Teams on Thursday: Intergenerational Team Management Issues
Intergenerational management issues continue to be a hot topic in the world of management and HR these days – whether it’s getting in touch with how employees of different generations get along, or how mentoring relationships between different generations can be fostered.
What intergenerational Team Management Issues are showing up on your team?
Here are a few questions to consider
* Who is on our team? Is it GenX, Millenials (Gen Y) or Boomers?
* What are our preferences in terms of communication? Leadership? Teamwork?
* What common ground exists amongst all of us regardless of generational membership?
*What is the biggest challenge our team faces due different generational membership?
* What is the biggest opportunity our team faces due to different generational membership?
Here's a link to a blog post I wrote last year on Managing across Generations, with a number of tips from CCL for managers and leaders to consider.
What resources or articles do you like/refer to when looking at this issue of intergenerational management?
Have a great week,
Jennifer
Jennifer Britton, PCC, CHRP, CPT
Potentials Realized
Toll Free: 1-866-217-1960
Email: jennifer{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
Succession Planning Web Seminar Series Launched
Many of you will remember that one of the projects I was working on this winter was a Succession Planning Web Seminar series for Entrepreneurs and SMEs in York Region. As a business coach, I was one of four professionals who led a 15-20 minute seminar series on steps and tips to creating your own succession plan as a business owner.
The series has now been launched by the York, South Simcoe Training and Adjustment Board (YSSTAB) and you can now view the web seminar series online here.
Succession planning continues to be a hot topic for both corporate North America and also SMEs. What steps have you taken to ensure business continuity within your team or organization. I hope that you will take a few minutes to view my web seminar entitled 8 Steps for a Successful Exit. Many of these tips are just as applicable to leadership succession wtihin larger organizations. I hope that you will take a few minutes and click on over to view the web seminar series.
Warm regards,
Jennifer
Jennifer Britton, PCC, CHRP, CPT
Potentials Realized
Coaching Services for Business Owners
Toll free: 1-866-217-1960
The series has now been launched by the York, South Simcoe Training and Adjustment Board (YSSTAB) and you can now view the web seminar series online here.
Succession planning continues to be a hot topic for both corporate North America and also SMEs. What steps have you taken to ensure business continuity within your team or organization. I hope that you will take a few minutes to view my web seminar entitled 8 Steps for a Successful Exit. Many of these tips are just as applicable to leadership succession wtihin larger organizations. I hope that you will take a few minutes and click on over to view the web seminar series.
Warm regards,
Jennifer
Jennifer Britton, PCC, CHRP, CPT
Potentials Realized
Coaching Services for Business Owners
Toll free: 1-866-217-1960
Thursday, June 12, 2008
Six Team Challenges for Project Management Teams
Six Team Challenges for Project Management Teams
by Jennifer Britton, Potentials Realized
Copyright 2008. All Rights Reserved.
By their very nature, project management teams are unique, and face unique opportunities and challenges. This article examines six unique team challenges facing project management teams, along with some questions project managers may want to consider with respect to their team.
Challenge #1: The Team’s finite timeline
Project Management exist for a finite period of time, with a fixed beginning and end period. This may be days, weeks, months or sometimes years. Teams outside of the project world, theoretically are forever.
Questions:
What challenges does your team’s finite timeline pose? What do you notice about the team process and their needs as you move from kick-off to implementation and finish?
Challenge #2: Different roles and responsibilities of different Team Members
Project teams often involve a fluid mix of different team members coming in and out of the project.
Questions:
How much time have you spent clarifying the different roles and responsibilities of the different team members in your project. Where is the overlap? What are the gaps?
Challenge #3: Different team members belong to a series of different project teams:
It is quite common for staff members to belong to multiple project teams at one time.
Questions:
How strong is the association/membership to your team? What steps can you take to boost team members association to your team?
Challenge #4: Possible Virtual Nature of the Project Team:
A very common challenge within project teams is their virtual nature, where members of the team are either M-Workers, or actually located in different venues. Virtual teams can pose a wide range of challenges as they may operate across time zones, distance and cultures. To see what else I've said on virtual teams, click here.
Questions:
If we have a virtual component to our team, who is on it? What obstacles exist due to our nature of the virtual team? What steps can we take to ensure that those needed are involved in our team process and communication?
Challenge #5: Unclear Vision for the team
Unfortunately, it can be common for the vision of a project to held tightly by a few members of a project management team, and not widely shared by all.
Questions:
Who has contributed to the overall vision of the project? Who shares this vision? What steps can you take so that all team members share the vision?
Solution:
Spend time with the team creating a common vision of the end result
Challenge #6: Unclear on the strengths of the team
Given the often transient nature of project teams, it is quite common for the time together to be spent on action (which can often be unfocussed) rather than preparation and planning. Remember, every 10 minutes of planning can save 60 minutes of unfocused effort.
Questions?
What strengths does each team member bring to your team? What are the strengths of your team system as a whole?
Solution:
Look for an assessment such as the Team Diagnostic Assessment to measure the strengths of your team system, or StrengthsFinder 2.0 to look at the strengths of individual team members.
Jennifer J. Britton is the founder of Potentials Realized. Jennifer works with teams, organizations and business owners to achieve the success and impact they desire in teamwork, business, and performance issues, through the provision of coaching, consulting and training services. She regularly facilitates team building and team coaching sessions and retreats (virtual, on and offsite) with governmental, nonprofit and corporate clients. As a performance improvement specialist, she works with leading edge organizations across North America and the Caribbean. Visit Jennifer online at http://www.potentialsrealized.com/ . Jennifer worked as an international project manager from 1992-2004, managing projects across the Americas, Caribbean and Europe.
by Jennifer Britton, Potentials Realized
Copyright 2008. All Rights Reserved.
