their current priorities and initiatives. Be careful to note what consistent measurement means and looks like.

What other faux-pas are you aware of or want to take note of for your team?

Enjoy your weekend,
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. ​

Many of the skills we employ in the in-person world become augmented when we work remote. For example, let’s explore communication. Communication is always critical in any workplace context. As we shift to remote work, it become even more nuanced, with considerations around:

• What is the best way to communicate an issue which needs to be addressed by my colleague 12 hours ahead in terms of time, but who I will not cross paths with?
• What are my colleagues’ preferences in terms of communication? Consider:
  • Do they like a lot of detail? Context? Just the briefest of information?
  • What is the channel of preference – Phone? Email? IM? Other?
  • If we are using different platforms, like Slack, how can I share more detail, context and background in the message I am addressing?
  • What considerations and adaptations should I make given that English is not all our first working language?

Given the volume of information coming at people it also can be important to reinforce key messages through multiple communication touch-points. Just saying an important message once is not enough. Consider reinforcing messaged in different ways – i.e. via email, talked about in the team meeting, shared via video message etc.

Finally, check for understanding. In one-on-ones, via email and/or chat, what do people understand? What have they heard from the messaging? Have them rephrase or feed back to you what their understanding.

Communication is a cornerstone of high performance. Clear communication across distance, time and culture can be even more complex.

What are you doing to ensure that your communication is the best suited for the context and message? What are you doing to ensure that it's understood as it is intended?

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. ​

Its Monday which means that it is time for another Effective Virtual Conversations tip. One of the challenges in today’s remote and virtual workspace is that people only see a small window of our world – literally what we show them on our screen.

This is a challenge given that CONTEXT is so important for business today. Helping others understand our world can happen through the stories and information we share, and it can also be influenced by what we choose to share.

Today’s prompt gets you thinking about “What do you want to share with others?”.

It could include

• A different view behind you
• A snapshot of a project you are working on
• An illustration of the different people you liaise with
• A map of your key priorities for the next quarter
• Something related to your most important priority right now
• If you are a remote team, it might be interesting to have everyone mix it up at your next team meeting. Ask people to dial in from somewhere different, or intentionally build in time to share a priority.

What do you want to share about your work right now with others?

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. ​

This month we are exploring a number of remote working myths including “Out of sight equals out of mind” as well as other remote work pitfalls.

Today’s post explores the myth that “Boundaries aren’t important” and that remote work is always flexible.

One of the main challenges of remote work is that we are usually pulled in a number of different directions by people who can’t see what we are working on. Not knowing the context can provide a lack of clarity around priorities and workflow. At the same time, we may also want to accommodate all requests and say yes, rather than discerning what is a priority.

On another level, boundaries can become blurred in our home/work life, especially if we are working from home and have not set up a dedicated area for work – be sure to check out my post from last month about “setting yourself up for success in the remote space” and making sure you have what you need.

Consider the different boundaries that are important in your work, this might include:

• Boundaries between different tasks and projects you are working on
• Boundaries between the different teams you are part of
• Boundaries between your working hours and non-working hours
• Boundaries between when you are ON and OFF
• Boundaries between priorities
• Boundaries between your work and home space

What do you notice as you explore these boundaries? What conversations do you want to have?

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. ​

Today’s blog post continues this month’s focus on remote work myths and pitfalls. Today’s myth is a common pitfall – “out of sight equals out of mind”. In fact, both research and practice have shown the need for more consistent and frequent communication to keep things moving on remote teams.

​This can be accomplished via a number of avenues including:

• Creating opportunities for peers to connect on a regular basis. This might include more formal activities, or it might include more informal events like virtual potlucks or co-working sessions. In a remote team, focus should be made on providing regular peer connections.
• Consistent meeting times for the team. It can be a very slippery slope when remote teams try to find a time when everyone is available. This may never happen! Get into the practice of establishing a set time so everyone can start adjusting their schedule to meet this. For those that are not there, have peer partners provide an update and/or check in.
• Put attention on team development for the team. It’s often assumed that remote teams don’t need a focus, however, if we treat everyone as separate bubbles, it’s really hard for people to feel part of a bigger entity. Research in the last few years has found that only about 1 in 4 remote teams do put a focus on team development. Going back to the basics around team effectiveness, teamwork skills and building a team identity can go a long way. AND it can be done virtually as well!
• Build a strong team identity. Team culture is key in remote team success. It helps with connection and alignment. Check out past posts I’ve written on team culture and team identity in the last few months.

