Teams365 Blog - POTENTIALS REALIZED

Teams365 #2959 - Icons

2/5/2022

Icons are a powerful tool for connection across groups which may speak different languages, as well as being a powerful metaphor, crystalizing ideas into a focused point.

My most recent book, the 90-Day Guide for Success includes a different image a day. The book is geared to support professionals who are onboarding or reboarding in the remote, or hybrid space. It is however a book that is relevant to anyone working anywhere.

This week we are starting a new series on ICONS, and I’ll be selecting a different icon from a different day of the 90-Day Guide.

Here’s the first icon - The Iceberg. What’s above and below the waterline for you?

Throughout Reconnecting Workspaces and the 90-Day Guide for Success I share more about the Iceberg model of coaching I have been using with teams and groups for many years.

In teamwork we see what’s above the waterline of work. We see behaviors and actions. In the remote space these may be less visible.

Our behaviors and actions are shaped by the elements below the waterline of work – values, beliefs, mindsets, and perspectives.
What do you notice about how these elements shape what you do, how you do it and how you prioritize things?

Consider these questions:
Values:
What are the values you are guided by?
Are these values individual or collective?

Perspectives:
What perspectives are you standing in?

Mindsets:
• What mindsets are you embracing?
• Is it an open mindset?
• Where might you be getting stuck in what Carol Dweck refers to as closed mindset?

The richness of remote teamwork is in finding our collective approaches and also noticing what we each might bring as different?

Stay tuned for future weekly editions of the ICON set which come from the Reconnecting Workspaces Dice Set.

If you have a copy of the 90-Day Guide for Success, check out the ICEBERG Icon elements on days. Pick up a copy of the 90-Day Guide for Success at Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/90-Day-Guide-Success-Pathways-Virtual/dp/0993791573

Enjoy!
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
https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

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 #2954 - Month End Wrap Up and Monthly Planning Post

1/31/2022

It’s the end of January and time to do another month-end wrap up post and monthly planning session. What are you noticing about your results this month?

As I have done for many months here at the Teams365 blog, I wanted to take a few minutes to support you in thinking through your month with these questions.

Consider the following questions as you reflect on the month of January:

As you reflect on January, what have been your successes and accomplishments?
What routines, or practices, have supported you this month?
What are you most proud of?
What successes this month do you want to duplicate?
What top 3 learnings have you head that you want to carry forward?
What key relationships have helped you so far this year? Which ones need attention?
What has hindered or gotten in the way?
What needs to get carried forward to February?
What does your team need to be acknowledged for?

Consider these questions as you look ahead to February:

What are your key priorities for February?
What are your top 3 goals – personally? Professionally?
What projects will you START? STOP? CONTINUE?
What will you need to place attention on?
What changes do you want to make in February?
What habits do you want to leverage?
When will you check in to explore your progress, and make changes?
What resources do you want to tap into?
Who can help you be successful this month?

Enjoy your reflection and I hope that you will take a few minutes to write these out. If you have a copy of either of my planners, PlanDoTrack (link to PR website) or Coaching Business Builder, take a few minutes to complete your month end reflections, and set up your February To Dos and Priorities. You can also follow along with one of my month-end planning session videos over at my
YouTube Channel (https://www.youtube.com/effectivegroupcoach).

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

Check out my TEDx talk
https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

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 #2948 - Reconnecting the Workspace Tip: Talent Management

1/25/2022

Talent management in the remote, hybrid, and virtual space often feels disjointed and not very clear.

In supporting others to do their best work, think about what you want to make more clear in terms of learning opportunities, career pathways, and growth across the entire lifecycle from recruitment to ongoing development opportunities.

It’s difficult to communicate our culture in the virtual, remote, and hybrid space. This is one of the key elements which will help people recognize if they want to be part of it. In terms of creating a robust culture, we want to make sure things are visible. This is translated through our brand, our mottos, our mantras, and even our digital icons. Talent management can also be laid out visually in terms of different pathways, to make the journey from recruitment to onboarding to new employee and seasoned employee. Consider how you can also make your learning process more visual—how training, coaching, and mentoring all connect.

What are the things which need more visibility? When would people benefit by coming together under one roof (where possible), and what are the best elements done in person and virtually?

Enjoy the conversation!
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
https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

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 #2947 - Quote: Learning And the Talent Cycle

1/24/2022

“The mind is not a vessel to be filled but a fire to be kindled.”

– Plutarch

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

Check out my TEDx talk
https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

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 #2946 - Week In Review

1/23/2022

Wow! Another week is done. Here’s where we went this week, just in case you missed this week’s Virtual Co-Working Sprints.

