Supporting team members around strengths can help boost productivity, engagement and zest! What can we specifically do to spark that conversation? In today’s Flashback Friday post, I reach back to a post from 2017, where I shared the facilitated instructions from one of the exercises found in the 40 Ways to Work with Visual Cards. This exercise can get you sparking a new conversation around strengths. Here’s what I wrote in Teams365 #1387.

In today’s post, we’re exploring strengths for virtual teams. How do you make it happen?

Helping team members understand their strengths helps teams leverage their skills and harness their capabilities. Gallup has also found very compelling results when team members are able to bring their strengths to work every day.

In addition to the StrengthsFinder, teams may also want to investigate another strengths assessment that being VIA Strengths – Values in Action.

The following is a short warm-up activity to a more detailed discussion as a team around your strengths.

When I’ve seen you at your best….

Time: 15 minutes
Materials Needed: None

Instructions:
Virtual team members need acknowledgement as well, particularly as they may receive less feedback that teams who can see each other face-to-face.

Ask team members to think about one person on the team who they have liaised with, or worked closely with (virtually) in the last quarter. At one of your team meetings you will give people the opportunity to share with that colleague responses to the following questions:

1. I see one of your strengths as….
2. I appreciate …..
3. Going forward, as we work together, I’d like to ask you to ______
4. You bring ….. to our team.

​This is an activity which will cultivate positive emotion and will bring team members closer together. Teams need positive reinforcement, as well as constructive feedback. For more on the concept of constructive feedback, check out the Foundations of Feedback series I did. It will be of interest to teams of all kinds who are hoping to build more of a feedback culture.
 
Enjoy your conversations,
Jennifer

One of the greatest challenges in team work today is leading a remote or virtual team. Helping people feel connected when they may be working at opposite times of the day, and parts of the world, for the same project can seem daunting.

In my work as a team coach, consultant, and author, I love the work that I get to do with remote teams. It may be because I led remote teams most of my thirty-year career, or it may be that the notion of diversity energizes me. If you have met me more than fifteen years ago, you would have found me connecting with my team which was spread across ten countries, with more than fifteen nationalities represented.

What can we do to help our remote teams stay on the same page? Here are three things to think about:
​
#1 – Strengthen your team identity and culture. Our team identity and culture clarify WHO we are, and HOW we do things. The stronger our team culture is, the clearer we are about what is unique to us as a team, as well as what is acceptable and unacceptable. In a remote team, or virtual team, being focused on these areas can be important. They create clarity. They help us know what’s expected when we are part of one team. When you are part of a matrix structure (very common in the remote space) it’s critical that we are clear on how doing things on one project may vary from doing things on another project with another team.

Having a strong team culture can also repel or attract. It can help people feel “bigger than themselves” and feel a sense of connection or belonging. At the same time, it may signal to non-team members that this team is different.
What is your team identity?

#2 – Consistency. Consistency is important in today’s VUCA world. As I am going to share in a post tomorrow around VUCA and teams, being consistent with process and practices can also create stability in what can often be perceived as a turbulent business context.

If you have said that you are going to meet bi-weekly, make sure meetings happen. If you are expecting reports weekly, be sure to follow up.

What does consistency mean for your team? What can it look like?

#3 – Create regular connection points. What are the touch points team members have, both formally (through team meetings) and informally (through mentoring, peer partners and other ideas)? Consider as a team what “regular” means, and what the right frequency is. Again, connection points create a sense of belonging and team. If we say we are a team, but don’t ever connect, how do we know what people are doing?

Connection points can be digital (like Slack), virtual (like Zoom team meetings) and in-person (quarterly or annual get togethers for the team).

​What is the best frequency for your team?

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. ​

There is a fallacy in today’s remote team context that everything can be done remote. Remote does not mean out of touch. Remote does not mean we don’t see each other or need to.

Where possible, it can be very useful to come together as a team for events – team meetings, team connection and/or team retreats.  While this may not occur every week, month or quarter, aiming to bring people together for face-to-face activities can deepen the connections, and extend the conversation, which can be more challenging when we try to it virtually.

Here are some possible ways to incorporate more face-to-face time:

#1 – Be sure to stream where you can. Many teams today are opting to move to platforms like Zoom or Facetime where it’s literally like you are seeing each other. Have people share something from “outside the screen” to help build a greater sense of “Who is Who”, and the context in which they operate within.

#2 – Block in time and budget to focus on face-to-face meetings. Some teams will bring people together each month or quarter, whereas for some teams it may only be once a year or every two years. With the sub-regional team I lead years ago, we got together every year for a FULL 1.5 days. The amount of time we spent formally, and informally, had a positive residue all year long. Consider what is going to be the best balance of work, sharing, formal and informal time for longer retreat meetings.

