Focus Question:  Where are you needing to collaborate so that you can enhance the impact of your work?
 
Description
Collaboration in today’ business context can take a number of forms – from Joint Ventures, to Co-Facilitation, Collaboration and Co-Leading. What are the different partnerships you engage with?
 
Great partnerships don’t just happen. They are usually created with some intention. They are often planned.
 
It can be valuable to spend some time to plan your collaboration by asking:

• What do you want to get out of the collaboration?
• What skills do you bring?
• How are you complimentary?
• What’s really important as an outcome in this work?
• What’s really important as a process in this work?
• Where is it not a good idea to collaborate?
• What will you do to provide feedback to each other?

Activity
Identify the collaborations you are a part of right now? What conversations need to be had?

With your major tasks and projects for the next few months, what new partnerships and collaboration opportunities are needed? What requires attention?

Also refer to the Collaboration Download as part of Episode 7 as part of the Remote Pathways Podcast. Listen in on your favorite podcast player or at RemotePathways.com

For more on this topic check out:
Teams365 #1152 - 5 Ingredients for Successful Team Leader Collaboration

Best,
​Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Co-host of the Remote Pathways Podcast
Potentials Realized – Coaching, Training and Consulting Services for remote teams, leaders and professionals 
 
Check out the most recent Remote Pathways Podcast Episode, where we explore the people, places and processes of exceptional remote work. You can listen to the latest episode here, or on your favorite podcast player.
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Description
Our team culture (as I have written in other Teams365 posts) is WHO we are and HOW we do things. It consists of our norms, our Team Charter or Agreements on how we do things, what’s acceptable and what’s not. A large part of our work at Potentials Realized is in support of team development. We work with teams who are creating their team norms, and intentionally shaping their team culture.

Each team is unique in its team culture, and this may vary from organizational culture. Creating a strong remote team culture is critical, especially when people are part of multiple team cultures.

Our team culture is also shaped by our values. If we value quality, we will always make a point to review key pieces of communication before they go out the door. If we value experimentation, we may be very open as a team to things that don’t work as planned (note that I’m not even using the term failure).

Team culture also includes the visual and other elements which make us, us. This might be HOW we hold meetings, or the fact that we provide both positive and constructive feedback around new projects and initiatives. Visual elements might include a mascot or metaphors which help them team identify themselves. For example, a team may associate itself with a firecracker (being bold and making an impact) or a fire pit (bringing people together for collaboration and problem solving). What are the elements of your team culture which you want to make more pronounced or visible?
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In a virtual or remote team, it can be key to focus in on being more explicit in taking time to articulate and share our team culture given that we may not be able to see it every day. It may be captured in our slides or stickers that are put on computers or notebooks. What structures do you want to use to make it visible?

Activity
What are the elements of your team culture? Think about the things that make your team unique. This might include HOW you meet. WHAT you prioritize. Any sayings or taglines you embrace.

Team culture also speaks to HOW you do things.  What is acceptable on this team? What is not? What team agreements and norms do you have in place?
 
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?"
 
For more on this topic check out:
Teams365 #1526 at Potentials Realized.com - Team Culture
 
Teams365 #2156 – Keeping Your Remote Team All On One Page at PotentialsRealized.com

All the best,
​Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Co-host of the Remote Pathways Podcast
Potentials Realized – Coaching, Training and Consulting Services for remote teams, leaders and professionals 
 
Check out the most recent Remote Pathways Podcast Episode, where we explore the people, places and processes of exceptional remote work. You can listen to the latest episode here, or on your favorite podcast player.
​

Description

In the remote space, creating trust, safety and connection across the team is critical to surfacing the issues which need to be addressed and allowing the team to bring their best work every day. When teams are remote, it’s very easy for issues to be left, and fester, becoming even greater issues quickly.

Here’s what I shared recently at the Teams365 blog about fostering an environment where people feel safe to speak up. Check out what I wrote in Teams365 2221:

“As we wind up with our last team essential of the month, I wanted to take us into an area which is critical for team success – the ability to speak up.

