Teams365 Blog - POTENTIALS REALIZED

TEAMS365 #3319: Weekly Journaling Prompt – Mash Up

2/4/2023

I have been offering my Weekly Journaling Prompts here at the Teams365 blog on Saturday’s for many years now. I love receiving emails from readers who have indicated that they have provided a great opportunity to pause and focus.

The Teams365 blog posts have been so popular that I even created the Square Conversation Sparker Journaling Deck (link to https://www.potentialsrealized.com/store/p26/digitaljournalingcardsvol1.html) which includes 52 of them. They are ideal to bring into a weekly team meeting, to prompt discussion.

In today’s Weekly Journaling Prompt I want to share a mash up of 9 of my favorites in a collage I use a lot with teams and groups. I hope that you will take some time to zoom into some of your favorite ones and reflect on:

Enjoy the reflection!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized |Reconnecting Workspaces | Group Coaching Essentials
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Instagram @ReconnectingWorkspaces
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out my TEDx talk

Looking to bring your workplaces back together, whether you are remote, hybrid, or face-to-face? Pick up a copy of my new book, Reconnecting Workspaces, at Amazon.

TEAMS365 #3316: Welcome to February and Monthly Review and Planning

2/1/2023

Happy Feb 1st! A new month and time to metaphorically turn the page. As I like to do each month, I’d invite you as you step into the new month to reflect on the following questions:

Here are some questions to consider:
1. As you reflect on January, what have been your successes and accomplishments?
2 What are you most proud of?
3. What successes this month do you want to duplicate? What has been some of your key learnings?
4. What key relationships have helped you so far this year? Which ones need more attention?
5 What has helped your successes? What has hindered?
6. What does your team need to be acknowledged for?

As you look to February, consider these questions:
1. What are your key priorities for February?
2. What are the key goals?
3. What are the major priorities?
4. What will you need to place attention on?
5. What changes do you want to make in February?
6. What resources do you want to tap into?
Be sure to update your trackers and other monthly goal items!

Enjoy.

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized |Reconnecting Workspaces | Group Coaching Essentials
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Instagram @ReconnectingWorkspaces
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out my TEDx talk

Looking to bring your workplaces back together, whether you are remote, hybrid, or face-to-face? Pick up a copy of my new book, Reconnecting Workspaces, at Amazon.

TEAMS365 #3310:TEAMS ON THURSDAY – TEAM CULTURE FOCUS AREA #1 – WHO WE ARE

1/26/2023

As I shared in yesterday’s blog post, Team Culture is a key focus areas for teams today. It consists of 3 areas – the WHO, HOW and WHAT. These are some of the areas I explore more fully in my most recent TEDx talk – Coaching Teams Through Chaos.

Today, we are going to explore Team Culture Focus area #! – WHO We Are.
Who we are. Teams which excel know each other. They have strong relationships across the team, which allows them to call on others, and “have each other’s backs.”

To strengthen your connection, consider these activities:

Have the team brainstorm a list of words/adjectives which describe who you are as a team.
Shape these into a word cloud which can be shared and used as a screensaver or logo.
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.

Enjoy the conversations,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized |Reconnecting Workspaces | Group Coaching Essentials
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Instagram @ReconnectingWorkspaces
Phone: (416)996-8326

Check out my TEDx talk

Looking to bring your workplaces back together, whether you are remote, hybrid, or face-to-face? Pick up a copy of my new book, Reconnecting Workspaces, at Amazon.

Teams365 #2750 - now what integration

7/11/2021

Welcome back to the end of another week! This week we covered so much ground including these posts, mostly focusing on Chapter 2 of Reconnecting Workspaces:

Monday – Hybrid Work Metaphor – Knot

Tuesday – Brain Tip – Chapter 2, Where we explored the use of Color and Branding

Wednesday’s reminder that Relationships + Results = High Performance

Thursday – Team Spirit – 6 Questions on Motivation

One of the things I am finding readers like the most about
Friday Flashback Series- 3 Questions About Motivating Your Team

Saturday Weekly Journaling Prompt- Motivate Me

Enjoy your reflection!
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized |Reconnecting Workspaces | Group Coaching Essentials
Team and Leadership Development | Coaching | Retreats
Follow us on Instagram @ReconnectingWorkspaces
Phone: (416)996-8326

Looking to bring your workplaces back together, whether you are remote, hybrid, or face-to-face? Pick up a copy of my new book, Reconnecting Workspaces, at Amazon.