#3 – Make a point to rotate meeting time. Inevitably it is often one or two people who are asked to meet at a different time. Frequency and consistency around meetings are important for everyone. What is the best rhythm for your team?           
 
For more on this topic, consider reading these posts:
Teams365 1224 - Visuals in Remote Meetings
Teams365 #1911 - Effective Virtual Conversations Tip 87 
Teams365 #1773 - Five things to get on the calendar right now 

Not sure what to do when you get there?  Check out the 20 Focus Areas for Remote Team Development Ebook. It includes facilitated instructions to 20 different things you can do with your remote/virtual team. Purchase and download a copy here.

Have a great week,
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 Flashback Friday takes us into some of the past posts I’ve included around working remote. As someone who supported teams more than 25 years ago in pretty extreme remote environments, helping teams thrive in the remote space has been a key passion and focus for me. This week’s post takes us back to some of the stats around remote work we started seeing back in 2015. Remote work is not new, rather, it is becoming more common place for employees of all types.

I like to look at the landscape of remote work and some of my current writing is expanding on this. Let’s take a look at where we were in 2015, only 4 years ago, around the landscape of remote work. Here’s what I shared back in Teams365 post #994:

Recently I’ve done a series of posts on virtual and remote team leadership. Learning how to be an effective virtual leader is one part of the equation of moving to a more mobile and engaged workforce. Another key part is creating an enabling environment for virtual and remote work, which may include ensuring there are adequate resources, policies and expectations around virtual work.

Here’s some research around the drivers for developing a more remote workforce. Softchoice’s study the “Death of the Desk Job” found through their survey that:

• 62% of employees believe they are more productive working outside the office
• 61% of employees prefer working the equivalent of an eight hour workday broken up over a longer day, rather than in a single 9-5 block
• 57% of employees work on personal and/or sick days, and 44%  of employees worked on their last vacation
• 24% or organizations have set clear policies and expectations around appropriate work activities after business hours
• 74% of North American employees would quit their job for one that allow them to work remotely more often
• 70% would quite in favour of a position that offers increased flexibility

​Reference: http://www.softchoice.com/about/press/2015/177 as quoted in HRD Issue 4.3, pp 48 in the article "Is your organization ready to be flexible?"

What you do know and notice about the appetite for remote work at your organization?
​
(You will find the original post here)

As you think about your world of work, industry and geography – what has changed? How have things shifted in the last 4-5 years? What trends are you seeing – let us know by commenting below.

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 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: 
​
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. ​

This week takes us into the interesting landscape of performance reviews in the remote space. Just as feedback is important in the in-person realm, feedback in the remote space is also important. Perhaps even more so, given the isolation and possibility that things can get off the rails very quickly.

Just as in in-person work, it is important to provide feedback and checkpoints on a regular basis. Usually the pace around everything is faster in the remote space, so consider how you might build in monthly or bi-weekly checkpoints for team members to see how they are doing.

Questions to consider when shifting performance reviews and conversations to the remote space:

HOW do we evaluate? Considering your feedback process is critical for remote workers. We want to be sure that they are getting regular, consistent feedback. No comments, or radio silence, is not enough. Consideration around HOW we evaluate - through written feedback, verbal feedback, review of job products - is a great starting point.

What are the different sources of feedback? Given that people are liaising with lots of different members, WHO is well placed to provide feedback? HOW do we invite them to provide feedback?

Getting really clear on outputs - In the remote space what we see in work is usually the end product. Being super-specific around outputs and what success looks like is very important in any type of performance conversation. Measuring on the process is usually a little trickier as it often is not seen, so consider how you are speaking to success measures and outputs in your performance conversations.

Provide multiple checkpoints - Formal feedback cycles may be much quicker than in-person given that we usually don’t see each other and informally connect with updates. What are the checkpoints you are going to put into place to make sure that people are feeling supported, and that issues are being “caught” in time?

Micro-monitor, don’t micro-manage - Micro-monitoring is a key part of virtual team success. When we have staff who work remote, it’s key that we are monitoring their results and outputs, rather than trying to micro-manage what they do. Micro-management is usually impossible or improbable given distance. Together with members of your team, set up a schedule to track, report and discuss key metrics and milestones.

What is important to put into place for your performance reviews?

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. ​

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. ​

This week’s Flashback Friday takes us back to a 2015 post I entitled “Empathy and Connection in Virtual Teams”. Emotional Intelligence skills such as relationship building, influence and fostering trust and connection become even more important in today’s remote and virtual teams. I thought it would be useful to revisit this post to get you thinking about what you are doing and what you could expand upon.

