Five Focus Areas for Reducing Silos in Your Organization

Mid-way into fall, I am finally able to do some posting on the blog. I have a new article entitled "Five focus areas for reducing silos in your organization" just published online which I wanted to share with you. You can access it here.

Ask yourself:
What silos are present in your organization?
What is the impact of these silos - on People? Peformance? Team work?
If you selected one of these five areas to focus on this month, which one would have the greatest impact?

Please feel free to share with your colleagues and get the conversation started.

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2011)
Potentials Realized
Connect with us on our new Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/potentialsrealized
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Leadership - What Path are You Creating?

Do not follow where the path may lead.
Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
Harold R. McAlindon

As leaders we are often called on to create new paths as we walk.

Ask yourself:

What new paths are you creating?

Where are you following? How does this serve, or not serve, the people you work with?

Have a great week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized
Team and Leadership Coaching
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)

Tips for Making Your Next Meeting Work

Making Your Next Meeting Really Work

Copyright 2011 -Jennifer Britton

The Death by Meeting syndrome is endemic in today’s work environment. Did you know that the average employee spends 25% of their time in meetings. Here are five tips for making your next meeting the best it can be.

Have a clear focus – Clarify what the purpose is, and be clear on the outcomes you want to achieve. Create an agenda, assign timefrwames to the itmes you deem necessary. Stick to the timeframes, and if you can finish more quickly – great, keep moving! You will also want to determine if two shorter, more focused meetings, can be as effective as one longer meeting.

Make sure that the right people are at the table. As you create your agenda, ask yourself - Who needs to be there? Who would be useful to have at the table to provide information on an item? To make a decision on an item? To take issues forward. Also, consider who doesn’t need to be there? It is important to recognize that decisions involving more group members take longer, so don’t hesitate to set up smaller groups or committees to take discussion forward, and report back to the bigger group.

Assign responsibility – Before moving off a topic make sure that next steps are clear. Assign responsibility to one person who will take action on the item and report back to the group. Standard coaching questions such as :What will you do? By When? How will we know? will come in handy.

Follow up with follow up and accountability – On action items and important issues, ensure that you close the loop on what action steps were promised last meeting.

Assess and Readjust – As you become more proficient as a group with really effective meetings, notice what is really working. What old approaches need to be abandoned?.

Have a great week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)
Phone: 416.996.TEAM

Mapping Your Team's Strengths

Professionals, and teams, flourish when they are able to use their strengths. Did you know that...

"When an organization's leadership fails to focus on an individual's strengths, the odds of an employee being engaged are a dismal 1 in 11 (9%). But when an organization's leadership focus on the strengths of its employees, the odds soar to almost 3 in 4 (73%). When leaders focus on an invest in their employee's strengths, the odds of each person being engaged goes up eightfold" - http://strengths.gallup.com

What are the strengths of your team members? How aware are they of these strengths? How are you creating environments for people to use their strengths?

A few weeks ago I worked with a wonderful organization who chose to invest time and focus on their team strengths, through focus and investment in an off-site retreat process. The day focused on really getting to know who was on the team, where the strengths lay, and what the gaps were. That, coupled with some skill development, can take a team a long, long way.

Great resources in this area are:
StrengthsFinder 2.0 - Tom Rath
Strengths-Based Leadership
Go, Put Your Strengths to Work - Marcus Buckingham

Consider the following:
What are you doing to invest in strengths? To help others identify their strengths?
Where do your team strengths lay?
What's missing? A gap? What's the impact of this?
What can you be doing differently to leverage the team strengths?

If you'd like to learn more about how coaching and/or retreats incorporating the strengths based approach would benefit your team or organization, please feel free to contact me. I would be happy to share some case studies of how this has benefited other organizations and professionals.

In closing, what can you do today to more fully utilize YOUR STRENGTHS?

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)
Phone: 416.996.8326
Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com

Team Players - Who Are They? What Skills Do They Need?

"Teamplayer: One who unites others toward a shared destiny through sharing information and ideas, empowering others and developing trust."
- Dennis Kinlaw

Ask yourself:
What are you doing to foster a team player mindset?
Who are your team players? What skills to they bring? What value does it add to your team?
What information and ideas are being shared readily? What is being held back?
How is the team "feeling" empowered?
What is the state of trust within the team? What needs to be shored up?

Overall, what's the one focus area that will move your team forward this week?

Have a great week!

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC
Potentials Realized
Team Coaching Services

High Performing Teams: What Will Move You?

A few weeks ago I spoke to HR Professionals in Halifax regarding High Performing Teams. I often get asked what's the difference between a team and a high performing team?

