Podcasters: Matt Bennett, Curt Mower, & Dr. Jerry Yager

In this week’s episode Matt, Curt, and Jerry discuss the role of shared leadership, democracy, and collaborative decision making in trauma-informed workplaces. Shared leadership empowers people and brings out the best in all of us. Learn how to think and integrate this concept into your organization.

Discussion Questions:

1. How do you currently practice shared leadership?
2. Could you better structure current processes?
3. Where could you increase shared leadership?

Podcasters: Matthew Bennett, Curt Mower, and Jerry Yager

In this episode, we conclude our investigation on how programs and organizations integrate trauma-informed practices. The previous two episodes covered the first four steps of the process: training, finding a starting point, creating a team, and policy and practice review. The final step of implementation and measurement is explored in this episode.

Discussion Questions:

1. 1. How would integrating trauma-informed practices impact the outcomes you currently measure; which measures specifically?
   2. Do you feel your program or organization is ready for a trauma-informed transformation journey? If so, why? If not, what needs to happen?
   3. What data would show that you are being successful?

Start to Matt’s Blog Posts on Team Meetings and Dynamics

Podcasters: Matthew Bennett, Curt Mower, and Jerry Yager

We continue our investigation on how programs and organizations integrate trauma-informed practices. One crucial task in this journey entails a group of people reviewing policies, procedures, and approaches with a trauma-informed lens. In this episode, Matt, Curt, and Jerry examine this vital step and how to set it up for success.

Discussion Questions:

1. How could you develop a team to take on a review and improvement process?
2. What could you take form our discussion to improve teams in your organization?
3. What would you STOP, START, CONTINUE, or CHANGE to align practices with trauma-informed principles better?

The research on trauma leads us to our 80^th hour of podcasting. While all this research might seem overwhelming, our ability to integrate it into practices is critical to help those we serve. Continuing our trauma-informed workplace series, Matt, Curt, and Jerry discuss how to structure a trauma-informed transformation process.

Discussion Questions:

1. What strength could you build on to structure an effective process?
2. What challenges face you and your process?
3. Where is your starting point?

How do you become Trauma-Informed? As the paradigm continues to spread, more and more organizations are asking these crucial questions. Continuing our exploration into trauma-informed workplaces, Matt, Curt, and Jerry explore how to set up a change process to help organizations integrate trauma-informed principles into their DNA.

Discussion Questions:

1. Is your organization ready for a trauma transformation?
2. If so, how could you best structure the process for success?
3. If not, what would need to happen to get you ready?
4. How would taking this journey improve our organization and services?

Podcasters: Matt Bennett & Curt Mower

Due to high levels of stress, helping organizations are always at risk of falling into rigid and authoritative ways of thinking and acting. One manifestation of this rigidity is the overuse of punitive action where those in power punish those they have power over without stepping back to look at the larger issue. In this episode, Curt and Matt will explore this overreliance of punitive measures and alternative approaches trauma-informed organizations utilize to create healthier more engaging cultures.

Discussion Questions:

1. When have you seen people rely on punishment to force behavioral change? How effective was this approach?
2. What role do you think punishment or discipline has in trauma-informed organizations?
3. How do you see accountability differing from punishment and even discipline?

This Week’s Article

Podcasters: Matthew Bennett & Curt Mower

In this episode, Curt and Matt explore the differences between an organization that works with trauma and those in other industries. Because of our high rates of burnout, emotional labor, and vicarious and secondary trauma, our wellness is challenged every day in ways that workers in other industries do not confront. We explore the dangers inherent in helping people with trauma and how it informs our thinking about trauma-informed workplaces and leadership.

Discussion Questions:

• How do you define burnout? What effects have you seen it have on yourself or others?
• Have you seen or felt the impact of secondary or vicarious trauma or seen it on others?
• How does (or could) your organization successful support workers exposed to the psychological risks of helping?

Podcasters: Matthew Bennett, Curt Mower, & Dr. Jerry Yager

Pain, shame, self-doubt, suffering, depression, anxiety, anger are just a few of the emotions we encounter working with people struggling with trauma. We create safe places for people to express their emotions and heal from trauma. In this episode, Matt, Curt, and Jerry examine what makes us effective in our work by looking at emotional labor and emotional intelligence.

Discussion Questions:

1. What role does emotional labor play in whether you are successful in your position?
2. What role does emotional intelligence play in your success with those you serve and your teammates?
3. How could you assess and build emotional labor and emotional intelligence to improve job performance?

This week’s article: Emotional Intelligence Emotional Labor and Work Effectiveness in Service Organizations

Podcasters: Matt Bennett & Dr. Jerry Yager

In this episode, Matt and Jerry explore the role of supportive strategic supervision in trauma-informed workplaces. We share our experiences on both sides of the supervision relationship. What role did supervision we receive play in our professional development? How did we positive supervision as part of our efforts to run quality programs and organizations?

Discussion Questions

• What has your experiences (positive and negative) been with supervision?
• How might your organization/program benefit from supervision or rethinking your current approach?
• How do you see supervision’s role in a trauma-informed organization?

Podcasters: Matt Bennett, Curt Mower, & Dr. Jerry Yager

Do emotions play a role in organizational outcomes? Working with trauma, we pay special attention to emotional regulation, mood disorders, and other powerful emotions. It is obvious to see how emotions hinder many people’s ability to achieve positive life outcomes. In this episode, Matt, Curt, and Jerry examine the influences of emotions in organizations that try to help others achieve emotional and social health.

Discussion questions:

1. What are the top five emotions you experience in working with the people you serve?
2. What are the top five emotions you encounter in your co-workers and leadership?
3. How do these emotions impact you in negative or positive ways?

Article for this week’s post: Why Does Affect Matter