New LinkedIn Learning Course: Trauma-Informed Change Management--NOW LIVE!

Creating a trauma-informed workplace is where both management and non-management agree to reflect on triggering leadership styles, identify stressors in the system and weave a Do No Harm approach into company policies and behaviors. This agreement isn’t just a list of tasks on a check-off sheet, or something that is accomplished by attending annual training. It’s a way of being. It's the heartbeat and DNA of the organization. A systemic approach to creating a trauma-informed workplace increases the likelihood of creating a more efficient, psychologically safe, collaborative and human-centered workplace ready to take on the next change cycle.

Ask yourself. Is my organization assessing for staff capacity or levels of trust before a change initiative? Do you know the difference between burnout, stress, and trauma? Is your organization’s change management approach producing employee fight, flight, freeze, fawn responses? Today’s workforce is looking for their workplace to provide support and protection during today’s periods of crisis and uncertainty. If leadership fails to acknowledge or respond to their workforce’s increasing social and emotional needs, trust and safety will be compromised. Overlay the fear and grief associated with change and you have the makings of a highly resistant workforce. Additionally, some of your most talented employees may seek other opportunities if they see that as their only option for salvaging their mental and physical health. Some experts refer to this failure to respond as institutional betrayal.

Change is a fundamental part of a company’s systems, functions and the bottom line. It’s important for leaders to understand there is a world of experiences running deep within each of us. When trauma is triggered in the workplace, especially during times of change, each person’s response reflects their emotional scars, experiences, and self-awareness. Rather than accepting a workplace culture that asks, “Why are you so resistant to change?” We should be championing, “What happened to you? ”What matters to you? How can I support you?

Emerging brain research suggests that change resistance is not a natural phenomenon, but a physiological one. The brain’s default emotional response to change is to be wary of it and to resist it. We now know our brain’s ability to modify and adapt to change depends on our past emotional experiences and our brain's capacity to form new connections.

This phenomenon is called neuroplasticity. Neuroplasticity is present in everyday life. As?an adult, have you ever found learning a new language really difficult? What about learning to play the piano? I don’t know about you, but I get anxious every time I get a new cell phone!

Neuroplasticity is present in our change efforts as well. Studies have shown that a top-down, trauma-induced approach to change constricts neuroplasticity while a more collaborative, trauma-informed change approach may actually promote neuroplasticity.

Think about it this way. Would you learn to play the piano faster if you were forced to learn without sheet music or if you had a coach, teaching you how to read music and guiding you through the learning process? I think you know the answer.

Change management draws on theories from many disciplines, including psychology, behavioral science, and systems thinking. There are many change models to choose from such as Kotter, Lewin, and Prosci’s ADKAR model. At the end of the day, change equals loss and grief. That's why more and more leaders are using Kübler-Ross’s Five Stages of Grief– denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance as their change model of choice.

Whether it’s Kotter or Kubler-Ross, these change models are designed to provide you with steps to navigate difficult transitions and maximize new business outputs. My Power of 3’s trauma-informed change management model is similar in steps but it’s fundamentally different in theory and execution. The Power of 3’s journey to trauma-informed change management is driven by a Do No Harm lens, social and emotional constructs, self-determination, and leadership accountability.

In my second LinkedIn Learning course, I reveal how trauma-informed change management requires the healing of hurt leaders and the mitigation of toxic systems, all through a Do No Harm lens. We dive into the 2nd component of my Power of 3 framework, Trauma Informed Systems located on the lower right point of the triangle.

The Trauma Informed Systems component includes:

• Governance
• Policy
• Physical Environment
• Change Management
• Quality Improvement
• Finance
• Talent Acquisition and Development
• Metrics

If you’d like to learn more about the 1st component, check out my course, Become a Trauma Informed Leader.

Detangling and rewiring systems is complex and tedious, so my new LinkedIn Learning course only covers the seven phases of trauma-informed change management (Assessing employee experiences, Identifying change ambassadors, Leading trauma informed change management, Developing why the change is necessary, Motivating the masses to engage with the change, Building skills and capacity for change, and Rewarding, reassessing and reinforcing change). If you are interested in learning more about the full Power of 3 framework, check out my website for additional training.

I am on a mission to train 1 million trauma informed leaders in the United States by 2031. As a seasoned or emerging leader, it is your responsibility to invest in your team. By participating in my new LinkedIn Learning Course, you are taking the next step in recognizing how trauma impacts the way we interact with others and how we lead staff through change during these unprecedented times. YOU are truly 1 in a million.

Here are some final recommendations for how you can begin mitigating trauma and support the mental health of your current and future workforce:

1. Assess Your Own Pain and Trauma And Do The Hard Work
2. Assess Your Staff’s Sense Of Well-being And Experiences In The Workplace
3. Address Root Causes Of Stress Responses And Mental Health Challenges at work and at home.
4. Make trauma informed organizations and mental health a part of your company's DNA
5. Require Mental Health First Aid And Trauma Informed Leadership and Workplace Training For All Employees And stakeholders
6. Incorporate The Six Principles Of Trauma-informed Leadership and Systems change Into Performance expectations For Anyone Leading A Team
7. Create An Emotionally Safe And Anti-stigma Culture Through Change Ambassadors And Update Talent Recruitment And Onboarding Policies
8. Provide Comprehensive And Affordable Mental Health Services

Thank you for engaging me and for taking the time to invest in yourself and your team. I encourage you to follow me on LinkedIn for more content on this topic.

About Dr. Dawn Emerick

There is nothing more powerful than learning from and sharing space with people with lived, learned and recovery experiences, self-awareness, and professional application. Dr. Dawn Emerick confronted her childhood and adult trauma after witnessing how her own unresolved trauma was affecting the way she engaged her children, family, friends, peers, co-workers and teams- especially when her childhood trauma was triggered daily by a bully boss. The combination of Dawn’s childhood and adult trauma, healing, astute self-awareness, her 30 years of non-profit and county/city government executive leadership experience and stories from the field, creates the ultimate learning, coaching and mentoring environment.

Dawn is a trauma-informed leader, TEDx speaker, trainer, coach, and podcaster. You can now add a?LinkedIn Learning Instructor?to her portfolio. Visit?Dawn Emerick Consulting?for more information on upcoming?trauma-informed leadership+ workplace training.?