Trauma-informed leadership recognizes the prevalence of trauma and its impact on individuals and communities. It focuses on creating a supportive, healing environment by understanding how trauma influences behavior, emotions, and relationships.
This has become increasingly important, according to Katharine Manning, author of The Empatheic Workplace: 5 Steps to a Compassionate, Calm, and Confident Response to Trauma on the Job. Writing in Harvard Business Review, Manning shares that trauma is not new to our organizations and is not going away. “Estimates are that six in 10 men and five in 10 women experience at least one trauma, and approximately 6% of the population will experience PTSD at some point in their lives.”
“As we’ve seen the lines between work and home blur and a fundamental shift in our expectations of the places we work, organizations have struggled to provide the support and leadership their employees and customers need. That’s why it’s so important that they take steps now to build the cultures that can see them through this crisis and the ones we’ll all inevitably face in the future. To do that, we need to build trauma-informed organizations.”
Trauma-informed leadership seeks to address this reality. Key principles include:
- Safety: Physical and psychological safety.
- Trustworthiness: Building trust through reliable and transparent actions.
- Choice: Empowering individuals to make informed decisions.
- Collaboration: Working with individuals and groups to create personalized support systems.
- Empowerment: Fostering agency and autonomy.
This leadership approach benefits organizations by improving employee well-being, fostering a positive culture rooted in empathy and compassion, thereby building trust and increasing collaboration.
Trauma-informed leaders also focus on promoting resilience and emotional intelligence, valuing inclusivity by considering cultural, historical, and gender factors. They work to establish environments where employees feel supported, empowered, and free from fear of re-traumatization.
Overall, trauma-informed leadership creates a space where individuals can heal, grow, and contribute to a more compassionate and productive organization.
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