Here are some of the characteristics which Kazenbach and Smith identified the following as differentiators:
1. A Deeper sense of purpose
2. More ambitious performance goals
3. More "complete" approaches to work (better work approaches)
4. Mutual Accountability - the recognition and importance of all being jointly accountable to team goals, in addition to their own responsibilities
5. Complimentary, and often interchangeable, skills

As you look at this list, consider what it would take to move your team towards high performance:

1. How many of these characteristics does your team exhibit?
2. In which area would your team's growth really make an impact?
3. What would it take to develop in this one area?

As we move into late spring and summer, it is always a popular time for Team Retreats/Offsites, Workshops, Group Coaching as well as Team Coaching Engagements. If you are interested in learning more about our services in these areas, please feel free to contact me directly or visit our Team Services page. A few dates for June and July are available for bookings and we are starting to develop fall programs with clients.

I look forward to hearing from you!

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010) - Also avaialble at Amazon, Wiley & Chapters
Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com
Phone: 416.996.TEAM (416.996.8326)

Leadership - Harnessing the Diverse Styles of Your Team

A great leader is in touch with the different needs and preferences of the group they lead. What are the unique styles that exist within your team?

I often undertake work with teams to explore the styles that exist, how these styles are complimentary and where they are not. We also look at how styles impact communication, leadership, conflict, teamwork, for better or worse.

What do you know about the unique working styles of your team? How are they contributing to your team success? How are they creating blindspots?

Some wonderful style tools you may wish to bring into your team work/building/conversations are the DiSc or even the PSI tool.

"Do you want a collection of brilliant minds or a brilliant collection of minds?" - R. Meredith Belbin

Have a great week!

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)
Phone: 416.996.TEAM (8326)

Leadership - What Makes You Different?

As a leader, what makes you different? What makes you stand out? What do you bring to your team that no other leader has?

I was asked the question "What makes you different as a professional working on leadership development issues?" a few months ago by a prospective client a few months ago. I guess that my answer set me apart as they are a new client now.

As I reflected on my own journey about what has set me apart, earlier as a leader, now in my work with organizations, I realized that being a leader is often about deviating from the common path. As a 26 year old young woman I was tasked in leading a team of 100 staff and volunteers in the jungles of South America in the mid-90s. A lot of my seniors had their doubts. I look back at a very intensive 18 month period at the head of that project as rich with learning and setting the foundation for my later success. It taught me a lot about what I was capable of, and when it was critical to step back and let the team thrive as well. That was not always the most popular way of leading even 15 years ago, AND it worked. As a leader you can't do it all! Knowing about what makes you different, and not being afraid of "owning" that is key.

What sets you apart as a leader? What do you notice about where you are different? How that is enabling you, and perhaps holding you back at times?

As always, I'd welcome your thoughts and comments!

Have a great week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)
Phone: 416.996-TEAM
Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com

Leadership - Vision

What's the vision for your work? Where do you want to be 6 months from now? 1 year from now? 3 years from now? What about your vision for your team?

It is quite easy to get caught up in the short term and urgent priorities which take our eyes off the horizon and pull us squarely into the hear and now.

Leadership vision is a critical success factor in today's marketplace. Here is what a number of writers have to say on vision:

" Vision is the art of seeing the invisible" - Jonathon Swift

"If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left if compromise" - Robert Fritz

"Nothing stops and organization faster than people who believe that the way you worked yesterday is the best way to work tomorrow" - Jon Madonna

"Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality" - Warren Bennis

Consider these questions moving forward:
- What is your strength as it relates to vision?
- Where would you like to be 6 months from now? 1 year from now? 3 years from now?
- What will it take to lead from vision?

Have a great week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley 2010)
Potentials Realized

Leadership: Influence

The skill of influence is critical in today's business environment, whether you are a leader with title or not. As Ken Blanchard states, "The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority".

Over the past few weeks I've run a number of programs with new, and aspiring, leaders - in the financial services sector, the safety industry as well as in policing. Regardless of our title, we have the ability to influence others. In fact, when we are not in an official position of power, the skill of influence may become even more important in accomplishing our goals and objectives.

"Because everything we say and do is the length and shadow of our souls, our influence is determined by the quality of our being" - Dale Turner

Consider the following:
1. How are you using your skills of influence?
2. What impact is influence having on your work?
3. Who is in your circle of influence? Who is missing?

A great book with more information on this topic is Kerry Patterson's Influencer: The Power to Change Anything. A definite read!

