Focus Question: What distractions are getting in your way?
 
Description
Distractions abound in today's workplace from:

• Open concept work areas where visual distractions abound
• Regular bings from email arrival, updates, Instant Messaging
• Being called into meetings which may not be necessary
• Too many open loops or projects on the go
• The blurring of work and professional roles

 
All three of these areas can be quickly assessed if you are committed to minimizing distractions for you and your team.
 
Some initial ideas to minimize distractions may include:
Creating "focused work" periods. Whether it's 30 or 60 minutes a day, focused times, which have no immediate distraction allow us to get things done. Many studies find that our immediate productivity can be boosted by giving projects time windows and a time frames. The Pomodoro technique is one example of accelerating productivity. It posits that focused activity for 25 minutes can be followed by a 5 minute break. Read more about the Pomodoro Technique from its' creator here.
 
Become ruthless with meetings. Moving the needle on meetings may be a goal for many teams today. If you have not yet downloaded a copy of my bookmark for my newest book - Effective Virtual Conversations - on making virtual meetings more effective, download it here. It includes 8 Questions you will want to ask yourself before every meeting.
An initial question to ask your self this year is "is a meeting the best way to communicate this information or is there a better way?
 
Closing email and other app windows at different parts of the day. While it may not always be possible to turn off email for extended periods, it is important to have blocks of time where we are able to focus solely on the task at hand. Providing small work areas for individual and/or groups to meet in for the important pieces of work are critical. It may take a few minutes to get into the flow of these projects, and scheduling in time on a regular basis to have focused work time, is useful in breaking the cycle of ongoing disruption.
 
Ask yourself if you need to interrupt someone before you immediately hit send on an email which could be delayed or bundled with some of the other questions you have.
 
Where does your team get distracted at present? What small, but consistent changes would make a difference to the way you are working?

Activity
Identify the distractions which exist in your world. What is important to take note of?

For more on this topic check out: Teams365 blog posts on the topic of Distractions. Check them out here. 

Best wishes,
​Jennifer

Focus Question: What disruptions are you facing in your work?
 
Description
2020 is likely to be remembered in the history books as the year of disruption. While the year may have started out with a strong focus on what would be possible in the new decade, the global pandemic influenced professionals and businesses alike. As it relates to the global workforce, approximately 3 Billion professionals were working from home at one stage of the pandemic.

This global experience of the reaction to a massive disruption that most in our generation have not experienced, can lay clues for how we approach change, disruption and innovation.

What were your key learnings around this?

In navigating disruption and change some of the lessons learned from this recent pandemic has been:

• Focusing on what’s important at the core of your business
• Considering how and what it can look like in a “new normal”
• Being clear on your business values and philosophies which will remain the same even if the context or processes change.
• Having a strong business vision – Keeping an eye on your vision can help to ground you when the waters around you are turbulent. As I have been sharing this year -when we move our eyes to the horizon (which is where our vision resides), it is different than if we have our eyes on the foreground
• Considering whether you are a disruptor yourself as a business or responding to disruption

This Fast Company article, Navigating Disruption: A Roadmap for Leaders, by Grant Thornton, highlights seven areas you will want to explore:
#1 - Watch for early indicators
#2 - Adopt a broad view
#3 - Take inventory
#4 - Build bridges not silos
#5 - Become more diverse
#6 - Be curious
#7 - Know Thyself

Activity
Identify the disruptions you are facing in your work right now. What are you doing around the seven areas Thornton highlights?

Also consider these questions:

• What’s helping you navigate?
• What’s getting in the way?
• Who else (mentors, peers) can support you in exploring alternative strategies?

For more on this topic check out the Teams365 blog and posts on Navigating Disruption and leading teams through uncertainty. You will find it here.

Focus Question: What questions will open up the space for EXPLORATION, FOCUS, CLARITY, INSIGHT or ACTION?
 
Description
Influence in the remote space can be a more powerful skillset than leadership. Our ability to have great conversations while working with others is critical for success. This entails supporting people to do their best work, when we might not be able to see their context. With that in mind, coaching becomes an essential modality and skillset for remote professionals at all levels. Coaching can take many forms and at its essence it is a partnership between two or more people where the coach helps the person being coached gain clarity, and support action around their key goals.
 
In the remote space, coaching may take place between a boss and their direct reports, or even two peers.
 
Questions are the heart of great coaching, and in the original core coaching competency framework of the International Coaching Federation, questions may “evoke discovery, insight, commitment or action”. 

Questions are the heart of great coaching, and in the original core coaching competency framework of the International Coaching Federation, questions may “evoke discovery, insight, commitment or action”.
 
