The term VUCA has jumped out of the world of the army, into the everyday lexicon of business. I recently went back to some writing I was doing in 2017, and there it was in the first page of the manuscript!

What is VUCA and why is it important? VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity.

Let’s break these terms down a bit:

Volatility – In volatility, things are changing, and usually changing rapidly. This might mean that market conditions are changing, regulations are changing, or dollar values are changing. What do you notice about volatility in your context?

Uncertainty takes many forms. From not knowing what’s around the corner, to not knowing what’s needed, uncertainty can paralyze teams. Becoming comfortable in operating without a lot of certainty is often takes a different mindset. It may also mean that we become “comfortable with the uncomfortable” and learn to make decisions based on the information which is available (and may not be comprehensive or may change).

Complexity is one of the biggest challenges to leaders and teams today. This may mean we need a variety of skills from across disciplines and/or a wider understanding of more things. Helping to simplify what we can, can offer an antidote to complexity.

Ambiguity occurs when things are not clear. This may be due to things changing regularly OR due to the complexity. What can you do to become more discerning, see the patterns which exist, or break things down into more discrete pieces?

In supporting teams and leaders in organizations today, four things we can do in support of operating at our peak in a VUCA environment:

#1 – Create consistency around process. With so much change around a team, consistency is key to success. Consistency can take several forms on teams including consistent meetings, consistent check-ins, regular one-on-one coaching sessions, regular reporting. Revisit these on a regular basis as contexts may change – what frequency is needed?

As a team discuss what does consistency mean? What’s important to you?

#2 – Connect people with the bigger picture. While the details may change (and do!) the bigger picture – where we are going, what’s important to us, what we are aiming for – is likely to stay more stable. Vision and mission create an anchor. They also provide an important marker when things do change.

#3 – Keep it simple. A VUCA context can paralyse and overwhelm. Keeping things simple does not mean simplifying. It means emphasizing what is core. Consider questions like “What’s essential? vs. What’s a nice to have?” OR “What are the three bullet points to emphasize?”. Help team members discern any patterns within what might appear chaotic.

#4 – Connect people with others. Part of ongoing change means that we often don’t know what or who we need down the road. Connecting members of the team with others supports them in knowing who they can reach out to, or where they can go for support. Connections may include both internal and external stakeholders.
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For more on the topic of VUCA, check out these other Teams365 posts:

• Teams365 1770: VIDEO – Six Ingredients for Teams in Today’s VUCA World (2 min)
• Teams365 #1611: Teamwork in Complexity – Focus and Renewal 

Enjoy!
​Jennifer

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. ​

This week’s Teamwork Foundation post gets you, as a team, to consider how you are as a team with respect to alignment. Teamwork today is dependent on alignment.

Alignment around purpose.

Alignment around values.

Alignment around goals.

When a team is not aligned, it’s likely we’ll see these types of behaviors:

• Duplication
• Gaps
• Performance issues and lack of clarity around goals
• Weaker team culture – no one is sure what they are working on or what’s important

In order to boost alignment, we want to:

• Help team members see the bigger picture
• Help teams prioritize so they can focus on what’s important
• Build connection across the team
• Understand who does what
• Clarity and strengthen team culture

What is important to note around alignment within your team right now?

Best,
​Jennifer

This week’s Weekly Journaling Prompt gets you thinking about the question “Something I won’t forget….”

Our memories can easily fade and transmute with time. Writing things out provides us with a clearer indication of what did happen.

As you consider the events from the last few months, what are the things you want to remember? What are the things you don’t want to forget next time….?

A quick reminder that I have pulled the Weekly Journaling Prompts together in a quarterly format. You can pick up and download the first 12 weeks of the series in a new downloadable booklet format at the Potentials Realized store. Here are a few shots of Volume 1 – the first 12 weeks in action.

Enjoy!
​Jennifer

​Today’s blog post gets us thinking about values. Values serve as anchors or a compass, leading the way or anchoring us when we need to make decisions, prioritize and focus.
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In an uncertain context, being clear about our behaviors as a team is critical. As we go to explore our values, we may first want to consider what our values are individually. To do this, we might explore the following questions:

• What is important to me?
• What are the things I will take a stand for?
• What’s absolutely essential to have in my work/life?
• What makes me angry/happy/at ease?

 
All of these questions will usually point to a value which is important.
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Underneath the words of a value are the behaviors. What do the values look like in action? If I were to take my phone into the workplace and record behaviors, what would I see?

As a team, and especially a remote team, having a focus on values can help during periods of uncertainty. Even though the context may change, hopefully our values are not changing in the arena.

As a team, this week consider what your top 3 operating values are this year. What are you committed to, no matter what? Behaviorally, what do these values look like in action?

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 an 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 Weekly Journaling prompt gets you to reflect on the question “What I want to say a big NO TO is….”

Whether it is getting a handle on time, or clutter, or something else, saying NO can just be as powerful as saying YES.

This week I hope that you will enjoy journaling around the question: “What I want to say a big NO TO is…”

Kind 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 an digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

​It’s Sunday which means that it is time for another Video Montage from PlanDoTrack. Take a look at this week’s video montage.

In bringing this work out into the world, one of my favorite program offerings at the moment is the four-hour PlanDoTrack Virtual Retreat.  Check it out here.

