Leading Through Election PTSD

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I am a Special Operations war veteran, so when I hear the term PTSD, I automatically associate the condition with the effects of war. I fully understand there are various circumstances, which can cause Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, but war is where my mind takes me.

We can debate that the American political environment has become a warzone, but that debate would likely be slanted since most Americans agree with this sentiment. Families have been torn apart, friendships have ended, employment vacancies created, racial and gender trust have been eroded, profits have been impacted, and what is left is a country of rubble rhetoric and cynicism. I would declare this phenomena a cold warzone similar to the Cold War era. Bullets have not yet traveled through the air, but shots have definitely been fired!

In terms of leadership, several leaders have openly expressed the real emotional and psychological affects to their organizations as a result of election PTSD. They may not have used this phrase, but the admittance of observed and audibly spoken distrust of peers and leaders on the opposite sides of the political spectrum are real and have caused many leaders to ponder how to navigate the plane.

An ancillary phenomenon is the expressed emotion of elation that can also be associated with PTSD. In keeping with the war analogy, victors in high-stress conflict scenarios can experience heightened levels of elation, which also contribute to new team dynamics and impacts that leaders have to manage. Over confidence can sometimes lead to lowered defensive mechanisms and less attention or care to details and team tactical functioning.

On November 6, 2024, while commuting on my train ride from Baltimore, MD to Washington D.C., I observed one of the saddest moments in my lifetime. The train platform was full of black women whose faces were stripped of evidence of spiritual occupancy, white women who had looks of infinite despair, and white men afraid to look anyone directly in the eye. It was similar to a scene from a WWII war movie where survivors of war were on a pilgrimage journey to an unknown land. The scene was appropriate, because yes, America is on its way into a journey of an unknown landscape.

My mind ALWAYS eventually finds its way to leadership, and I pondered if leaders were prepared to lead their teams experiencing actualized PTSD from a traumatic experience that positioned former alliances on opposite sides of the situation. The same experience produces varying emotional, psychological, and even physiological responses. How would leaders respond when a teammate on a call states that they have been experiencing heart palpitations with very little sleep and could no longer participate in team discussions? I actually heard a well-respected leader state this on a call with other executive leaders.

Leadership SHOULD always be about influencing others to move in a direction that is individually and collectively beneficial. But what if the leader's definition of "beneficial" no longer aligns with those teammates who have new outlooks due to realized PTSD? Should we cast those teammates aside, thus causing further divide? Or, should we as leaders provide spaces for grace in attempts to empathize with those impacted? And, how long should that period of grace extend?

In war, when any particular side decides that attempts to understand the opposer's viewpoints are no longer considered an option, a perpetual warzone develops; one similar to the Korean War, which never has declared an end to active warfare. Shots are still fired across the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) to this day, although it is very sparingly reported. Is this where America is headed?

As a leader, how do you plan to lead in a political Cold War? It does impact your team. Whether you openly admit, think about, or consider this to be true, the impacts to your success as a leader may depend on your ability to manage the variables and variance of team dynamics impacted by Election PTSD. I suggest you take it seriously.

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