This month’s focus is on building relationships. One type of team which often does not get attention is virtual teams. Today’s post goes into 5 ideas you might incorporate around boosting your virtual team. This could include some of the following activities:

1. Creating a set of peer partners who you are paired with for the course of a year. Peer partners may be invited to connect on a regular basis – i.e. quarterly to share information and resources and generally share best practices.
2. Hosting co-working sessions.
3. Providing the opportunity for part of a quarterly or regular team meeting to focus in on having each person share what they are working on and/or what their portfolio is all about.
4. Hosting a weekly or bi-weekly team huddle to update each other on what you are focusing on. Huddles are generally short and quick in nature (15-30 minutes). Done regularly they benefit from bringing the team together on a regular basis to share their focus, build connection and notice interplay.
5. Another option is to have people share a photo or resource with each other every month via the team’s communication channel – this could include a series of threads in Slack or part of your Leaning Management System or a Community Portal like Mighty Networks.

What are the activities and events which will benefit your team right now?

You might also be interested in checking out the January 2019 Effective Virtual Conversations call I hosted where I cover 5 Virtual Team Builders.

Wishing you the best,
​Jennifer

Happy Groundhog Day!

​This week’s weekly journaling prompt #35 is “The team needs….” As a leader it can be very important to take time to take stock of where you are at – individually as a leader and also as a team.
This week’s Weekly Journaling Prompt gets you thinking about “THE TEAM NEEDS”…
Take some time this weekend to:
Take note of needs around:

• Resourcing
• Information
• Support – from you, from peers, from others, from _______
• Connection
• Collaboration
• Projects
• Elements

What are the things you want to note as a leader or team member?
What’s important to put in place?
What’s important to share?

Best,
​Jennifer

As we step into October, the first teamwork skill which is essential for today’s context is “Trust”. Trust is like oxygen. Without it, you are not able to do anything.
 
Over the past few years here at the Teams365 blog I have shared a number of posts around trust including one cartoon developed for us by Steven Ravensfeller on the Duality of Trust. Let’s take a look at it again - you'll see it in today's post. What do you notice about the skills and behaviors which show up on either side of the body? What is the flipside of trust/distrust?

​In his book, The Speed of Trust, Steven Covey writes that trust is like a bank account. You can put in resources, and quickly deplete them.
Trust is like a web across a team. When one link is broken or weakened it can have the effect of weakening the entire system.

What are the things you are doing as a team to build trust? Are you following through? Providing feedback? Creating Expectations? Building regular communication channels? Adjusting things for each person’s style?
At the same time we can be cultivating an environment of low trust. What is the state of feedback? Transparency? Follow through? Expectations?
What items could benefit from having more attention around right now?

Best wishes, 
Jennifer

This week’s Effective Virtual Conversations tip, #61 in the series, brings us to the topic of virtual team leadership. In my book, Effective Virtual Conversations, I explore the many skills required by virtual team leaders and virtual team members alike. These include:
Working Across Differences
Intercultural know-how
Innovation
And Resilience and Agility
As we consider each of these skill areas, team members of all kinds require these skills in order to be effective. What are you doing to build the skills in the areas.
For more posts on these topics, check out my past posts on the topic.

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

​It’s back to work for many teams and some team leaders may be curious about what to do to move their team forward. In the next few series of posts, I’ll be covering 10 different ideas you might want to incorporate with your team.
As I have written in past posts, teams which excel usually have made sure they are aligned around the following six elements:

• Shared vision
• Shared Goals
• Clear Roles
• Clear performance measures
• Shared Team Practices
• Shared commitment

 
While at an initial glance, many of the activities I’ll be sharing this month appear to fit under the shared team practices umbrella, many also move the needle on the other six elements. Given that teams which excel are good at both results as well as relationships, consider how you can provide a focus on both in your work.

Covering the 10 ideas is going to take a few posts, so let’s get started!

Idea #1 for Back to Work focus with Team – Schedule time in everyone’s calendars for regular, and effective team meetings. As I write in Effective Virtual Conversations, asking 8 questions before every team meeting can help to make them more effective:

1. What’s the purpose?
2. What takeaways do we want?
3. Who needs to be on the call (in the room)?
4. What preparation is needed for us to be most effective?
5. What pace do we want to keep it engaging?
6. What will help keep the focus?
7. What is absolutely essential for us to cover
8. What follow-up might be required?