Have a great week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Author of Effective Group Coaching
Email: info{at}potentialsrealized{dot}com

Leadership 365: Tips for Delegation

Effective Delegation often holds the key to managerial success and time management. What should you consider before delegating? Here are some tips to make sure delegation goes the best it can:

1. Be clear on the tasks you want to, and can, delegate. Not eveything can be delegated as a manager. What are some of the concrete activities/tasks you can pass on.
2. Consider who might benefit from the opportunity to take on the task. Do they have the skills (or stretch ability) to get it done?
3. Be clear on what the end result is expected to look like. Make sure that there is a common picture held by both of you.
4. Ensure that the person you are delegating to has the necessary resources, and authority, to complete the task.
5. Create a common understanding about time frames, success factors, and what the final product will look like.
6. Set up regular touchpoints/meetings to check in on progress and identify any roadblocks that are emerging.
7. Once the task is completed, review/identify any lessons learned.
8. Recognize and celebrate the achievement in a way that is meaningful and relevant.

Have a great week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)

Time Management: Tackle that List

In honor of the national month of Time Mangement, I wanted to share a link to some of my past time management posts. As we all know, the pace of change is just not slowing down. One of my favorite time management models is the 4 D model. If you are trying to figure our how to get a handle on things take look at your TO DO list and divide it into these 4 Ds:

Do it - What are the activities/tasks that you want to, or need to do? Figure out how much time these will take and SCHEDULE it! Remember, what doesn't get scheduled, doesn't get done.

Defer it - Again looking at your list, what can you defer, or put off to later. Perhaps there are some tasks that really aren't urgent or don't need to be done to next quarter. Again, SCHEDULE these or put it on a separate list for mid-term activities, not daily or monthly activities.

Delgate it - What's on your list that can be delegated to others? To other staff members (or others in your life - i.e. spouse/family member). If you are delegating ensure that people have the resources (budget, knowledge, tools) as well as the responsibility to complete the task. The time spent up front in handing it over may seem like a lot, but should pay off in the end.

Dump it - Take a look and notice those tasks that have been carried forward, and forward, and forward. Hopefully these are the only items that cannot be categorized anywhere else (do, defer, delegate). What do you need to dump? Just say no! What do you need to let go of?

Next time you go to tackle that to do list, consider the 4 Ds to shorten it!

Have a great week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, PCC, CPCC
Author of Effective Group Coaching
Coaching Services for Teams, Managers and Groups
Follow me: http://twitter.com/jennbritton

Teamwork and Leadership: Complimentarity

“ The most effective leaders know better than to try to be someone they are
not. Whenever they spot an opportunity, they reinvest in their strengths….
Leaders stay true to who they are – and then make sure they have the right
people around them. Those who surround themselves with similar personalities
will always be at a disadvantage in the long run to those who are secure enough
in themselves to enlist partners with complimentary strengths.”
Tom Rath and Barrie Conchie – Strengths Based Leadership

Consider the following questions:

What skills do you bring as a leader?
What are your strengths?
What blindspots are these strengths creating?
What complimentary strengths do you need to really be productive? What complimentary strengths does your team need?
Who do you want to enlist to boost your team and results?

Have a great week,

Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, CPCC, CHRP

Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley,2010)

Team Coaching Services

Great Book - The Orange Revolution

I've been enjoying a great book which any team leader can benefit from. The Orange Revolution - How One Great Team Can Transform an Entire Organization, is a must read for teams across any industry.

I really liked this book for its' practicality, as well as the research included of 350,000 participants by the Best Companies Group.

The book covers practical suggestions for leaders and team members in creating "breakthrough" teams.

Authors Adrian Gostick and Chester Elton have done a terrific job in creating a book that also provides practical approaches to building highly motivated, breakthrough teams.

You can pick up a copy at Amazon, and you may also want to check out the resources available at their site at http://www.organgerev.com/resources.

Have a great week
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, PCC, CPT
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)

Leadership Vs. Management

Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.

Peter F. Drucker

There is often a lot of debate regarding the differences between leadership and management. For most of my career I have held the view that leadership can be fostered in everyone, regardless of title, versus management being more related to a specific role.

In his book, The Leaders Digest, Jim Clemmer makes the following distinction between leadership and management:




Ask yourself:
What activities are you undertaking this week that fall under the management side?
Which activities are you engaging with for the leadership side?
Where is it more important for you to spend you time?
Which skills and approaches do you want to put further focus on this month?

Have a great week
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)

Common Team Challenges

In a couple of weeks I'm speaking at this year's HRPA Conference, co-leading a session entitled "Tips, Traps and Frameworks for Creating High Performing Teams". As a coach and consultant who works with teams who want to get better, I am often asked What are some of the key challenges a team can face in their life-cycle?

In today's post I am tackling three very common team challenges faced in almost every industry:

New Leadership - In this era of change, teams encounter new leadership, sometimes more frequently than they would wish. New leaders bring the possibility of new opportunities and certainly a new history for the team. It may take 90 days for a new person to feel comfortable in their role, AND it may take a team even longer to feel comfortable with a new leader.

Ask yourself:
What are your plans to really get to know your team? Discuss expectations?
How is leadership having an impact on your team?
As a new leader what is important to recognize and acknowledge within this team? What changes do you want to make?

