top of page
Search

Table of Diversity Weekly: Trauma Informed Leadership

Updated: Dec 19, 2023


*Trigger warning- Mentions mass shooting


Monday morning started off like any other morning. I arrived at my office to prepare for an 11am training session. I get nestled in my office and do one final review of my material and plan my day. Shortly after, I log into Facebook and see a flurry of messages about a shooting in downtown Louisville. I start texting friends and family to check in and confirm their safety. I was glued to my phone as more information became available. It was confirmed that 5 people were killed and 8 people were wounded before the shooter was killed by police.


How can something like this happen in my city? So close to me, my friends, and family. This feels personal. It feels deeply painful. The lingering question in my head is 'where do we go from here?'


As leaders, we had two choices: Carry on with the day as normal or make space for people to show up authentically- in their hurt, pain, confusion, frustration, sadness, and more. Which did you choose?


It's our response to this tragedy that creates a safe environment for our team. This is where trauma informed leadership can be helpful.


In this subscriber only issue, we dive into the meaning of trauma, how it is engrained into our brain, and how to lead through a trauma informed lens.

Read. Watch. Listen

Your Brain on Trauma- Oprah Daily

"Trauma embeds itself in the body, affecting not only our emotions but also our brain's ability to function. 'Heightened stress can cause the nervous system to go into fight-or-flight response which hijacks resources from the neural frontal lobe, where executive function skills like decision-making and memory live.' Meaning that trauma isn't just a matter of clinging to bad experiences but also being impaired by them- sometimes permanently. 'This isn't solely about what happened to you,' says Kipp. 'It's about what happened inside you because of what you've been through.'


Are You a Trauma-Responsive Leader?- Entrepreneur

"We don't often hear the words 'trauma' and 'leader' in the same sentence. In fact, the term 'trauma' often carries stigma and shame in society and is taboo in most workplace environments.


Many leaders want to pretend that trauma doesn't exist in the workplace; however, trauma is real, and it affects people in every organization.


According to the National Council of Behavioral Health, 70% of adults in the United States have experienced some traumatic event at least once."


"People have been conditioned to downplay, deny and dismiss what they've been through to the extent that they might not even recognize their own trauma.


Trauma is not about the nature of the experience or event; it's about its impact. Renowned physician Dr. Gabor Mate saysthat 'trauma is not what happens to you, it's what happens inside of you as a result of what happens to you.'


Besides, many studies show that most of us carry generational trauma we may be unaware of."


We need trauma-informed leadership in the workplace. Here's how.- Fast Company

"Millions of Americans watched a workplace injury unfold in real time as Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin collided with Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Tee Higgins, then collapsed in a cardiac arrest. While Hamlin's injury was unique in how public it was, more than 2 million workplace injuries affect individuals and organizations every year in the United States. There are also approximately 2 million victims of workplace violence annually. The healthcare and social assistance industries have an 8.2% workplace violence incident rate. Violence at grocery and retail businesses is on the rise; from 2018 to 2020, assaults in grocery stores rose by 63% and in convenience stores by 75%.


These are some of the most extreme examples of how trauma can affect the workplace. Workers may also experience trauma due to other kinds of issues at work, such as bias, harassment, and bullying. And challenges that employees face outside of work, like intimate partner violence, mental and physical illness, and addiction can affect the workplace as well. Trauma isn't a jacket we can take off when it's time to go to work; we carry it with us. It affects productivity, engagement, absenteeism, turnover, and more."


What does generational trauma look like?- USA Today

"According to many therapists and mental health professionals, sometimes trauma isn't derived from one-time, extreme life events like a tragic tornado, a school shooting or a car crash. Many people have reported they also experience generational trauma, meaning they suffer from the lingering effects of intense short-term or chronic stressors felt by their family or community.


'I define generational trauma as incidents that live in our body, and in our emotional psyche, that we have not necessarily experienced ourselves and we have passed on through family experiences,' says Gwendolyn VanSant, a nonprofit CEO and member of the Trauma Research Foundation's Board of Directors.


To VanSant, people are often unaware of the signs of generational trauma, which she says can include depression, anxiety or distrust of certain groups or institutions."


Buildings That Can Heal in the Wake of Trauma- Bloomberg

"The generous windows that line walls of this new apartment building in Aurora, Colorado, do more than just flood its hallways and bedrooms in sunlight: They're part of a suite of design decisions that reflect the unique needs of its residents.


Providence at the Heights, or PATH, is a supportive housing facility operated by the prison re-entry nonprofit Second Chance Center; the three-year-old building is filled with apartments for people who have been previously incarcerated."


"At first glance, there's not much here that diverges from standard best practices for any supportive housing project. But there's an added layer of intentionality and specificity directed toward people who have experienced the criminal justice system. Shopworks' design for PATH was intensely influenced by trauma-informed design, an emerging discourse in architecture that weds the built environment to the tenets of trauma-informed care, which aims to ease the physical and mental toll from past harm."


Trauma-Sensitive series: Stages of historical trauma and its echoes through time

The three stages of historical trauma; a reframing of a few mass traumas (i.e., stage 1 of historical traumas) experienced by minorities in U.S. history; rhetoric and language around dehumanization.


Healing Together After Collective Trauma

"The global pandemic is an excellent example of collective trauma. In this week's episode, Dr. Lee guides us all through how individuals and communities can find healing through the three-step process of safety, remembrance, and recovery."


What is Trauma Informed Leadership?

"Trauma-informed leadership is an invaluable mindset and posture that validates the emotional wounds we all bring to the table. Improve your conflict presence and become a more effective leader by implementing trauma-informed practices into your leadership style."


How trauma-informed workplaces can support your team's mental health

Check out this short video on trauma informed leadership!

Weekly Activities

"Sometimes things happen to people that are unusually or especially frightening, horrible, or traumatic. For example: a serious accident or fire; a physical or sexual assault or abuse; an earthquake or flood; a war; seeing someone be killed or seriously injured; having a loved one die through homicide or suicide."


Take this free quiz to see some of the signs for PTSD (you may recognize a few of the signs in your day-to-day experiences).


By understanding the impact of past trauma in your present day life, the need for a trauma informed lens become more apparent.


Then, check out the National Institute of Mental Health's website for additional ways to recognize and treat PTSD.


Activity 2: One thing I've learned over the years is that everyone processes trauma differently. Some people want to be in the presence of others to collectively grieve and reconnect. Others want total isolation to be with their thoughts.


What about the members of your team? How do they best process traumatic events?


Another question to consider asking members of your team: Over the past 5, 10, 15 years, what public events have been traumatic for them? While we want to avoid retraumatizing people, it would be interesting to note the events that are deemed traumatic. This bit of information can help you craft a more inclusive culture when these types of events happen in the future.



Comments

bottom of page