From e3a91623079f49872be6b7d32fab7084877b5ed2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Si Jobling Date: Sat, 24 Jan 2026 09:22:25 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 1/2] Add PETALS Advent 2025 recap post --- posts/blog/2026/petals-advent-2025.md | 57 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 57 insertions(+) create mode 100644 posts/blog/2026/petals-advent-2025.md diff --git a/posts/blog/2026/petals-advent-2025.md b/posts/blog/2026/petals-advent-2025.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..8c9b0b4 --- /dev/null +++ b/posts/blog/2026/petals-advent-2025.md @@ -0,0 +1,57 @@ +--- +title: "PETALS Advent 2025: 24 micro-lessons on team health" +date: 2026-01-23 +categories: + - "blog" +tags: + - "petals" + - "advent" + - "team-health" + - "video" +--- + +Last month I ran a **PETALS Advent**: a daily video drop with short, practical prompts to help teams build healthier habits. Think of it as a 24-day nudge for psychological safety, feedback loops, and better ways of working — one micro-lesson at a time. + +I wanted the series to feel light and doable. Each episode was designed to be under a couple of minutes, with just one idea per day. It was also a small personal experiment: could I outline, record, edit, publish, and promote a video *every day* without burning out? + +### What the series covered + +PETALS already covers a broad range of team health topics, so I used the Advent format to explore a mix of: + +- **Safety and trust** (how people feel showing up and speaking up) +- **Feedback and candour** (how to help teams have better conversations) +- **Clarity and alignment** (what it means to know what “good” looks like) +- **Rhythm and rituals** (tiny behaviours that create consistency) +- **Celebration and reflection** (making space to notice progress) + +It wasn’t about deep dives — it was about small prompts that are easy to try in the next stand-up, retro, or 1:1. + +### The process (what worked) + +A few things made the daily cadence possible: + +- **Batch planning**: I sketched the full 24-day outline early so I wasn’t scrambling for topics. +- **Repeatable structure**: each video had the same arc — _context → prompt → one action_. +- **Lightweight tooling**: I recorded quickly, used Descript for edits, and scheduled via Buffer. + +Even with that rhythm, some days still felt like a sprint. But the process held up better than expected and taught me a lot about shipping fast without losing quality. + +### Popular posts (by view count) + +Below is a starting list of the best-performing Advent videos from the playlist. I’ll update the numbers once the view counts are pulled directly from YouTube analytics. + +| Rank | Episode (topic) | Views | Link | +| --- | --- | --- | --- | +| 1 | _TBD_ | _TBD_ | [Playlist](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKbU77Ew5WTFEUBne9NhknObjdP-YLI-Z&si=sVVzILdhkKKuxs5W) | +| 2 | _TBD_ | _TBD_ | [Playlist](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKbU77Ew5WTFEUBne9NhknObjdP-YLI-Z&si=sVVzILdhkKKuxs5W) | +| 3 | _TBD_ | _TBD_ | [Playlist](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKbU77Ew5WTFEUBne9NhknObjdP-YLI-Z&si=sVVzILdhkKKuxs5W) | +| 4 | _TBD_ | _TBD_ | [Playlist](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKbU77Ew5WTFEUBne9NhknObjdP-YLI-Z&si=sVVzILdhkKKuxs5W) | +| 5 | _TBD_ | _TBD_ | [Playlist](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKbU77Ew5WTFEUBne9NhknObjdP-YLI-Z&si=sVVzILdhkKKuxs5W) | + +### What I learned + +- **Small prompts travel far.** The shortest episodes often sparked the most comments because they were easy to try immediately. +- **Consistency builds trust.** Showing up daily reminded me (and the audience) that trust grows through repetition. +- **Systems beat motivation.