By their very nature, project management teams are unique, and face unique opportunities and challenges. This article examines six unique team challenges facing project management teams, along with some questions project managers may want to consider with respect to their team.
Challenge #1: The Team’s finite timeline
Project Management exist for a finite period of time, with a fixed beginning and end period. This may be days, weeks, months or sometimes years. Teams outside of the project world, theoretically are forever.
Questions:
What challenges does your team’s finite timeline pose? What do you notice about the team process and their needs as you move from kick-off to implementation and finish?
Challenge #2: Different roles and responsibilities of different Team Members
Project teams often involve a fluid mix of different team members coming in and out of the project.
Questions:
How much time have you spent clarifying the different roles and responsibilities of the different team members in your project. Where is the overlap? What are the gaps?
Challenge #3: Different team members belong to a series of different project teams:
It is quite common for staff members to belong to multiple project teams at one time.
Questions:
How strong is the association/membership to your team? What steps can you take to boost team members association to your team?
Challenge #4: Possible Virtual Nature of the Project Team:
A very common challenge within project teams is their virtual nature, where members of the team are either M-Workers, or actually located in different venues. Virtual teams can pose a wide range of challenges as they may operate across time zones, distance and cultures. To see what else I've said on virtual teams, click here.
Questions:
If we have a virtual component to our team, who is on it? What obstacles exist due to our nature of the virtual team? What steps can we take to ensure that those needed are involved in our team process and communication?
Challenge #5: Unclear Vision for the team
Unfortunately, it can be common for the vision of a project to held tightly by a few members of a project management team, and not widely shared by all.
Questions:
Who has contributed to the overall vision of the project? Who shares this vision? What steps can you take so that all team members share the vision?
Solution:
Spend time with the team creating a common vision of the end result
Challenge #6: Unclear on the strengths of the team
Given the often transient nature of project teams, it is quite common for the time together to be spent on action (which can often be unfocussed) rather than preparation and planning. Remember, every 10 minutes of planning can save 60 minutes of unfocused effort.
Questions?
What strengths does each team member bring to your team? What are the strengths of your team system as a whole?
Solution:
Look for an assessment such as the Team Diagnostic Assessment to measure the strengths of your team system, or StrengthsFinder 2.0 to look at the strengths of individual team members.
Jennifer J. Britton is the founder of Potentials Realized. Jennifer works with teams, organizations and business owners to achieve the success and impact they desire in teamwork, business, and performance issues, through the provision of coaching, consulting and training services. She regularly facilitates team building and team coaching sessions and retreats (virtual, on and offsite) with governmental, nonprofit and corporate clients. As a performance improvement specialist, she works with leading edge organizations across North America and the Caribbean. Visit Jennifer online at http://www.potentialsrealized.com/ . Jennifer worked as an international project manager from 1992-2004, managing projects across the Americas, Caribbean and Europe.
Thursday, June 05, 2008
Teams on Thursdays: Risk Taking
“Real teams don't emerge unless individuals on them take risks involving conflict, trust, interdependence and hard work.”
- Katzenbach and Smith: The Wisdom of Teams
What risks have you been taking within your team recently?
Is your team risk-sensitive or risk-adverse? What does this say about your team?
How does your team measure on a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being low and 10 being high) in terms of:
* Conflict
* Trust
* Interdependence
* Hard Work
What's the one action step you could take this week to take a risk in service of the team?
Have a wonderful week,
Jennifer
Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Potentials Realized
Team Coaching
Toll free: 1-866-217-1960
Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com
- Katzenbach and Smith: The Wisdom of Teams
What risks have you been taking within your team recently?
Is your team risk-sensitive or risk-adverse? What does this say about your team?
How does your team measure on a scale of 1-10 (with 1 being low and 10 being high) in terms of:
* Conflict
* Trust
* Interdependence
* Hard Work
What's the one action step you could take this week to take a risk in service of the team?
Have a wonderful week,
Jennifer
Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Potentials Realized
Team Coaching
Toll free: 1-866-217-1960
Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com
Wednesday, June 04, 2008
Time Management: An Alternative
An Alternative to Time Management: Manage Your Energy, not your time
“Managing Energy, not time is the fundamental currency of high performance. Performance is grounded in the skillful management of energy”
- Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, The Power of Full Engagement
A few weeks ago I spoke on time management tips and high performance to a group of managers and staff. As part of our session I challenged participants to consider looking at managing energy, rather than time as a key to "great" performance. A wonderful book on this topic, which you may in fact find a real paradigm shifter, is Loehr and Schwartz book - The Power of Full Engagement. It is worth checking out!
“Great leaders are stewards of organizational energy. They begin by effectively managing their own energy. As leaders, they must mobilize, focus, invest, channel, renew and expand the energy of others”
- Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, The Power of Full Engagement
What steps have you taken this week to manage your energy?
If you are a leader, what steps are you taking to mobilize, focus and renew the energy of others?
“Managing Energy, not time is the fundamental currency of high performance. Performance is grounded in the skillful management of energy”
- Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, The Power of Full Engagement
A few weeks ago I spoke on time management tips and high performance to a group of managers and staff. As part of our session I challenged participants to consider looking at managing energy, rather than time as a key to "great" performance. A wonderful book on this topic, which you may in fact find a real paradigm shifter, is Loehr and Schwartz book - The Power of Full Engagement. It is worth checking out!
“Great leaders are stewards of organizational energy. They begin by effectively managing their own energy. As leaders, they must mobilize, focus, invest, channel, renew and expand the energy of others”
- Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz, The Power of Full Engagement
What steps have you taken this week to manage your energy?
If you are a leader, what steps are you taking to mobilize, focus and renew the energy of others?
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