Virtual and remote teams need attention too! Did you know that a 2016 study by Culture Wizard found that only 22% of remote and virtual teams benefit from focused team development time?
When working with virtual and remote teams we want to help them develop on several levels including:

• Results
• Relationships
• Process

Virtual and Remote Teams need to get clear on Results. This entails having everyone be clear on:

• What are our major goals?
• What will success look like?
• How does each one of us feed into successful achievement of this goal?
• What does alignment look like for us?
• What are the number 1 priorities?
• If nothing else gets done, what is essential?
• What feedback loops do we have around this?

I have written quite a bit on Virtual and Remote Team Development over at my sister blog, the Teams365 blog. One series you may want to check out is the A-Z of Virtual and Remote Team Development Series.
On the Relationship front, we want to be sure to:

• Know each other
• Understand what strengths each person brings to the team
• Consider how our strengths can be leverage collectively, as well as what gaps might exist?
• What is building, and distracting, from trust?
• What is each person’s unique working style? Styles impact decision making, conflict, communication, pacing, stress etc.
• How might I need to adjust my style to better support them/connect with them?

 
Process pieces also keep virtual and remote teams moving. These include team practices of meeting regularly, updating each other, sharing information, providing feedback. What are the process pieces which are important for the team right now?
What are the things that are helping you as a team right now, build relationships, focus on results and refine process?
 
Best,
​Jennifer

“Accountability is a statement of personal promise, both to yourself and to the people around you, to deliver specific defined results.” Brian Dive, The Accountable Leader

As you consider your current projects and goals – what does accountability mean? Who is going to do what? When? And How?
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Accountability can take many forms in today’s work space but still comes back to the basics – who is going to do what, when, and  where.

There are many different accountability frameworks and structures. From automatic tracers which give you reminders and prizes for achieving what you have set out for, to peer groups (see last week’s Mastermind post) which hold you accountable for what you said you would do.
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As virtual teams, accountability is important and may include portals and dashboards where people can keep each other updated and “in the loop”.

Accountability is part of a high-performance landscape – organizations and teams which are great at getting results usually have a clear sense of what kind of accountability is going to work best.

Take a look at this article for more on accountability  - 12 Keys to a More Effective Accountability Strategy.

Wishing you the best,
Jennifer

Trust is critical for any team’s success. As virtual and remote teams, trust may be the lubricant which helps the group move from being a collection of individual contributors, to the “well-oiled” machine of a team.

What can we do to build more trust and connection on our virtual teams?

Here are some things to consider:
Be aware of magnification – Our touchpoints in the virtual space are often fewer and less frequent. We often do not see each other every day, even in passing. With this in mind, our words and actions can become more magnified for good or bad.
What is important to note around what’s getting magnified within your team?

Be clear and intentional with communication – Our word, even more than our actions, can translate further on a virtual team. Given that we aren’t seen “in action” on a regular basis, our words do live on – via email, text.

Follow-through – Given the magnification effect, as well as the spotlights that we only see in limited windows, follow-through around what we say we are going to do, is critical.
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Be proactive and make things visible- Out of sight does not equal out of mind. What are you doing to proactively reach out to the team? To help them form connections? To surface issues?
Making things visible may include naming issues at play, sharing more of the context you are operating within, or literally making things visible for the team.
In building trust and connection within your virtual or remote team consider:

• What are the touchpoints created for team members to connect and get to know each other?
• What are the issues which need to be surfaced?
• What are the elements which need to be made clearer or more visible?
• What goals and results do we need to make more visible?

Enjoy!
​Jennifer

Week 9 Focus – Partnerships
Focus Question: Who can help you in making your vision a reality?

Description
As a solopreneur, or virtual worker, we cannot go it alone all the time. Leaning into different types of partnerships – long term and short term, helps us get things done, expand our base, and possibly move into new areas.
Partnerships can take several different forms. From Joint Ventures, to Co-Facilitation, to Collaboration, to Co-Coaching. What are the different partnerships you engage in?

Research/Story
Key ingredients which make partnerships include skills in the areas of:

• Trust
• Candor
• Connection
• Self-awareness
• Working Across Differences
• Relationship Development
• Other

Taking time to be in dialogue about relationships and partnerships is critical for success. These conversations need to start well in advance as you start to design and develop your common ground and shared agreements.

Activity
As you think about your year and the most important goals you have, make a list of the people who can help you. If you have not yet completed the Top 20 List in the workbook, do that now.
Synergies with others –
There are many times when we want to synergize with others in terms of a focus. As coaches, this might include co-facilitation, joint ventures or others.
What are the key elements to help you as a business synergize?
Questions to ask yourself:

• What do you want to get out of the collaboration?
• What would be useful to focus on?
• What are you bringing to the collaboration?
• What is the line in the sand in terms of where it is your materials?
• Where are other opportunities to collaborate?
• How will you offer feedback to each other?