In any conversation it can be useful to focus on questions that are:

• Short and to the point- 5-6 words each
• Focused on the topic at hand
• Asked one at a time. When we ask more than 1 question people don’t know which one to ask first
• Often start with a WHAT? How questions will point someone to how to do something – process. WHY questions will point to what’s important about the topic.

Some of my favorite coaching questions can be found in this short video – link to 20 Coaching Questions on my Youtube channel.

As I wrote in a 2017 article on Questions and Team and Group Coaching it’s also important to:
1. Keep them short, concise and to the point. Often the most powerful questions are often only 5-6 words in length
2. Adjust your questions according to the styles and preferences of the person involved
3. Provide an opportunity to focus, identify options and possibilities, to expand awareness, or to facilitate action
4. Notice any biases in our questions. Where are your questions focusing – at the 30,000-foot view OR in the weeds, around action AND awareness?
5. Use the language of the client and watch for “coach-ese” or coaching jargon.
(Reference: Britton, 2017. Questions and the Group and Team Coaching Process) 

Activity
Consider how you can incorporate the key points of today’s session. Make a list of 20 different questions you’d like to draw upon in upcoming conversations.
​
For more on this topic check out: My 2013 book – From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching. You will find more about the topic of scaling the coaching conversation to more than one person in the book.

Enjoy!
Jennifer

Focus Question: What is important to communicate in your next presentation? How do you want to capture people’s attention?

Description
As a remote professional it’s likely that you'll be giving presentations to a wide variety of audiences, in possibly both the in person and virtual realms.

Fear of public speaking is usually listed as a Top 10 fear of adults. So how can we prepare to give a WOW presentation?

As a starting point, take 5 minutes to brainstorm. Make a list of everything you could possibly talk about. What are the topics that your clients or customers would really appreciate?

As someone who's been involved in presentation skills training for almost 2 decades, here are a couple of key things to keep in mind:

1. Speak in bullet points – reinforce what the main points are at the start, middle and end. What would you like people to take away from the presentation?
2. Connect people early on to what’s important about the topic for them. We often call this the WIIFM (What’s In It For Me?)

​One of the biggest pitfalls you can experience as a presenter is that no one wants to participate. Tips to get participation happening:

• Be clear with process let people know what process will unfold. Describe what they can expect to take away from the session (3 bullet points). Return to this throughout your session.
• Connect them with their WIIFM – What’s In It For Me? Connect people early in your presentation to how this topic has relevance to them. You might do this by asking the question – What’s important about this topic to you right now? OR Who has a story that they can share? Consider how you will connect people early on.
• Have a variety of strategies to engage people on a regular basis. From the litmus test of incorporating a pace change 7-10 minutes, to a more frequent pace change virtually, we want to keep things moving and involve the audience. Virtually, this can range from breakouts to annotation to polls. Get people involved in the presentation. Bring in their stories and voice.

Activity
Consider an upcoming presentation:

1. What is important to note about the process? What is the purpose? What is the presentation all about? What do you hope people will take away?
2. What will you do to connect people to their WIIFM?
3. What are the strategies you will use to connect people to their WIIFM? When?

 
For more on this topic check out
Section 3 of PlanDoTrack, specifically pages 81 and 82.

All the best, 
​Jennifer

Focus Question: What does renewal mean for you?

Description
The fields of sports and business shows us that teams that excel, are great at both “playing hard” and also resting hard. When working remotely, our boundaries between work and life often get blurred.

Just as physical renewal is essential after a long race, periods of renewal are key in business to help us remain at our prime. What does renewal mean for you? When is the last time you took time to renew?

Decision fatigue, social media burnout, task switching and cognitive overload, take a toll on us as professionals. When things become unbalanced it can also become luggage we bring into our family life.

As solopreneurs, keeping ourselves “at our prime” is key as the business relies on you. Without you there, it’s unlikely that it can keep going for long. Therefore, renewal should take a priority.

Here are some different ways to consider renewal:

• Taking vacation time on a regular basis
• Scheduling time away from our work (i.e. conferences, meetings with colleagues)
• Enjoying a compressed 4-day work week at different parts of the year so you can enjoy a longer weekend
• Having clear boundaries around “when you are ON” and “when you are OFF”
• Swimming/running/hiking/going to the gym over lunchtime on a regular basis
• Going on a retreat

 
What will help you renew?

Activity
 
What are the things that are going to help you renew? Build some time in to do this.
 
For more on this topic consider tracking your routines and renewal via the Daily Monthly Trackers.

All the best,
Jennifer

Focus Question: What are the tasks which you need to let go of and have others complete?

Description
Following up on last week’s focus on delegation, what do you need to say no to?
Saying no is just as powerful as saying yes.

Focus Question: What are you committed to as a team?