** A simple, repeatable workflow was the only reason I could keep it up. + +If you missed the series, the full playlist is here: **[PETALS Advent 2025](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKbU77Ew5WTFEUBne9NhknObjdP-YLI-Z&si=sVVzILdhkKKuxs5W)**. Let me know which episode resonated most, and I’ll consider expanding the top themes into longer articles later in the year. From d7168a852b2d746da45ba7b66a65f0e5e363490c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Si Jobling Date: Tue, 27 Jan 2026 19:19:02 +0000 Subject: [PATCH 2/2] Refine PETALS Advent post style --- posts/blog/2026/petals-advent-2025.md | 24 +++++------------------- 1 file changed, 5 insertions(+), 19 deletions(-) diff --git a/posts/blog/2026/petals-advent-2025.md b/posts/blog/2026/petals-advent-2025.md index 8c9b0b4..3ae7990 100644 --- a/posts/blog/2026/petals-advent-2025.md +++ b/posts/blog/2026/petals-advent-2025.md @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ --- -title: "PETALS Advent 2025: 24 micro-lessons on team health" +title: "PETALS Advent" date: 2026-01-23 categories: - "blog" @@ -10,29 +10,17 @@ tags: - "video" --- -Last month I ran a **PETALS Advent**: a daily video drop with short, practical prompts to help teams build healthier habits. Think of it as a 24-day nudge for psychological safety, feedback loops, and better ways of working — one micro-lesson at a time. +Last month I ran a **PETALS Advent**: a daily video drop with short, practical prompts to help teams build healthier habits. Think of it as a 24-day nudge for psychological safety, feedback loops, and better ways of working. Each day delivered one micro-lesson. I wanted the series to feel light and doable. Each episode was designed to be under a couple of minutes, with just one idea per day. It was also a small personal experiment: could I outline, record, edit, publish, and promote a video *every day* without burning out? ### What the series covered -PETALS already covers a broad range of team health topics, so I used the Advent format to explore a mix of: - -- **Safety and trust** (how people feel showing up and speaking up) -- **Feedback and candour** (how to help teams have better conversations) -- **Clarity and alignment** (what it means to know what “good” looks like) -- **Rhythm and rituals** (tiny behaviours that create consistency) -- **Celebration and reflection** (making space to notice progress) - -It wasn’t about deep dives — it was about small prompts that are easy to try in the next stand-up, retro, or 1:1. +PETALS already covers a broad range of team health topics, so I used the Advent format to explore safety and trust, feedback and candour, clarity and alignment, rhythm and rituals, plus celebration and reflection. It wasn’t about deep dives. It was about small prompts that are easy to try in the next stand-up, retro, or 1:1. ### The process (what worked) -A few things made the daily cadence possible: - -- **Batch planning**: I sketched the full 24-day outline early so I wasn’t scrambling for topics. -- **Repeatable structure**: each video had the same arc — _context → prompt → one action_. -- **Lightweight tooling**: I recorded quickly, used Descript for edits, and scheduled via Buffer. +A few things made the daily cadence possible. I sketched the full 24-day outline early so I wasn’t scrambling for topics. Each video kept the same arc; context, a single prompt, and one action to try. I recorded quickly, used Descript for edits, and scheduled via Buffer. Even with that rhythm, some days still felt like a sprint. But the process held up better than expected and taught me a lot about shipping fast without losing quality. @@ -50,8 +38,6 @@ Below is a starting list of the best-performing Advent videos from the playlist. ### What I learned -- **Small prompts travel far.** The shortest episodes often sparked the most comments because they were easy to try immediately. -- **Consistency builds trust.** Showing up daily reminded me (and the audience) that trust grows through repetition. -- **Systems beat motivation.** A simple, repeatable workflow was the only reason I could keep it up. +**Small prompts travel far.** The shortest episodes often sparked the most comments because they were easy to try immediately. **Consistency builds trust.** Showing up daily reminded me (and the audience) that trust grows through repetition. **Systems beat motivation.** A simple, repeatable workflow was the only reason I could keep it up. If you missed the series, the full playlist is here: **[PETALS Advent 2025](https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKbU77Ew5WTFEUBne9NhknObjdP-YLI-Z&si=sVVzILdhkKKuxs5W)**. Let me know which episode resonated most, and I’ll consider expanding the top themes into longer articles later in the year.