Understanding Trauma-Informed Leadership
In today's business environment, leaders face unprecedented challenges supporting their teams. From economic uncertainty to political upheaval, it is becoming increasingly difficult for leaders, even in the U.S., to ignore the impact of trauma in the workplace. The rise in mental and emotional stress, anxiety and anger is leading to a realization that trauma must be understood, acknowledged and addressed by workplace leaders.
The Business Case For Trauma-Informed Leadership
Beyond ethical considerations, trauma-informed leadership delivers compelling business benefits. Organizations implementing these approaches report increased engagement, improved retention, enhanced innovation and stronger team cohesion.
As Katharine Manning observes in her 2022 Harvard Business Review article, "When we are in a period of crisis, many of us look to our institutions to support and protect us. If they fail to do so, or if they take steps that we fear will harm us or those we care about, that can create a second injury, called an institutional betrayal." Unsurprisingly, research has found that institutional betrayal is associated with decreased job satisfaction and job commitment.
On the flip side, when leaders build psychological safety in the workplace, the benefits can be significant. A 2023 McKinsey study found that psychological safety isn't just good for individuals but also for businesses as it "substantially contributes to team effectiveness, learning, employee retention, and—most critically—better decisions and better performance." On this basis, trauma-informed leadership, which is deeply attentive to building psychological safety in the workplace, holds strong potential to benefit businesses, even supporting their bottom line.
Trauma’s Impact On Work
Trauma isn't limited to catastrophic events; it encompasses any experience that overwhelms an individual's ability to cope. In organizational settings, unaddressed trauma often manifests as decreased productivity, interpersonal conflicts, increased absenteeism and high turnover rates.
According to research from the World Health Organization, nearly 70% of adults will experience at least one traumatic event in their lifetime. And many more are dealing with acute stress and anxiety that ultimately can lead to emotional dysregulation, memory issues, lack of focus and illness. These are just a few reasons why trauma-informed leadership has become increasingly important in navigating through uncertainty, crises and economic and political upheaval.
Key Principles Of Trauma-Informed Leadership
Based on my experience working with leaders, trauma-informed leadership encompasses five key principles:
1. Safety First
Creating psychological safety means establishing environments where team members feel secure sharing concerns, ideas and complaints without fear of reprisal.
While most people agree with the importance of transparent communication, empathy, compassion and active listening, unfortunately, these capabilities are difficult to practice consistently. Yet, they form the foundation for building trust, creativity and high-performance organizations.
Physical safety considerations have also gained renewed importance post-pandemic, with leaders needing to demonstrate tangible commitments to employee well-being through thoughtful policies, workspace design and an investment in resources to support mental health.
2. Transparency And Trust
Trust is a cornerstone of organizational performance because it directly influences collaboration, innovation, productivity and overall workplace morale. When trust is strong, organizations function more efficiently and effectively.
Trauma-informed leaders have learned the skills needed to build trusting relationships and a culture that nurtures transparency of information. These leaders learn how to communicate through generative listening, practice curiosity versus judgment and encourage honest dialogue regardless of hierarchical status. They share information even when messages are difficult, and they are not afraid to admit when they are wrong. This takes courage, vulnerability and an acceptance of human fallibility.
3. Collaboration
Traditional top-down leadership structures reinforce siloed behavior, status differences and an intrinsic emphasis on authority and power. While systems structured in this way can be efficient, they depend on leaders and managers who can foster cross-functional trust, communication and collaboration.
In today’s world, complexity is the norm and innovation is a key performance differentiator. Leaders who are well-versed in trauma-informed leadership appreciate that workplaces can be far healthier and productive when they actively seek diverse perspectives, foster collaboration across formal boundaries and create a sense of ownership opportunities at all organizational levels.
4. Recognition And Responsiveness
Leaders who recognize trauma's varied manifestations—from withdrawal to reactivity—without negatively labeling the employee understand that, at times, we all carry burdens. They also offer accommodations and lead with flexibility and insight into the positive long-term benefits of creating a workplace that is healthy and human.
5. Cultural Humility
Effective trauma-informed leadership acknowledges that trauma experiences vary across cultures, identities and backgrounds. Acknowledging that today’s workers contribute to a patchwork quilt of ideas, biases, expectations and perspectives is critical in a world that is heterogeneous and globally connected. Leveraging the strengths associated with a plurality of ideas is a winning approach to innovation, performance and results-driven success.
Implementing Trauma-Informed Practices
There are many ways to effectively implement trauma-informed interventions to build safer and more resilient workplaces. These practices include providing mental health resources and normalizing their use (notably, this is something many organizations already started doing during the pandemic). Another practice includes training managers to recognize trauma responses and respond supportively.
Establishing clear boundaries around workloads and availability, developing crisis response protocols that prioritize emotional well-being and building reflection practices into organizational routines are also essential.