Teams365 Blog - Potentials Realized

#TEAMS365 #2117 - Team Building Tip 258

10/17/2019

Each Thursday I provide a question for you as a team to explore and have a short conversation around. Typically, these are questions which may provoke new discussions you are not having or prompt a sharing of information that is not naturally available.

This week’s team building question might fall into the category of “provocative” for some teams.

The question is “What is not being spoken about?”.

We know from research that teams which excel are teams which are able to surface difficult issues for exploration, without fear of retribution. This is not easy and requires high levels of TRUST and connection with other group members.

When we don’t surface issues, or address issues which need to be raised, it’s likely that they will grow in magnitude and possibly FESTER, creating more toxicity for the team. Rather than being an issue which could be addressed quickly it may become an issue that gets charged with emotional and resentment.

When we are surrounded by an elephant in the room it can be refreshing to finally name it, even if we can’t address it right away.

As a team this week, how might it be useful to surface the issues which are not being spoken about? What do you want to do to capture these and address them in the medium- to long-term? When we open what might be perceived as a Pandora’s Box it can be useful to have shared clarity around what will happen with these issues. Are you looking to spark conversation and problem solving or provide a “release valve” on issues which need to be surfaced but may not change? Consider how you want to set this question up as a team.

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.

#TEAMS365 #2110 – Team Building Tip 257: The Devil's Advocate

10/10/2019

This week’s Team Building Tip gets you to think about the question “What would the devil’s advocate say?”.

The Devil's Advocate view on a team may be in complete opposition to everyone else. It may also be the unpopular voice in the room.

At the same time, the devil’s advocate voice can point to an area which needs to be addressed or changed. This perspective can be very important when change is ongoing.

Rather than vilifying the voice of the devil’s advocate, it could be useful to invite their perspective around issues of importance. This may tease out alternative viewpoints, unforeseen risks, assumptions the team is making, or unpopular views.

How can the voice of the "Devil's Advocate" be useful to you as a team right now?

Many teams feel that they may remote the voice to the dissenter if he or she leaves the team, but note that it's likely that that voice will re-emerge if changes are not made at the deeper level of the team's system (it's culture, roles, how they do things, norms etc).

What is important to note on your team right now about key issues and the Devil’s Advocate view?

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.

#TEAMS365 #2106 - Sunday Weekly Round Up

10/6/2019

Welcome back to the Sunday Weekly Round Up. As we step into the final quarter of the year, I wanted to include a couple of posts that also get you thinking about what is still outstanding for you to complete this year.

Be sure to check out the following posts:

Saturday’s Weekly Journaling Prompt 70 – What do you want to make sure you complete by year end? Read it here.
Friday’s Flashback post which explores Empathy and Connection in Remote Teams. Read it here.
Thursday’s Team Building Tip – What will keep you grounded? Is it time to revisit your values and beliefs to see how they can help you through all the changes? Read this week’s TBT here.
Wednesday’s post on Remote Work Pathways. Read it here.
Tuesday’s post continuing the remote work conversation. Read it here.
Monday's Effective Virtual Conversation Tip #113 on distractions. Read it here.

Enjoy the rest of the 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.

#TEAMS365 #2103 – Team Building Tip 256: Grounding

10/3/2019

This week’s Team Building Tip gets you to think about the question “Where do you want to get more grounded?”. In today’s volatile, ever-changing environment, it can be very important to be grounded. Grounding ourselves helps us feel anchored, even if things are ever-changing. Our foundation usually consists of our values, beliefs and ways of working.

These foundations help us with decision making, prioritizing, and communicating what’s important, even if everything else is changing.

In PlanDoTrack, I provide several exercises for professionals to explore their values and belief systems. If you have a copy of the book, be sure to check out Section’s 1 and 4 exercises including the Iceberg, Values Ecosystem and some of the Values check list.

When we are able to work and lead from our values things become aligned, and usually flow more freely.

What are you noticing about your foundations and grounding?

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.