(Effective Virtual Conversations, Copyright Britton, 2017)
 
Idea #2 – Map out the major team goals and activities in the next 1-2 quarters (or longer). Provide everyone with a  visual mapping of:

• Key activities
• Key priorities
• How activities connect with one another
• Who is responsible for what

While there are many ways to do this, the more visual the better! Taking time to share this across the team also supports the team in keeping focused and aligned.
 
Idea #3 – Revisit, or visit, your vision as a team. Fill in the blanks,
It’s December 31, 2019 and we are looking back to take stock of the past 16 months. ____
Consider filling in the blanks around questions like:
Our major accomplishments have been _____________.
We are most proud of_______________.

Enjoy the conversation!
Have a great Wednesday,
Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized | Effective Virtual Conversations |  Coaching Team Leaders  
We provide team and leadership development support through coaching, consulting and training services
Author of several books including the 2018 Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner & Effective Virtual Conversations (2017) 
Email: info@potentialsrealized.com
(416)996-8326

One of the themes which has emerged in this month's blog posts has been the concept of team identity and team culture. This is something I have written on throughout our five years of posts, as culture shapes all layers of the team experience. What we focus on, what we do and how we do it, what we prioritize.

​As I wrote in Teams365 #1440:
"Team culture is often defined as "how we do things". It includes our behaviors and practices, what is acceptable and what is not.

​Each team is unique in it's team culture, and this may vary from organiational culture.

​Consider the question this week "What are three adjectives to describe your team culture?". 
​
​What do these adjectives say about you? What you value? How is it reflected in your work?"

​Here are a few reminders of past posts on team culture for this week's FlashbackFriday:

​Listen into the first Team Leader Breakfast Café call I did back in 2014 on Team Culture. The call runs for 30 minutes. 



​Teams365 #406 suggested a few resources you might want to check out to learn more:

Culture U's article from Scott Beilke on The Sweet Spot - Understanding Culture, Change and Leadership to Accomplish Business Results

Tim Kuppler's Culture Fundamentals - 9 Insights from Edward Schein

Value Based Leadership from Richard Barrett

​What is important to note about your team culture?

Have a great weekend,
​Jennifer

​Team Culture: The Every Manager’s Desktop Reference defines organizational culture as “a set of shared values, goals, practices, and management styles that characterize an organization and are expected to be reflected in its public face and member behaviors” (pp 414, Every Manager’s Desktop Reference).

Today’s VUCA business context, characterized by ongoing change and flux, has pointed many teams to the importance of team culture. Our team culture may be different, or aligned with, our organizational culture. Simply put, team culture is “HOW WE DO THINGS”. It is the behaviors, practices and values which shape our every day interaction. Think about a team who has as part of it’s culture “customer service”. Actions and activities around providing exceptional service will be prioritized over ones that value quality and/or time, unless they are linked to customer service.

What are the adjectives that describe your culture?

Team Culture doesn’t always get the attention it deserves, and HR writers like Susan Heathfield reminds us “team members understand that 20% of the problems that they will experience as a team will fall within the context of the task or mission the team is assigned to accomplish. The other 80% of the problems they experience will relate to their team culture and the processes team members establish and commit to for interacting with each other as team members.” Link to her great article Team Culture and Clear Expectations at The Balance.com - https://www.thebalance.com/team-culture-and-clear-expectations-1919255
 
There are many different models of what comprises team culture:
Culture includes our behavioral norms and agreements - How do we do things here. What is acceptable and not acceptable.
It also includes team identity – How do I connect with others, how do we see ourselves
What we value: Culture is shaped by our values, beliefs and actions. It also includes our mindset. Consider what some of the mindsets are for you as a team. This might include: “We are able to flow with the changes that come our way” OR “We go above and beyond or “We rise to the challenge every time”.
When cultures are strong new members and external people can sense what our team is like. It’s almost a visible layer to others. This is especially true when we have a culture of collaboration, having each other’s back, or helping each other.

​What's important for you to note and be in dialogue around as a team with respect to team culture?

Have a great Tuesday,
​Jennifer