Ensuring regular one-on-ones with staff. Be sure to check out past Teams365 blog posts for more on hosting 1-1 calls, and questions you might ask. 

What’s going to support your team from not feeling “out of sight and mind”.

Enjoy your conversations,
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. ​

As more people and organizations turn to remote work conditions, it’s important that we also are aware of some of the pitfalls. This month, I’m taking a look at things that will help and hinder your remote work experience.

Today’s post covers 4 remote work pitfalls:

#1 I can do it all by myself - Remote work does not mean operating in a vacuum. In fact, collaboration skills are needed at a higher level by remote workers. Take time to consider WHO you need to collaborate with regularly and make a point of setting up meetings and/or work sessions.

#2 Unclear expectations - Creating shared expectations are the key to remote work success. This needs to be co-created or created together. Expectations may revolve around large and small issues including:

• Hours of work
• Level of connection with the office, the team, etc.
• Device use – personal and work
• Security and confidentiality around files, and materials
• Boundaries

What are the expectations you need to clarity more fully?
 
#3 Thinking it can all be remote - When I was a remote team leader, one of the best investments for my team was an annual face to face meeting. I supported professionals across multiple countries, and while there was an expense involved, brining people together once a year or every 18 months for a mutli-day working set of meetings was invaluable. The team appreciated the investment and we made use of every moment from dusk to dawn in formal and informal team activities. The investment paid off immensely and was not difficult to organize given the high level of engagement of the team.
 
#4 Micro-managing, not micro-monitoring - One of the greatest pitfalls is trying to “control” or micro-manage a remote team. High levels of trust are required in the remote work space. As a former colleague of mine, Doug, used to say “always micro-monitor, not micro-manage”.

Micro-monitoring means that you keep an eye on the end result, but you let people do their work in the best way they can.

What does micro-monitoring mean in your context? How can that help you as a team have the space and means to excel?

Enjoy your 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. ​

A tipping point around remote work seems to be starting to occur - with more and more organizations realizing that a key part of the talent equation is more flexible working arrangements. With large and small companies embracing remote work arrangements, we are seeing very compelling research and data around how remote work can support employee engagement and productivity. Read about what Craig Thornton of Telus shared recently about how remote work benefits both employer and employee.

This was a focus of my 2017 writing in my book Effective Virtual Conversations and continues to be a significant part of the work I am focusing on with teams and organizations today.

As someone who has supported remote workers and teams for several decades now, it’s great to see the tide turn again back to putting the flexibility in workers’ hands.

Today’s post and tomorrow’s post will explore what organizations and teams will want to do in setting themselves up for remote work success this fall.
Today’s post looks at it from the macro, organizational level. Tomorrow’s post will look at it from the employee’s perspective.
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Four things organizations will want to ensure they do are:

1. Specify expectations around work output and quality – What gets measured in any work space should be the work output. Unfortunately, what often gets equated with success is how much time goes into making something happen. In the remote space, the success unit is OUTPUT.

Therefore, consider questions such as: What will success look like with work output for each employee? What are the expectations in terms of work, use of materials, security etc.

2. Provide connection with the office and other team members. Collaboration is just as important – and sometimes even more so – in the remote space. Be sure to spend time focusing in on orienting people across the organization and provide virtual events so people can get together. Invest in remote team development.How are you connecting people formally and informally?

Beyond meetings, are there virtual events people can join – lunch and learns; co-working opportunities etc?

3. Adopt the mantra that “out of sight does not mean out of mind”. One of the pitfalls to the transition to a remote work environment is that people can feel that they are not connected. Out of sight does not mean out of mind. Look at how you communicate and value connection and teamwork. Think about how communication and meetings can become more intentional and focused. Think about how you are bringing people together and connecting them with the communication which is needed.

4. Provide the tools and resources to make this happen – The transition to working remote arrangements takes time. It also requires a mind shift in many instances. What tools and resources are needed? What changes in the way you work is required?

For more tips on working remote be sure to check out my 2017 book Effective Virtual Conversations. Part 1 focuses on the ecosystem of the virtual space where conversations take place (from education to coaching to teams), Part 2 explores HOW you can work more effectively (meetings, program design etc), and Part 3 focuses on virtual leadership, and virtual teams in the remote space.

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

One of the themes this week has been about building team culture in your remote or virtual team. As part of this week’s FlashBack Friday, let’s look back to a post from this March.

Here’s what I wrote in March:
 
Yesterday’s Teams365 post #1905 focused on virtual team culture. Be sure to check it out if you haven't done so.

Today I wanted to explore three different ways you might support your team in identifying their own virtual team culture.