Description
What are you committed to, no matter what?
Teams are as strong as their weakest link. What are you committed to no matter what?

Focus Question: What have you achieved so far this year?

Description
What a year! This week you are encouraged to take stock of what you have been working on and achieving this year.

I’m going to borrow from last year’s mid-point check in which I shared as part of the 52 Weeks PDT series:

This week you are encouraged to block off time to take stock of your achievements. First, review your annual plan. You may want to include some information around these questions:

• What have you achieved so far?
• What new items do you want to add?
• What can you check off your list?
• What have been key lessons since the start of the year (or the 52 weeks)?
• What’s different about you/your business?
• What’s really important for you to focus on in this last half of the year?
• By the end of the 52 weeks, I want to be sure I….

Creating intentional pause points is an important part of any coaching and learning process. Being able to stop and reflect is also critical for business success.
 
While we can keep on doing, are we doing the right things which have impact? What is working and what is not?
 
This is the premise of the Virtual Retreats I host throughout the year in the PlanDoTrack series, as well as the month end reflection and monthly planning hacks.

Activity
Use this as a time to focus in on what you have achieved in the first half of the year.

​Questions you might want to reflect on are:
1. What's important about achieving or completing this goal? (Coaching Note: As we know as coaches, it can be useful to reconnect with the 30,000-foot view and WHY the issues are important. As you step back - or step up - to look at this, what new energy and ideas are generated?)
2. What is the quickest way to achieve it? What's another way? And another way? (Coaching note: as we often see, generating alternative solutions can be invaluable and spur us on to more complete solutions.)
3. What shiny, red objects have shown up? Which are causing a distraction?
4. What's most important to you in your business right now?
5. Who can provide the support and resources you need to be successful?
6. What do you need to say NO to in order to focus on your goal?
7. When did you last pause to take stock (and TRACK) where things were at?
8. What's going to create some momentum for you?
9. What are you doing to note, and celebrate, milestones (and learning) along the way?

Best, 
Jennifer
​
These were questions I included in September 2018: https://www.coachingbusinessbuilder.com/blog/less-than-100-days-to-go-in-2018-what-do-you-want-to-focus-on

​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 do you notice about the messy middle?

Description
We’re officially getting to the middle of the series. A term I love to embrace is that of the Messy Middle. As you step into the mid-point of the year, what do you notice? Are things picking up or are you losing some momentum?

In my studies in cognitive psychology years ago at McGill, one of the things I still remember, which has informed my entire career since first hearing 30 years ago is that of the LATENCY and RECENCY effects. Our brains remember the start and end of things. Everything in the middle is “messy”. We may not remember or even know what it is.
​
According to Scott Belsky, author of The Messy Middle, the first part of any journey is called the First Mile. It can be useful to return to this regularly. This will include a focus on:

• Why they are there
• What they can accomplish
• What to do next

​It’s likely that at this time of year you may find yourself moving through the messy middle. It may be characterized by less traction, lack of focus or a different energy. 

Activity 
What do you notice about the energy and focus of the mid-point of this year?

Consider what’s going to help you get traction from the Messy Middle?
​
What’s important to you at this phase?
 
For more on this topic check out:
The Monthly Daily Trackers are a great visual tool to view what’s happening in your work and business. What do you notice about the data and trends?

There are twelve sets of Monthly Daily Trackers and twelve sets of Monthly Content Trackers in the planner section.

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.

Focus Question: What’s important to note about your work right now?
​
Description
Every quarter, I’ll be including a pause point to undertake a quarterly checkpoint. In addition to weekly and monthly planning, it can be valuable to spend time doing some quarterly planning. Looking across your goals and achievements over a three-month period, can provide a different perspective.

Activity
Earmark 30 – 60 minutes to undertake your Q1 checkpoint. If you prefer to do this in the company of others, consider joining me for a quarterly planning session.
Grab a pen and your planner or journal. You may wish to set a timer, giving yourself 3-5 minutes to reflect on and capture your thoughts around each of these questions.
Note the following:

• What have you accomplished?
• What are the things which are still needing to get done?
• What has been your key learning over time?

 
Over the last three months ask yourself:

• What are the patterns you are noticing?
• What has shifted?
• What has stayed the same?
• What are you surprized about?
• What are you doing to leverage your strengths?
• What strengths are becoming overmagnified?
• What habits are helping you? What habits do you want to put more attention around?

 
Note your programming and/or services deliver. Ask yourself:

• Where have you been spending your time?
• What have you done to prioritize? What’s working and what’s not?
• How much volume of work have you been completing?

 
For more on this topic check out:
PlanDoTrack – Quarterly Planning Section
Remote Pathways New Guide – Quarterly Checkpoint (Day 30)

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.
​