Trauma-Informed Leadership 101: Being a Better Small Business Leader

Trauma-informed leadership isn't just a compassionate approach; it's a powerful strategy for small business growth. By recognizing and addressing the emotional well-being of your team, you create a resilient and engaged workforce. This leadership style fosters trust, reduces turnover, and enhances productivity, all of which are vital for a small business's success. Let’s explore how trauma-informed leadership can help you lead your small business to success.

What is Trauma-Informed Leadership? 

Trauma-informed leadership is an approach to management that recognizes and responds to the impact of trauma on individuals within a workplace. It involves understanding that past or current trauma can affect an employee's behavior, performance, and well-being. Justworks recently sat down with Dr. Nathilee Caldeira, founder of Let’s Talk Psychological Wellness to discuss how psychological trauma can manifest itself in both leadership and employees, as well as how employers who lead with trauma-informed leadership make a more resilient business. 

Dr. Caldeira notes that the main difference between leadership trauma and trauma-informed leadership is that leadership trauma focuses on the trauma experienced by the employer, while trauma-informed leadership is more about the organization taking steps and actions to create a compassionate culture. 

How Are Providing Resources Important in Trauma-Informed Leadership? 

In many larger organizations, employees usually aren’t aware of the resources available to them, or they may find that the HR systems in place are difficult to navigate because of bureaucratic hurdles. As Dr. Caldeira also explains, “Trauma-informed leadership understands having resources accessible in scope, scale, and specialty and at the speed that people in the organization may need is critical to enhancing resilience”. 

By being proactive in trauma-informed leadership, founders are able to anticipate and address employee needs before challenges escalate. By taking initiative, such as offering regular check-ins, providing resources and time for mental health support, offering healthcare and creating clear, open channels for communication, leaders can identify and mitigate potential issues early on.

How Does Trauma-Informed Leadership Help With Growth? 

Trauma-informed leadership helps small businesses grow by creating a work environment where employees feel safe, valued, and supported. This leadership approach acknowledges the emotional and psychological impacts that trauma can have on individuals, leading to a more compassionate and understanding workplace culture.

As Dr. Calderia further explains, “If an employee feels heard by their organization, it helps the employee feel comfortable, allowing them to be more resilient when the next traumatic event arises.” 

If you’re already a small business owner or thinking about opening your own business, you may want to explore our content about Becoming a Founder to understand how to best support your team. Justworks is here to help you provide exactly what your individual employees may need to succeed. Want to learn more about how we can help? Contact us today to get started.