I write this off the back of a new routine I’ve got into this week.
Every weekday morning, I typically take the dog for a walk around the canal and fields so he can have a run and I can enjoy the great outdoors with a podcast that suits my mood. (This week, that’s been a mix of Jordan B Peterson audiobooks and podcasts about WWDC.)
After that, I’ve been hitting the gym to get back into some proper fitness. Typically 30 minutes on the elliptical followed by 30 minutes swimming, occasionally mixed up with weight training and rowing.
One thing I’ve observed in the gym is the variety of personas and routines others are doing. There’s a mixture of strength, cardio and core work.
In the pool, there’s a mix of elderly swimmers, friends catching up, and youngsters thrashing out laps — all moving at their own speed. I tend to fall somewhere in the middle; not super fit like the youngsters, but picking up the pace next to the gentler swimmers.
It got me thinking about team health and how it all connects.
Teams tend to have a goal — usually shared, though sometimes formed from individual goals that align toward a common outcome.
With fitness, it’s similar. We all broadly share one goal:
To be healthier and fitter.
That breaks down into individual versions of that goal, contributing to the greater good of a healthier society.
Naturally, governments try to encourage this — it reduces strain on healthcare. But we know that’s the dream, not the everyday reality. This often comes down to personal circumstances, personalities, abilities – ultimately, everyone is different.
When we talk about team health, we often focus on high performance and fixing weaknesses. But why?
As a team, it’s easier to support each other through challenges, learn together (PETALS!), and work out how to move forward.
We identify our own gaps and ask for help.
We might get useful feedback from peers that points us in the right direction.
But we do this together — with a shared goal and pace.
One thing I’ve been asked a few times about PETALS is how to use it from a leadership perspective – dare I say, comparing teams.
But you really can’t fixate on the metrics, especially with the arbitrary scores teams use.
PETALS is an introspection framework. It encourages conversation, rooted in personalised scores. Teams can benchmark and find their own language, but that doesn’t always translate across teams.
That’s where I come back to pace setting.
I might regularly score myself between 2 and 4, saving 1s and 5s for the extremes. My team might be similar, or there might be more variation. Another team could look completely different.
When it comes to improvement, what matters are the shifts.
For one person, that might be a nudge in productivity. For another, more learning. For someone else, a bit of serenity.
If you’ve had no learning time for months, then carving out an hour next week is a huge win.
If you already learn regularly, then something like a course or conference might be the step change.
This is pace setting in action. Everyone is different — but we should all strive for the same ultimate goal:
To make improvements to the way we work.
Just like with fitness, we all want to be healthier or fitter — but in completely different ways.
If we find a common language and a shared goal, we can support each other in the process. It’s easier in team sports; trickier with solo routines. But still possible.
The trick isn’t to obsess over the pace of others — it’s to understand your own rhythm, and keep an eye on your team’s.
Leadership isn’t about pushing everyone to sprint. It’s about creating the conditions for people to find their stride.
The most effective teams aren’t always the fastest or the loudest.
They’re the ones who know where they’re going, why they’re going there, and how they’re going to support each other on the journey.
So whether you’re swimming, coding, strategising, or just learning to ask better questions — give yourself and your team the permission to go at the pace that works for you.
That’s what PETALS is really about: not comparing, but connecting.