Teams365 #2675 - Join us at the Remote Pathways Podcast – 5 episodes to check out

4/27/2021

Recently the 2021 Directory of Top Podcasters was released. As part of the Remote Pathways podcast, I am really pleased to be part of that listing in the Business section

As we look back at the 34 plus episodes of the podcast, here are some that continue to stand out:

Episode 32 – Top 10 Tools to Get Things Done in the Virtual, Remote and Hybrid World, https://www.remotepathways.com/podcast/ep32-top-10-tools-to-get-things-done-in-the-virtual-remote-hybrid-world

Episode 19 – Remote Working Myths, https://www.remotepathways.com/podcast/ep019-remote-working-myths

Episode 17 – All leaders, https://www.remotepathways.com/podcast/ep017-every-professional-in-the-remote-space-is-a-leader-and-needs-leadership-skills

Episode 12 – Conflict in the Remote Space with Gayle Oudeh, https://www.remotepathways.com/podcast/ep012-gayle-oudeh-conflict-in-the-remote-space

Episode 11 - Getting Up to Speed Quickly in the Remote Space, https://www.remotepathways.com/podcast/ep011-getting-up-to-speed-quickly-in-the-remote-space

What have been your favorite episodes so far?

Have an episode idea? Reach out and let me know what it is! Email me at info@potentialsrealized.com

Also be sure to check out Episode 27 which took at a look at the Year in Review – Part 2 – spotlighting our 2020 guests. https://www.remotepathways.com/podcast/ep27-a-year-in-review-part-ii-our-fabulous-podcast-guests-and-more

And…. Check out Episode 25, which looked at a Year in Review part 1. https://www.remotepathways.com/podcast/ep25-a-year-in-review-part-1

Enjoy your reflections!
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
Phone: (416)996-8326

TEAMS365 #2622 - Collaboration in the Virtual Space

3/5/2021

I thought it might be interesting to see what I was writing on this time last year. Here’s the post from March 10 2020 – Collaboration in the Virtual Space:

In my book, Effective Virtual Conversations, I share seven skills needed to make collaboration work well. These are particularly important in the remote and virtual space where collaborations need to be more intentional and are often characterized by touch points which are much more infrequent.

The seven areas we want to be building skills and capacity around are:

Trust
Candor
Connection
Flexibility/Adaptability
Self-Awareness
Working Across Differences
Relationship Development

(Page 385 – Effective Virtual Conversations, Britton, 2017)

What do all of these skills look like in your virtual work?

If you were to give each one of them a rating, what would they look like?

Having introduced these categories to hundreds in speaking engagements over the last few years, I often will poll the audiences I speak with about which ones are most important. By far, the one which most frequently gets raised is TRUST.

What does building trust look like in your virtual relationships?

It may include:

Being present – and not looking like you are multi-tasking
Being reliable – following through with promises made to send something out
Participating in chat and/or annotation and/or verbally
Showing up on camera (even if that’s uncomfortable)
Asking questions out of curiosity

Consider recent calls you were on. What does building trust look like in your context?

For more on other topics check out:

Differences When Working Remote
Listen into Five Ways to Strengthen Team Relationships here

Remember that things are magnified in the remote space.
If you are collaborating remotely, consider how some of the 7 Enablers of Great Remote Work fit in, including:

Communication
Clarity
Consistency

What’s going to support better conversations and results in the remote space?

Enjoy your 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

TEAMS365 #2621 - Team Building Tip 281: Values in Action

3/4/2021

Today’s Thursday Team Building Tip asks you to consider how your values are translating into action. Without action and specific behaviors our values are largely invisible. What are you doing to illustrate to others what is important and what you take a stand for?