Matrix Management - A majority of my career existed against the backdrop of matrix management often across global boundaries. As a Program Manager and Director, it was very common for my own team to have several supervisors. How do you create a sense of team identify when operating in a matrixed environment? It is possible, and requires strong relationship building and communication skills. This team challenge is a definitely a topic for several posts. I hope that you will check out what I have said about matrix teams under our tags.

Ask yourself:
What communication channels need to be opened in your matrix environment?
What information needs to be shared?
What roles need to be clarified?

Silos - Silos are a common challenge in so many workforces today. Even as organizational change is designed to "bring down the silos" many times, new ones emerge or old ones become even more entrenched.

Ask yourself:
What is your organization doing to foster communication between different parts of the organization?
How is your team impacted by silos?

If you are attending HRPA's conference this year, I look forward to meeting you!

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized Team Services
Team Coaching, Workshops, Retreats
Phone: 416.996.TEAM (8326)
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)

Small Business Clean Up for the New Year

I really enjoy the regular newsletter I receive from Donna Gunter, the Internet Marketing Automation Coach. Last week she had a link to a blog post she wrote entitled

Business Planning: Your 17-Point New Year's Business Inventory and Cleanup

It's a brilliant reminder of many of the important, yet simple things, we can do as business owners at the start of the year to make our lives easier for ourselves.

By this time of year the glow of all those new years resolutions starts to wear off. As a business coach I continue to be an advocate that it is never too late to start some new habits. I hope that you will take a look at Donna's post and take some action today.

As Donna says in her 17th point:

Clean it up. Now it’s time for serious evaluation and to make some difficult choices. Remember, these will be some of the most important business decisions you'll make to help you refocus for a highly productive and profitable business. There are just two rules to follow here:

• If it doesn't fit in with your chosen target market and business plan – GET RID OF IT!
• If you still decide to hang on to it anyway, but it weighs on you in any way – GET RID OF IT!

• 
  

What things do you need, and want to, get rid of this year?

Have a terrific week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)
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Leadership: Consistency

Consistency is a key factor in leadership success. Whether it is consistency of action, consistency in equity and treating everyone fair, or consistency in follow through, or feedback.

Ask yourself:
How are your actions being consistent?
What area do you need, or want, to take more consistent action in?

The following blog post of Art Petty's entitled "Leadership Caffeine: In Praise of Consistency" includes 12 Leadership Activities where Consistency is Priceless, as well as 6 Reasons Why Consistency is Critical to Your Success. Click on over and take a read. It's a good one.

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized
Author of Effective Group Coaching

Leadership: Choices

Your life is the sum result of all the choices you make, consciously and unconsciously. If you can control the process of choosing, you can take control of all aspects of your life. You can find the freedom that comes from being in charge of yourself. - Robert Benett, US Senator

Choice is a foundational principle of leadership coaching. Leaders can learn to be more intentional and aware of the choices they are making for themselves, their team and/or their organization.

Ask yourself:
What choices have you made recently that were really important for you? Your team? Your organization?
What was the benefit or payoff of this choice? What was the cost?
What freedom has this choice provided you with? What made it difficult or easy?
What possibilities or opportunities does this choice now provide you with?

Have a great start to the week.

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)

Leadership: Values

Values act as an inner compass for leaders, teams and organizations.

Principles are natural laws that are external to us and that ultimately control the consequences of our actions. Values are internal and subjective and represent that which we feel strongest about in guiding our behavior. - Steven Covey

Ask yourself:

When is the last time you reflected on what values you hold as a leader.
What's truly important for you? Your team? Your organization?
What would you go to bat for?

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized
Author of Effective Group Coaching (Wiley, 2010)

This post is part of the Leadership 365 posts I am writing during 2011, geared for leaders of all kinds - new leaders, experienced leaders, leaders without title. The posts are geared to get you to pause and quickly reflect on how the concept or quote relates to your work, or your life, at the moment. - Jenn Britton

Leadership: The First Step

During 2011 I'm going to be writing a series of leadership posts. Geared for first time managers, as well as leaders without title, I intend that this will be another way to keep the communication flowing with the wonderful leaders and managers I work with during the leadership training programs I run.

Sometimes we all need a quick focus or a word to get us going. My intention for these leadership posts is for them to be a "burst" or booster shot to get your thoughts and actions moving in a few direction.

Today's Leadership post is about taking that first step as a leader. Whether we are a leader with, or without, title, the first step can be seen as the hardest.

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

Ask yourself:
What is the first step for you as a leader?
What is the trail that you want to leave? What mark is important for you to leave?
What's the opportunity that lies ahead?

Warm regards
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton
Potentials Realized
Author of Effective Group Coaching