The program is geared for business owners and professionals who are looking to reconnect or create their vision OR take action on a creative project. We meet throughout the four-hour retreat every hour as a group, leaving you ample time in between our group touch-points to engage in structured activities to help you PLAN, take action (DO) and TRACK your results.

Here’s what two participants from the April session wrote about their experience:

"The PlanDoTrack session was everything I hoped for and more! These 4 hours were a super useful and productive pause to work on my business vision and goals for the year. It was a hands-on approach, very much helped by the worksheets in the Coaching Business Builder and also Jennifer's guidance.
I would certainly do at least one more session!”
- Rute Silva - Organizational Development Consultant/Executive Coach - PCC 

"Jennifer - thank you for creating a space to allow me to focus on the deep work that I am committed to getting out into the world.  On a normal day, the whirlwind of life would have prevented me from putting pen to paper and designing a problem that could have easily been put off until "someday". Today I prioritized the important over the urgent and I feel so accomplished to have created content that will make a difference. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. If you are committed to creating a program, a business plan, content, or whatever is meaningful to you and your clients, but you do not have the space or time to focus, this program is a game changer. Block the time. You will be thrilled with the outcome and the support along the way.” 
- Jacyln M. Bradley

The next one will be held on Thursday May 30th from 10 am – 2 pm Eastern/Toronto.

I hope that you will join us. The cost is $129 US and includes a virtual retreat workbook, structured exercises to work on during the afternoon and access to me during the 4 hours for some individual coaching.

You need to bring a copy of the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner, OR the Coaching Business Builder Workbook and Planner, an idea of what you want to focus on, and four-hours of dedicated space.

Reserve your spot at the next PlanDoTrack Virtual Retreat – Thursday May 30th here.

Look forward to connecting!
​Jennifer

Happy Saturday! It’s time for another Weekly Journaling Prompt here at the Teams365 blog. Have you downloaded your copy of the first 6 weeks booklet?

For a short while, readers here at the blog will have access to this resource for free. Use code THANKSTEAMS365 when prompted. 

Today’s weekly journaling prompt gets you to consider the question:

What I want to more fully embrace is…?

I hope that you will take a few minutes today or this weekend to journal on this question. After you have journaled, review what you have written and note:

• What do you notice about this?
• What’s holding you back from embracing it more?
• What changes do you want to make?
• What else is important to note about this question?

Enjoy your reflections!
​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 an digital format. Print it out and take it with you for some inspiration and writing on the go! Available at the Potentials Realized Store.

One of the themes this month has been about getting organized and minimizing. With this in mind, here are three resources you might find useful:

1. Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin – Having been a podcast listener of Gretchen’s Happier podcast for a couple of years now, I was so excited to hear about her recent release of Outer Order, Inner Calm. It’s a quick read, chock full of practical tips and strategies you can implement right away. True to her work and philosophy that there’s not a one size fits all, consider how your own tendency might impact the way you organize. If you haven’t explored the work and writing of Gretchen Rubin, check her out, including the Four Tendencies.

2. Cal Newport – Digital Minimalism. As someone heavily enmeshed in the digital ecosystem in my work as a virtual educator, coach and solopreneur, I appreciated this new book. It speaks to the challenge of the digital world we live within. While the ability to switch on and off has been part of my own work over the last 3 decades, the book offers practical approaches to minimizing what you have and what you are connected to in order to create more space for what’s important. Like many other books on the topic of minimalism, what it means and looks like for each of us might be different.

Personally, I am looking forward to taking some quieter time this July and August when I work out of the cottage to further cull my digital landscape. Letting go of TV and streaming almost 2 years ago has made a big difference in my time available for things I love, creative pursuits and time spent with loved ones.  I can feel the pressure of emails creeping up however and will be focusing on that first this summer when I have earmarked my annual “return to basics” six weeks.

3. I also have appreciated the resources of Organizing365’s Lisa Woodrow in the last few weeks. This year she hosted a Decluttering Blitz. Her podcast series is also a great tone to follow if organizing is important for you on a personal or professional level. You can follow it up here.  
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What resources are you finding useful in your work and world right now around this topic?
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Warm regards,
Jennifer

This month’s focus at the blog is Team Springboards. Teams are the engines of many businesses today and being in top shape is important. Team culture is also important, given the context of virtual and remote work where matrix teams are an inevitable part of the equation. When working in matrix environments, it can be really important to strengthen your team culture and clarify how things are done in your culture. Again, team culture is about HOW WE DO THINGS. It’s our processes, our practices, and what’s acceptable and what’s not.

I thought it would be useful to take us back to a past post on Team Culture which you may want to explore as you go to define the different team cultures you are part of. Here’s what I wrote in Teams365 #1526:
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“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.” Here's a link to her great article Team Culture and Clear Expectations at The Balance.com.

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?
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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?”

Here's the original post.
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What’s important to note about the cultures you are part of right now?

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

​Jennifer Britton – Potentials Realized 
Leadership | Teamwork | Business Success
Author of multiple books including Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), PlanDoTrack (2018) and From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (2013)
Follow along with the #90DaysPlanDoTrack series over at Instagram @CoachingBizBuilder 
Now available – PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner - Order a copy today on Amazon
Join the conversation at the Conversation Sparker Zone - our online community where you can explore virtual and team issues, coaching, productivity and business development).
Check out the new 19 Tips for Productivity On-Demand Course. If this is your year to get things moving, check it out now. Join Jenn for bi-weekly live group calls until July. $129 US. Learn more and enroll here.