For example, if we have a value of reactivity, we will have behaviors and practices which are quick in nature, lean in terms of focus and able to work.

If we have a value of accuracy we may have checks and balances in place to ensure that things are reviewed.

What are the values you want to ensure are illustrated?

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

TEAMS365 #2620 - Teamwork Quotes

3/3/2021

The theme last month was all about collaboration. Collaboration is at the heart of any remote or hybrid work experience. Today’s post curates some of my favorite teamwork quotes which have been showcased here over the years in one of the many Teams365 posts. Take a moment to think about how these can inspire your steps this month!

Enjoy some of my favorite teamwork quotes:

“It takes two flints to make a fire” – Louise May Allcott

“A single leaf working alone provides no shade” – Chuck Page

“No one can whistle a symphony. It takes a whole orchestra to play it” – H.E. Luccock

“How do you have each other’s backs?” – Keith Ferrazzi

“Teams are the engines of business today.” Patrick Lencioni

“No {hu} man is an island, entire of itself; every {hu} man is a piece of the continent.” – John Donne

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.” - Ryunosuke Satoro
“A great flame follows a little spark” – Dante

“If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go with others” – African proverb

“Teams outperform individuals acting alone or in large organizational groupings, especially when performance requires multiple skills, judgements and experiences” – Katzenbach and Smith

“You don’t get harmony when everybody sings the same note” – Doug Floyd

What’s your favorite teamwork quote? Share it with us in the comments below!

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

Teams365 #2619 - Hybrid Work

3/2/2021

Almost a year after the world went virtual and work went remote, the initial flickers of hope are emerging for the next iteration of what the workspace (note I don’t say workplace!), might look like as Ralph Waldo Emerson wrote 'The mind, once stretched by a new idea, never returns to its original dimensions.

As more people become vaccinated, it’s likely that the next wave of work will be one that is hybrid in nature. Part in-person, part remote. With this in mind, I’ll be dedicating upcoming blog posts to explore what might be possible in this way of working.

Hybrid work is nothing new, and has been used by many organizations over the years. __ and ___ are well known for their focus on hybrid work.

Over the last year many organizations and teams have indicated how challenging it can be to work remote. Hybrid workspaces can even enhance that level of challenge, given that people will be working in different ways.

Several principles to keep in mind that we need to :

Remember, things get magnified in the remote and hybrid workspace. From communication to conflict, things often are more magnified than if we were seeing each other every day. What do you need to be aware of?
Proactivity is key – Just as with virtual work and teaming, being proactive in communicating, flagging issues and planning is key for hybrid work. What are the elements you need to be more proactive around.

Consider the varying needs of each team member. It’s likely that some workspaces and teams will work in different ways. What have you learned about how people want, and need, to be supported? What can this look like if people are still working distributed?

Get better at asynchronous teaming – With some people likely to be in person some days of the week, and others offsite, the shift to asynchronous teamwork, and leadership, is likely to stay. This becomes even more important to provide people with the autonomy and flexibility to work across time and distance. Check out this great study by Ruggieri, Boca and Garro (2016) on the different styles of leadership needed in the virtual context. You can read that study here.

Also, consider how the 8 Remote Enablers I shared this time last year in the Remote Working Whitepaper, may need to be adjusted? If you haven’t downloaded a copy of the Remote Working Whitepaper, get it here.

What’s important to take note of or start planning for?
Reach out to discuss your team or organizational needs. We’ve been having discussions with a lot of organizations, leaders and teams about what’s possible for them next. Schedule a call to discuss.

With best wishes,
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

TEAMS365 #2617 - The Week and Month in Review

2/28/2021

Welcome back. It’s hard to believe that it’s the end of the month! Where did February go?

This week we covered a variety of posts including:
Saturday’s Weekly Journaling Prompt #140 – What’s energizing for you
Friday’s flashback – Barriers to Collaboration
Thursday’s focus on the Team Building Tip of What does each team member need?
Wendesday’s post on Cultivating Rituals and Habits
Tuesday’s post on Create a Structure around things
Monday’s 5 Posts about Standing Out Virtually.

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