Team Lessons from Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love at Work

Valerie Polunas
Nov 24
5 min read

December has a way of speeding up just as we’re running out of steam. Deadlines pile up, inboxes overflow, and everyone’s trying to squeeze in “one last thing” before the year ends.

When I worked on teams, that push to the finish line was rough, but even then, it felt important to pause just long enough to:

Reflect on our work together
Dream about what we might take on next
Clear up any lingering tensions
Have a little fun
Show real appreciation for what we’d just pulled off together

I didn’t realize it at the time, but I was naturally following the flow of Advent.

What Advent Has to Do With Teams

Advent is a Christian tradition of preparing for the coming of Jesus Christ. It spans the four weeks leading up to Christmas. Each week centers on a theme: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love. Each theme is represented by a candle on an Advent wreath.

You don’t have to be Christian (or religious at all) to apply these themes in the workplace. Think of them as four waypoints for your team’s end-of-year journey:

Hope - What you’re moving toward
Peace - What needs to be settled, so you can move freely
Joy - What energizes you in the present
Love - How you show up for one another

This month’s blog walks you through each theme and offers simple team conversations you can use as a weekly ritual or even as a single extended “Advent Retro” for your team.

Week 1: Hope

Hope for the promise of what’s to come for the team.

After you’ve reflected on the year behind you, shift the team’s gaze forward. Hope is about scanning the horizon together and saying, “What could this team become next year?

Try this exercise with your team:

Ask:

What are your hopes for yourself in the coming year?
What are your hopes for this team in the coming year?
What historically makes hopes like these possible for us?
What could help prepare the way for those hopes to become reality?

Then, explore the other side of the coin:

What are your fears for yourself and this team in the coming year?
What could help mitigate those fears, so there’s more room for hope?

You’re not trying to create a perfect plan here. You’re mapping the terrain, naming the mountains you want to climb and the cliffs you want to avoid.

Remember: Lean into hope like George Bailey from It’s a Wonderful Life. Even when the circumstances look bleak, keep your eye on what matters most.

Week 2: Peace

Find peace within your own heart and team relationships.

It’s hard to move toward hopeful goals when old frustrations are still simmering. Week 2 is your invitation to clear the air and realign.

Here’s a simple alignment activity to work through simmering conflicts:

Enter the conversation humbly. Come in curious, not certain. Assume there’s more to the story.
Allow everyone to vent thoroughly before solving. Let people share their perspectives without interruption. Take notes if it helps.
Identify the problem and put it “in the middle.” Name the issue in a neutral way and treat it as something the team is facing together, not a person to blame.
Examine the problem together. Ask what’s really going on here? What patterns are we noticing?
Discuss why it’s important to resolve this. Tie it back to your hopes from Week 1. What becomes possible if this is resolved?
Ask if you’re willing to each give a little for the sake of the team. Not everything, just a step. What’s one small move each person can make towards each other?
Generate solutions you all can live with. Go for “good enough to try,” not “perfect forever.”
Acknowledge the hard work and care that went into the conversation. Appreciation helps close the loop and rebuild trust.

Remember: Work grievances out like a Griswold who received the jelly of the month club bonus (minus the abduction of course.)

Week 3: Joy

Rejoice in the midst of waiting.

This is my favorite week of Advent, because it’s an invitation to enjoy the present, not just strive for a future outcome.

Instead of asking, “What’s next?” pause and ask, “What’s good right now?”

With your team, explore:

What brings this team joy right now? Specific projects? Certain collaborations? Inside jokes or traditions?
What aspects of that joy could we lean into more as we work together?
Where do we feel most alive and energized in our work?

This isn’t about pretending everything is fine. It’s about noticing the bright spots, so you can intentionally build more of them into the year ahead.

Remember: Enjoy the present like Scrooge after his epiphany: open-hearted, generous, and fully awake to the joy around him.

Week 4: Love

Show love (and real appreciation) to others.

In hustle culture, genuine appreciation too often gets reduced to a rushed “thanks everyone!” at the end of a meeting. Week 4 invites you to slow down and see each other more clearly.

Try this simple practice:

As a team, answer these questions:

What do you appreciate about each member of the team? (Think strengths, growth you’ve seen, or ways they show up for others.)
How could you tell them or show them that?

You can do this round-robin style in a meeting, through written notes, or as a simple appreciation circle. White elephant gifts optional.

Remember: Love your team like Linus loves his blanket: steadily, without fanfare, and with a sense of comfort and loyalty.

Celebration: Mark the Team’s Achievements

In many Advent traditions, once Christmas arrives, a final white candle is lit at the center of the wreath. It represents Celebration.

I don’t think it’s an accident that it sits at the center. Celebration isn’t an extra. It’s core to how we mark progress and reinforce the story we’re telling about who we are as a team.

Before you all scatter for the holidays, find a way to:

Celebrate what you accomplished together
Name a few meaningful “wins” (not just the big visible ones)
Laugh, play a little, and let people exhale
Set the tone for how you want to show up together in the new year

Just maybe don’t hit the nog so hard that you create new HR stories no one wants to tell.

Remember: Don’t be a Grinch. Celebrate like a Who.

Find Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love as a Team All Year Long

If you want your team to live the spirit of these four themes, not just in December, but all year round, Flowing River Conflict Solutions can help.

I design, facilitate, and coach conflict management and prevention experiences that help teams navigate hard conversations with more confidence, build trust and connection across differences, and turn conflict into a catalyst for growth rather than a reason to shut down.

If you’re ready to explore what Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love could look like in your team’s day-to-day work, reach out. Let’s design an experience that fits your team’s unique journey.