Dr Brent Fessler - Trauma-Informed Leadership

A Leader’s Journey podcast

🎙️ Joel and co-host Brent dive deep into the world 🗺 of trauma-informed leadership, discussing the impact of trauma, self-awareness, and regulation in the workplace. 🏢 Don't miss this insightful conversation on how to create a safe and high-performing team! Tune in now! #leadership

#ALeadersJourney #traumainformedcare #WorkplaceCulture #HighPerformingTeams #selfawareness

HIGHLIGHTS:

Healing Leadership: Creating Environments for Thriving and Flourishing
Non-trauma induced leadership is about creating an environment where people can thrive and flourish, regardless of their past experiences. It involves understanding and addressing the trauma that people may have experienced, rather than ignoring or exacerbating it.

Overcoming Relational Challenges: Navigating Trauma and Building Relationships
As a family, they realized that trauma is not limited to certain people and that everyone is on a spectrum. Through their experiences with their adopted child and extended family, they discovered things about themselves they never would have seen otherwise. They learned about trauma and how to lead, love, communicate and build relationships better. The essence of overcoming relational challenges is dealing with breaches of trust and difficult situations.

When Our Brain Flips Its Lid: Understanding the Fight, Flight, or Freeze Response
Flipping our lid is a term used to describe when we get into a fight, flight or freeze mode. This can happen when we feel threatened or unsafe, causing the amydala in our brain to fire adrenaline and blood to the muscles for fighting or running. This takes blood away from the prefrontal cortex, where our decision-making and language happen. Trauma can reduce this threshold, making us more likely to flip our lid. The speaker jokes about the "effing" kids and adults who are in fight flight or freeze mode, but it can also be a problem in the workplace.

The Workplace Battle: How Fight or Flight Hinders Team Functioning
The speaker discusses the fight or flight response in the workplace, and how it can lead to dysfunctional behavior. They explain that this response is triggered by perceived danger, even if it is not real. The speaker also notes that being tired or having low blood sugar levels can lower the threshold for this response.

Creating Trauma-Informed Leadership for High-Performance Team Success
The speaker discusses the importance of keeping teams at work in a high-performance state by avoiding situations that trigger the fight-or-flight response, such as noise or overwhelming tasks. He argues that teams living close to this threshold are not able to function properly, and trust is compromised. Trauma-informed leadership aims to create a safe environment where team members can thrive and operate at their best.

"The Key to Effective Leadership: Self-Regulation and Awareness"
The text discusses the importance of self-regulation and being aware of one's own survival threshold. It suggests that as leaders, we should help bring more awareness to our team so they can self-regulate. The author also highlights that flipping one's lid in a stressful situation is counterproductive and can hinder effective communication and problem-solving.

The Importance of Emotional Awareness and Connection
The speaker discusses the importance of being aware of others' emotional reactions, particularly when they are feeling defensive or on edge. He explains that when someone's "lid is flipped," they are no longer able to process logic, and attempting to reason with them will only make things worse. Instead, the speaker suggests focusing on connecting with the person and building trust before attempting to correct any issues.

The Balancing Act: Rebuilding Connection and Relationships for Effective Leadership
The text discusses the importance of rebuilding connection and relationships before correcting someone, and the temptation to justify postponing difficult conversations. It emphasizes finding a balance between correction and connection in leadership.

Exploring Boundaries, Agency, and the Impact of Trauma in Relationships: Lessons from the Parable of the Good Samaritan
The speaker discusses the importance of boundaries and agency in relationships, and how trauma can affect a person's ability to take responsibility for their actions. They also touch on the parable of the Good Samaritan, emphasizing the importance of helping others even when they may not be receptive.

The Significance of Trauma-Informed Leadership in Organizational Settings
The speaker emphasizes the importance of understanding and empathizing with people who are in a place of trauma. They suggest that leaders should prioritize developing a trauma-informed approach in their organizations by growing their capabilities in understanding and addressing trauma. However, they also acknowledge that not everyone is ready or equipped to handle certain roles, and leaders should consider this when managing their teams.