#TEAMS365 #2097 – #FlashbackFriday – Remote Work – Team Builder

9/27/2019

This week’s Flashback Friday takes us back to a post which kicked off a series on remote team or virtual team builders. With an increasing number of teams moving to the remote space, there is likely to be the need for more support and resourcing in these areas. I hope that you will consider turning to our services here at Potentials Realized, given our experience and grounding in these areas.

Let’s look at #TEAMS365 #1892 – Virtual Team Builders #1 – Creating Connection – Part 1 – Through Images

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.

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.

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 (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.

#TEAMS365 #2096 – Team Building Tip 255

9/26/2019

This week’s Team Building Tip gets you to discuss the question “What do you want to say NO TO?”. Discernment is critical in today’s business context. Take a look at this past post. If you work within a matrix environment, it can be very easy to get overloaded with new work and responsibilities. Taking a big picture of what’s going on and being clear on competing priorities can be essential. Saying NO or NOT RIGHT NOW as much as YES can be critical for productivity.

Saying NO needs to be done in a tactful way. In the remote space this may involve:

Helping people understand the context of your work. This might involve things like having everyone share a status update or adding a “priorities section” to your team meetings.
Problem solving together with the person you are having to say “no” to. Language might be along the lines of “If I focus on this task right now, then that task may not be completed until next week? What would you prefer me to focus on?” or “Is there anyone else who might be able to take on this task?”

Saying “no” is important so you can FOCUS in on what’s most important.

What are the things you want to be focusing on this month? This quarter?

All the 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.

#TEAMS365 #2082 – Team Building Tip 253: Discernment

9/12/2019

This week’s Thursday Team Building Tip gets you as a team to consider the question “What needs more discernment?”. One of the challenges in today’s workspace is running fast but being able to focus in on what’s important.

What are the things that need to be looked at more closely? What needs more discernment?

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.

#TEAMS365 #2075 – Team Building Tip 252

9/5/2019

Each Thursday I share a question for prompt for you and your team to consider and explore together. They are questions you might bring into your team meetings to create a quick new focus OR they might get circulated in a weekly email. Feel free to share, while attributing this blog as the source.

This week’s question - #252 in the series – gets you to consider the question “What needs to go under the microscope?”.

When we put things under the microscope a number of things happen:

We can adjust resolution
We can zoom into new parts
We can get curious about detail

My undergraduate degree is in science and I spent a lot of time peering through microscopes in my first few years at McGill. The process always fascinated me and has left its mark around the different perspectives and insights microscopes provide.

What issues do you want to put under a metaphorical microscope?

What could benefit from a zoom in or looking at more detail?

Enjoy the conversation and the exploration!
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 (season 2 of the 90 days series has just started)
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.

#TEAMS365 #2068 – Team Building Tip 251

8/29/2019

This weeks’ Team Building Tip gets you to consider the question: Where could you enhance your range? As professionals, mentors, leaders, business owners and coaches, we all have the opportunity to expand our range. Whether it’s via experiences, or challenge, expanding our abilities to grown and stretch, allows us to bring more to the people we are working with.

Expanding our range may also mean “getting out of our ruts”. Whether it’s due to always doing the same thing one way OR shaking things up or doing things in reverse order, it can be useful to do things differently. This may provide a new perspective OR create new energy around projects and tasks.

Our range can also be expanded by exposure to new ideas or new possibilities.
Consider these questions:

What are the things you could do to enhance your range?
What projects need a fresh injection of something?
Where could your work benefit from a new or wider perspective?

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.

#TEAMS365 #2061 - Team Building Tip 250

8/22/2019

This week’s Weekly Team Building Tip brings us to the question of “What could use more percolation time?”

Like coffee, creative, new and innovative ideas sometimes need more time to percolate and simmer before they are ready, or complete.

As you consider your work right now ask yourself:

What could benefit from you stepping away for a short while?
What needs more time to simmer?
What needs more time before it is ready?
What might be pre-mature in your thinking or actions right now?

Consider what is going to benefit from a little more time BEFORE it’s ready!

It might be a creative project, a final report, or even a new idea you want to float by your boss.

Enjoy the reflection and space created by a bit more percolation!
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.