Monday- Boundaries and Parkinson's Rule https://www.potentialsrealized.com/teams-365-blog/teams365-2940-virtual-co-working-sprints-22-for-2022-day-17-of-22-days-boundaries-and-parkinsons-rule

Tuesday- Create a Dialogue: Lean Into Community https://www.potentialsrealized.com/teams-365-blog/teams365-2941-virtual-co-working-sprints-22-for-2022-day-18-of-22-days-create-a-dialogue-lean-into-community

Wednesday- Get the Important Stuff Out of the Way https://www.potentialsrealized.com/teams-365-blog/teams365-2942-virtual-co-working-sprints-22-for-2022-day-19-of-22-days-get-the-important-stuff-out-of-the-way

Thursday- Leverage the Perfect Call Formula and 5 Engagement Levers
https://www.potentialsrealized.com/teams-365-blog/teams365-2943-virtual-co-working-sprints-22-for-2022-day-20-of-22-days-leverage-the-perfect-call-formula-and-5-engagement-levers

Friday- Track It! https://www.potentialsrealized.com/teams-365-blog/teams365-2944-virtual-co-working-sprints-22-for-2022-day-21-of-22-days-track-it

Saturday- Unique Hybrid Workstyle https://www.potentialsrealized.com/teams-365-blog/teams365-2945-virtual-co-working-sprints-22-for-2022-day-22-of-22-days-unique-hybrid-workstyle

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!
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
https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

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 #2942 - Virtual Co-Working Sprints 22 For 2022: Day 19 of 22 Days: Get the Important Stuff Out of the Way

1/19/2022

“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.”— Jim Watkins

It is likely that even with the best planning, finding time to execute and get things done can be a challenge. Today’s business context of ongoing change and disruption means that things can change on a regular basis, requiring ongoing learning and iteration.

Against this backdrop, it can also be important to focus on items that are moving you, and the business, forward.

With this in mind, what are the windows you have available (or can create) to get the important things out of the way? This might mean starting your day early, or working late into the night, to focus on projects that require quiet workspaces.

Activity
Review your monthly or quarterly goals.
Review your Top 3 or 5 Goals.
What activities are not getting completed in a regular way?
What needs to be focused on more?
When will you schedule this? For example, is this the first thing you want to do every day? Is it worth arriving at work 30 minutes earlier to make sure it gets completed? Could certain activities be delegated to someone else?
Break larger tasks down to smaller chunks if you have not done so already. Consider what smaller milestones exist and put these in your schedule.
What are the regular action steps you will undertake to make it happen? Work backward noting additional mini-milestones.

Conversation Sparkers
What are the most important tasks that are going to move your work or business forward?
When are you scheduling in these?
What habits are going to help you get the most important things done?

Enjoy!
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
https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

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 #2941 - Virtual Co-Working Sprints 22 For 2022: Day 18 of 22 Days: Create a Dialogue- Lean Into Community

1/18/2022

“It’s all about the conversation.” – Jennifer Britton

This year as part of the 22 for 22 kickoff I wanted to bring in the element of community. For several years now, each January, as part of the annual kick-off

I’ve hosted a series of blog posts. Take a look back at:

18 for 18 Kickstart
19 or 19 Productivity

What’s been different this year in terms of seeing the impact of this work, is the community that has been created and which has been meeting live each day (usually from 12 – 1240 pm ET). While we are winding down in a few days, don’t worry – more challenges as on their way.

A large part of my work has been about creating dialogue in my work. This is still something that helps to differentiate professionals in the virtual space. What are you doing to bring people together for a conversation (not just an individualized learning experience)?

Whether we are having a one-off conversation or leaning into the community in areas such as the Conversation Sparker Zone (join us at https://conversation-sparker.mn.co), what are the dialogues you want to create?

Activity

Consider work you want to bring into the world. What role does dialogue play? What forums are you creating for people to come together and be in the discussion?

Ask yourself:
What are the topics people want to come together around?
What platform is best to house this conversation on (consider Facebook, Mighty Networks, or ….)
What’s important about creating the space for a conversation?

Conversation Sparkers
How do tasks expand to the amount of time I give them?
Where could I be more aggressive or lenient with my scheduling?

Enjoy the conversation!
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
https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

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 #2940 - Virtual Co-Working Sprints 22 For 2022: Day 17 of 22 Days: Boundaries and Parkinson's Rule

1/17/2022

“To the person who does not know where (S)he wants to go there is no favorable wind” – Seneca

Boundaries are key to success and thriving in the very fluid remote and virtual workspace. Whether we are juggling multiple tasks, or roles (business owner or leader, parent, etc.), being clear on boundaries can mean the difference between getting by and thriving.

There’s an old project management adage, known as Parkinson’s Rule, which asserts that tasks expand to the amount of time we give them. In other words, if we set a deadline of getting something done by end of the day tomorrow, we’ll get it done. Conversely, we could have fixed another deadline of early next week, and the task might have stretched out to then as well.