As a reminder, team culture usually points to three things - who we are, how do we do things and what is important to us.

Here’s a quick listing of different activities you might consider incorporating:

Who we are:
Virtual teams which excel know each other. They have strong relationships across the team, which allows them to call on others, and “have each others’ backs”. To strengthen your connection, consider these activities:

Have the team create a list of words/adjectives which describe who you are. Shape these into a word cloud which can be visible to the team.
Discuss the question “Who are we when we are at our best?”. Again, use the words to create a graphic about who you are.

At your next team meeting, have each person share one thing others may not know about them.

At your next team meeting, have each person share something that is unique to their location (this works especially well if you have a global team).

In your next meeting, share your screen which includes a variety of photos or icons. Have each person select the photo or icon which represents what they bring to the team.

How we do things:
Each team will have its own unique practices and ways of doing things. This will vary from team to team. Spending time discussing how you do things, and what the expectations are, creates clarity and builds trust, boosting both performance and results.

To explore this topic further consider:
Discussing “how we do things” (communicate, make decisions, work across differences, address conflict) can be a series of different discussions and activities. It might include a Rules of the Road which everyone has signed off on.

What makes you unique and distinct in terms of how you do things?

Another tool is to look at the IS/IS NOT table. This can include it is, it is not…
 
What is important to us:
Clarity around priorities and goals for the entire team helps with alignment, prioritization and decision making. Spending time on a regular basis discussing what is important to us may also involve:
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A list visible to the entire team (ie. Think Intranet or other post on)

• Top 5 Goals for the month
• Top 5 Priorities for the week
• Top 5 Priorities for the quarter
• Enshrining your Team Agreements or Ways of Working into something that is visible. Some teams have enshrined this into a plaque, a screen saver or other.

For more on these topics, and a demonstration of what some of these can look like (photos), take a look at my January 2019 Virtual Team Builders call which I did as part of the Effective Virtual Conversations series. You can check it out here.

Best wishes,
Jennifer

​It’s Sunday and time to borrow from the PlanDoTrack blog. Earlier this week I shared this week’s Effective Virtual Conversations tip around honing listening. I recently shared this blog post over at the PlanDoTrack site. 

Here’s what I wrote about listening for Virtual and Remote Teams:
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Last week I focused on the first of three coaching skills which can be important to equip all virtual and remote team members with. While these are often considered “coaching skills for leaders” in the virtual and remote environment, building this capacity in our virtual team can enhance productivity, peer support and results.
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Last week I explored GOALS. This week let us look at listening.
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Communication occurs in many channels in the virtual space – from conversations by phone, to texts, to email and IM (Instant Messaging).

Each one has its advantages and disadvantages.

Research shows that a significant portion of our understanding comes from tone, which is lost when we lean into digital channels of communication – text, email and IM. This can lead to a lot of misunderstandings, misinterpretations and lack of clarity.

Our listening can be heavily influenced by a number of factors:

• Distractions (what we have on our plate, not reading things fully)
• Our relationship with the sender (what do we know about their context, their intent, their focus and priorities)
• Our understanding of the topic
• Thinking about what we want to say, rather than listening for what is really being said

When we are able to meet for voice conversations, we may hear the tone, if we are listening for it. Adding on visual cues – like streaming for a meeting instead of just using the phone – can add additional layers on to the conversation. Being able to share our screen and work together real-time can also help us understand the full context.

What are the things that are helping and hindering your virtual conversations?
Are distractions getting in the way? How are you using all the tools you have available?  What are you doing to increase your understanding of other’s context and priorities?

There are many more tools and ideas available for virtual teams in these various resources from me:

• Part 3 of my 2017 book, Effective Virtual Conversations, focuses on virtual team development, meetings and communication. 
• Check out the posts related to Coaching Skills and Virtual and Remote Teams over at the Teams365 blog.

Let me know how I can support your virtual team development. From virtual retreat facilitation, to offering virtual team coaching services, we specialize in virtual team support.  

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.

This week’s Team Building Tip gets your team to consider the question – “What is taboo?”.
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Once teams feel safe to put issues on the table, and that they will not face any retribution for speaking their mind, getting the team to identify what is TABOO or off-limits can be key to moving a team forward. It is important to look into the dusty corners, and shine the light on the things that don’t want to be seen or discussed. This is particularly important when the pace of business speeds up, and things become more urgent. It’s the things that are taboo that can grow in size or come out of nowhere, taking a team down.

What are the things that are TABOO for you and your team to:

• Discuss
• Do
• Put into Practice

 
Is it time for a change?

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.