Here’s what I wrote in Teams365 #1533:

One of the skills which is important to develop in the virtual world today is empathy. One of the challenges is that we don't get to see beyond the screen.  What are some ways we can be building more empathy and understanding with other virtual team members?

​What comes to mind in terms of ways you can boost more connection and understanding amongst team members?

​Empathy is a skill set critical for teamwork and leadership. In fact, I probably could do a series of posts on this topic.  In today's post, I want to zoom into the question of "what are some practical ways to build more empathy across virtual teams, while also boosting connection?". 

​There have been some great writings by others on the topic of empathy. Consider these articles -

​Empathy in Leadership - 10 Reasons Why It Matters by Tanveer Naseer. Read it here.

​Matthew Taylor's Empathy in Leadership: Coaching Leaders to Manage Their Stories. Read it here.
​
Center for Creative Leadership: Empathy in the Workplace. Find this here.

​As virtual teams, here are some ways we can build our skills in empathy while building connection:

​1. Provide opportunities for team members to get to know each other - online and offline. While some virtual teams will never meet, building in time for "getting to know" each other is critical. This could entail dedicating some time to sharing "what's outside your window" or “on your desk" as I describe in Chapter 7 of my new book Effective Virtual Conversations.

​2. Create formal learning partnerships with others on the team. Many virtual teams benefit from having peer partners to meet with on a regular basis. This helps us to learn more about each other, what projects we are working on. As we listen and learn more trust, connection and understanding is created.

​3. Be present and listen. We continue to see how important the ability to focus on virtual conversations is. Nothing will destroy trust and connection faster than hearing another person on the end of the phone or typing away at an email while you are speaking together. What will it take to be present, focus, and deeply listen in your virtual conversations?

​4. Listen for the deeper layers - typically in listening we may be staying at the surface. Hearing with one ear and thinking about what we are going to say back to the other person. In the deeper listening needed by virtual teams today, listen to what the person is saying. Notice the pace, pitch of the conversation. Notice what is the emotion behind the words? What is being said? 
​
​5. Take time to share more about your world, your work, your priorities. An important part of empathy is understanding. It's a two-way street - being open to share, and being receptive to listening. how much are you sharing about your world, your work and your priorities?

​There are multiple ways be can be focusing on the skills of empathy as we build connection on teams. What are some approaches you as a team want to focus on?

You can read the original post here.

Enjoy your weekend,
Jennifer

One of my summer projects involved spending a weekend participating in a writing marathon with 39 other writers. In addition to being an inspirational burst of writing time for me, it was for a great cause – adult literacy in my local community.

During my weekend of writing I focused on a new manuscript which explores the varied pathways different remote and virtual workers find themselves working across.

As an increasing number of people find themselves working in the remote space, we find that many different people are attracted to the work.

From start-ups, to remote workers attached to organizations, from those who want to Work From Home (WFH) to digital natives who want to Work From Anywhere.

There are many different pathways which bring us to, and along, the remote work landscape. Let’s look at some of the various pathways. Across the landscape of virtual today we find:

• Fully virtual businesses with no physical hub – Consider organizations like Zapier, Buffer and Articulate. Look at Zapier’s article highlighting different companies that are remote.
• Digital Nomads who work from anywhere. Marketing specialists, writers and other freelancers can embrace the freedom of the “road” and sky as they continue work while travelling. WFA – Work From Anywhere is becoming the GO TO phrase for those who work anywhere.
  
• WFH - Those who work from home, from customer service, to global team members, to freelancers. Working from home provides unique challenges as well as opportunities.
  
• Remote Solopreneurs - From graphic designers to coaches, many solopreneurs opt to establish a virtual business.
• Remote workers for larger companies - Whether they work remote once a week or every day, many companies are looking to provide the flexibility and convenience of remote work. It also can offset the footprint costs of large office space in big cities.
• Virtual Team leaders who work with team members across a region or country.
  

These are just some of the remote workers we see in today's virtual ecosystem. I'll be exploring the adventures and backstory to many of these in an upcoming podcast series I'll be hosting with my colleague Michelle Mullins.

What are the things you enjoy?

Benefits of remote work can include:

• Flexibility to work when and where you want
• Greater autonomy
• Fewer distractions
• Reduced commute time
  
• Smaller ecological footprint (yes, flying and driving and commuting does add up very quickly)

As I shared last month, there can be a number of pitfalls to remote work as well (LINK TO PITFALLS article) including unclear boundaries between work and the rest of your life, the challenge of matrix relationships, and the sense of isolation many remote workers feel.

If you work remote, what are the things you enjoy about remote work?

What do you find challenging?

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. ​