When a team feels connected and safe, they are more likely to speak up. The foundation of teamwork is that the fusion of many perspectives, insights and talents is better than one person thinking alone. With this philosophy in mind, it’s very likely that there will be divergent perspectives and insights that emerge from across the team. How do you create a context in which people feel that they can share what might be perceived as oppositional insights, without being shut down?

The ability to speak up was identified as a core component for helping teams excel by Amy Edmonson from Harvard. I regularly recommend her 2011 book on Teaming to Organizations, and she has recently followed up with a new book called The Fearless Organization. Take a look at this article.

From large to small invitations there can be many different ways we foster conversation across a team. This might include:

• Dedicating time to brainstorming solutions/perspectives and alternatives to your most pressing opportunities and /or challenges. In the truest sense of brainstorming, we are welcoming ALL different ideas without shutting them down.
• Ensuring that all voices are being heard. This can be done through participatory facilitation techniques. Rather than just going around a table to verbally share ideas, consider giving everyone a set of index cards or post it notes to share their top ideas. Gather these and post them or go through them one at a time.
• Talk about why it’s important to bring alternative perspectives to the table.
• Watch your language – how is language shaping an “invitation” to connect and collaborate. Is more ME/YOU language being used or WE?

What other barriers are being created around inviting everyone’s voice to the table?”

Activity
Have a discussion this week around what Speaking Up can look like in your team or organization, and what the value of it is.
 
For more on this topic check out:
Speak Up, Show Up and Stand Out – Loretta Malandro
Teaming – Amy Edmondson

Best wishes, 
​Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Co-host of the Remote Pathways Podcast
Potentials Realized – Coaching, Training and Consulting Services for remote teams, leaders and professionals 
 
Check out the most recent Remote Pathways Podcast Episode, where we explore the people, places and processes of exceptional remote work. You can listen to the latest episode here, or on your favorite podcast player.
​

Focus Question: What’s going to amplify your productivity?
 
Description
Time is one thing we cannot manufacture more of. It’s a non-renewable resource. Once we spend it, we can’t get it back.
​
Personal productivity and time management is a key issue for most remote workers, regardless if we run a business or work for someone else. In fact, it’s a primary reason why I published PlanDoTrack, which is specifically geared at supporting remote and virtual workers around productivity. The first part of the book is a workbook, helping you get focused in on you (your strengths, styles, approaches, networks) as a remote worker. The last half is dedicated to providing you with a planner – with a focus on annual, quarterly and weekly planning. My findings have been over the years that most remote workers are well covered with daily planning tools, but don’t always focus on weekly, quarterly or annual tools.

Activity

Use the following questions to reflect on what’s important for you around productivity and time management right now:
 
1. What's helping me/us get results? (Get specific around this - what key activities or practices are helping?)
 
2. What's not helping me/us to get results?
 
3. Where is the bulk of your time being spent? If you are not yet tracking some of your key metrics and schedule, now is a great time to do so. It can be as simple as noting it in your calendar, or picking up a resource like my upcoming Plan.Do.Track workbook and planner.
 
4. What are noticing about key periods that are unproductive?
 
5. Where might you be spending too much time in meetings? What influence can you have on tightening up meeting results and focus OR exploring who needs to be at meetings?
 
6. What are you doing to renew?
 
7. From a scheduling perspective, are you building in enough blocks to get tasks completed right away before you have to switch your focus?
 
8. What other changes would you like to make to your schedule, to do more of what's working, and to do less of what's not?
 
For more on this topic check out:
Section 4 of the PlanDoTrack Workbook and Planner for more on time management and tools.

Enjoy!
​Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Co-host of the Remote Pathways Podcast
Potentials Realized – Coaching, Training and Consulting Services for remote teams, leaders and professionals 
 
Check out the most recent Remote Pathways Podcast Episode, where we explore the people, places and processes of exceptional remote work. You can listen to the latest episode here, or on your favorite podcast player.
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