Connection to the Workbook and Planner
There are many touchpoints with the Planner and Workbook including:
Collaboration (pages 49 – 53 – CBB or pages 53- 56 – PDT)
Top 20 List in the workbook (page 83 – CBB or page 87 – PDT)
Phases of Partnering and Co-Facilitation Journey – pages 90 – 92 (CBB) and 92 – 94 (PDT)

Download a one-page copy of this week's 52 Weeks of Planning, Doing and Tracking here.

Best wishes, 
Jennifer

Read and download the initial weeks of the 52 weeks of Planning, Doing and Tracking

​Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT
Author of several books including: PlanDoTrack (2019), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Effective Group Coaching (2010)
Potentials Realized  - Specializing in support to virtual and remote teams, leaders and entrepreneurs
Award-winning Coaching Skills Training
Join us for one of our 2019 Annual Coaching Groups - Teams365 Leadership Lab for Virtual Leaders and Team Members or
Coaching Biz Growth Lab - for coaches and other virtual entrepreneurs
(416)996-8326

Stay Connected

“The coordination of knowledge and effort between two or more people who work towards a definite purpose in a spirit of harmony…no two minds ever come together without thereby creating a third, invisible intangible force, which may be likened to a third mind.” – Napoleon Hill

Masterminds are a popular collaborative peer conversation space, where peers are encouraged to bring current business opportunities or challenges which can be explored. The role of those listening may be to ask questions, provide insights or share tips around what they have done in the past.

Masterminds have been part of the business landscape for many decades (think the last century). They are commonly attributed to Napoleon Hill author of Think and Grow Rich.

Mastermind meetings are popular given their practical peer focus and practical advice. This may be why they are still similar to their roots decades ago.

Masterminds can focus on shared themes – i.e. how to build your consulting business OR how to expand social media. The synergy of the group and their commitment to the process is key.

Here are some great resources you might want to check out if you are considering getting masterminds started:

• https://www.score.org/resource/guide-mastermind-groups - a resource guide from Score
• Here’s another article on how to select group members and other considerations when establishing a mastermind group: https://www.score.org/blog/5-essential-rules-building-mastermind-group-gets-results
• And Cleverism’s Complete Guide to Mastermind Groups https://www.cleverism.com/complete-guide-mastermind-groups/

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​Enjoy your conversations!
Jennifer

Week 6 Focus – Enablers: Resourcing, Partnerships, Mindsets, Strengths
Focus Question: What are the things that are going to help you as a business owner/coach/virtual employee?
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Description
​The term « enabling » is defined by the Cambridge English Dictionary as “making something possible or easier”. What, and who, is going to help make your vision and your key goals possible?Being able to lean into different areas is key for our business, especially when things get busy, or we are tasked with a big project, or one that stretches us.At these times it is important to lean into areas that will help us – or the enablers. That can include:

• Resourcing
• Partnerships
• Mindsets
• Strengths

It is important to identify what these key enablers are, so we can lean into them for support. Work around each of these areas is important, which is why we are going to explore each one of these areas more in-depth in the coming weeks.  For now, use the following graphic to note the different “enablers” you have in your business or work at the moment.

Activity
​Using the following worksheet - Identify the Resources, Partnerships, Mindsets and Strengths, and past experiences, that are going to move you forward with a current project.

Connection to the Workbook and Planner
​Many of the resources in the Coaching Business Builder and PlanDoTrack workbooks help readers identify and focus on these areas, in particular:

​Additional resources that will support you in this area include:

• Mindset – Carol Dweck, NeuroLeadership Institute
• Strengths Assessments – VIA Strengths, StrengthsFinder 2.0

We will explore the different areas (Resourcing, Past Experience, Partnerships, Mindsets, Strengths) over  the next 4 weeks.

Download a one-page copy of this week's 52 Weeks of Planning, Doing and Tracking here.

Check out past weeks of the 52 Weeks of Planning, Doing and Tracking here.

Best wishes,
​Jennifer
​Read and download the initial weeks of the 52 weeks of Planning, Doing and Tracking

​Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT
Author of several books including: PlanDoTrack (2019), Effective Virtual Conversations (2017), Effective Group Coaching (2010)
Potentials Realized  - Specializing in support to virtual and remote teams, leaders and entrepreneurs
Award-winning Coaching Skills Training
Join us for one of our 2019 Annual Coaching Groups - Teams365 Leadership Lab for Virtual Leaders and Team Members or
Coaching Biz Growth Lab - for coaches and other virtual entrepreneurs
(416)996-8326

Stay Connected