Parkinson’s Rule may be something you have seen at play in the 21 for 21 Virtual Co-working series. Day after day I am hearing about how people find they do get what they had set out to do in the 21 minutes complete. For many, this is a surprise and several have noted that it would have taken more time to do on their own without the 21-minute time window boundary.

At a macro-business level, considering our start and end dates is critical in juggling multiple projects. From program and product design to administration and finances, to actually coaching, there are a lot of varied tasks which make up a successful coaching business.

What are the tasks and activities which could benefit from a more fixed start and end date?

Related to this concept is that of time estimation.

Activity
Consider the major activities, tasks, and projects which are a priority this month. Where are they scheduled?

Ask yourself:
What is the start date for this project or task?
What is the end date I have set?
Could the end date be a bit more aggressive so that the task could be completed in a more condensed manner? If not, why not?
What is important to notice about start and end dates? How my tasks are expanding to the time I give them?
What’s currently not getting done, which I wish it was?
If it’s not about changing time windows, WHO can help me get it done? WHAT other resources do I need to allocate?
What changes would I like to make?

Conversation Sparkers
How do tasks expand to the amount of time I give them?
Where could I be more aggressive or lenient with my scheduling?

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
https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

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 #2939 - Virtual Co-Working Sprints 22 For 2022: Day 16 of 22 Days: Anticipate Frequently Asked Questions

1/16/2022

“Life would certainly be easier if we all came equipped with our own personal FAQ lists. When we meet someone, we could pass them a business card with the list on the back, and then step back and let them read before we tried to talk." -Jeff Lindsay
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/jeff_lindsay_525871

People like to ask questions. It’s also a signal that things may not be as clear as they could be. In the virtual and remote world, helping team members know where to go is key. Likewise, customers or other stakeholders may have questions.

As a virtual professional, it’s likely that you are anticipating certain questions to come up. Or, perhaps you are hearing certain questions already.

Over time we want to develop a series of Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ). For example, an FAQ about your services, how to register, what’s included. his could be posted on our website, blog, and/or be available as a download.

Some of the more common areas addressed in Frequently Asked Questions are the following:
What do you offer?
How do you offer your services and products (in-person, virtual, on-demand, live…)
What are the benefits of what you offer?
Where can people go for more information or access what they need?
Where to find….
How to locate….
How to do (insert your top 10)…

What do you regularly get questions about?

Activity

Make a list of the common questions you receive.
Draft out your Frequently Asked Questions page
What will it include?
What format do you want to provide it in? (Download on the website, postcard, rack card)
Where will it be available?
What else is important to communicate?

Run your FAQ by current clients to get their feedback. What connects with them? What else would they include?

Conversation Sparkers
What is important to communicate to people who are just meeting you for the first time?
What do you regularly get questions about?
What else is important to note

Enjoy your weekend!
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
https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

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 #2937 - Virtual Co-Working Sprints 22 For 2022: Day 14 of 22 Days: Get Into Action

1/14/2022

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone” – Neal Donald Walsch

The pace of change today is faster than ever before. Getting comfortable with taking focused action, without all the details is a part of success in the virtual space.

When starting, or launching, new initiatives it can be valuable to just get into action. It’s easy and can be alluring, to spend time doing more research. I continue to meet a lot of coaches who fail to move into the execution stage because they are just not “sure”. They need to do a “bit more research”. The more data we have, the easier it may be to slip into “analysis/paralysis”. This can be a place of overwhelm or “STUCK” for many business owners. There usually is a place where you have “enough” information and can get started.

The tagline for the Coaching Business Builder, and PlanDoTrack, is
“Consistent Action + Daily Steps = Momentum” Key to business success is to Get into Action!

As Nike says, “Just do it”.

Consistent action is key for building business in today’s ever-changing world. We often do not know what’s going to have an impact until we get it out into the world. This is even more true in the virtual space. It’s through trying things out, and getting feedback, that we start to get the feedback required as to if we are on the mark, or not.

Even in creating group coaching processes, it’s key to get things into action, rather than fall into the analysis-paralysis trap. We don’t need to know everything or even anything. We need to trust our clients. Things will change right up to the moment we meet our clients.

So, how much mental energy are you spending in trying to figure out what your clients really want? Holding ideas and thoughts in our heads takes up a lot of space. How much mental energy are you spending just thinking about things, considering best and worst-case scenarios without getting into action?

Activity
Think about the most important priorities for your business. What needs to get done?
What are you doing to create opportunities for action and feedback with your ideal clients? What events can you host to start the dialogue with them?
What are the regular action steps which will help you get things done?

Conversation Sparkers
What is the consistent action you want to take daily in your business?
Who can support you in determining when “enough is enough” and you need action?

Happy Friday!
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
https://www.ted.com/talks/jennifer_britton_virtual_remote_and_hybrid_checklist_aug_2021

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.