Alicia Davis
So, Stacie, you know, trauma-informed leadership is a new topic that has come about because we had an organization come to us and say, you know, we really wanted something focused and supportive for our leaders and teams who are working in these trauma environments, and just having a little bit of a different conversation. And we thought we’d just share a little bit about that today, right?

Stacie Watson
Yeah. So you know, we talked about this a little bit as we were developing the curriculum a few weeks back, and you’ve now had the opportunity to facilitate the session. I think there’s going to be two parts, and you’ve done at least one of those parts. And so we thought it might be interesting to bring the topic back, and maybe you could share a little bit from that session about what resonated and some of the conversation that came up, because we work around so many organizations that are supporting people who have experienced trauma, and many of those staff members have experienced trauma themselves. So trauma is very present, I think, for many of our client organizations, and so we just are excited about this new topic. And I thought, you know, we thought it would be fun for you to maybe share a little bit about how that first session went?

Alicia Davis
Yeah, and you know what’s really interesting… I think the distinction you just made is really important. Stacie, is that this curriculum focuses on supporting the staff who are perhaps having their own reactions, whether it’s from their own life experience related to trauma, or whether it’s not exactly so much the secondary trauma, but more the primary trauma. And so, what’s really been coming up is how important it is to be able, both as an individual as well as a leader, to stay both curious and present, while also kind of finding that balance of, you know, we are here to do the work together, and so how can we have empathy? How can we maybe slow down a conversation a little bit? Ask a couple of questions, do a check-in, while not necessarily going down the rabbit hole of, you know, this is not about a therapeutic process. It’s about a check-in and then a “moving forward.”

Stacie Watson
Yeah, you know, we were just actually having a conversation before recording this video about this, and I was sort of asking the question: How do we think about accountability in this kind of perspective or approach? Because while we certainly want to bring awareness of how trauma matters in the work that we do as leaders, for ourselves as well as our staff, as well as, of course, the clients. It’s also, I think, an interesting conundrum for leaders sometimes, because there’s still a need to hold people accountable, and I’m wondering what you might say to that.

Alicia Davis
Yeah, you know, we had that conversation. We’ve had it multiple times, and it’s really, you know, you and I talk about this. We think about it as both AND…

Stacie Watson
Yeah, right.

Alicia Davis
So if I am, you know, in a place where I’m feeling a lot of grief or I’m feeling triggered by something that I just heard a client talk about because it relates to my own lived experience, it’s like, okay, maybe I have to take a few extra minutes, or I have to really get connection in some way. What it doesn’t mean is that I can just cancel all the rest of my clients for the day…

Stacie Watson
Right.

Alicia Davis
Right? So what it means is I have to be mindful and have those kinds of tools- the regulation, as well as the safety in my team- to be able to say, you know what, this was really hard. I need 10 minutes of just really kind of connection, talking it through, to help me ground and get present again, so that I can both, for myself, as the provider of care, but also caring for myself while I’m caring for the other, and continuing, right, to see those next clients. So it really is a very tender line to walk, and I think it’s really important to have these conversations in very safe spaces together, so that we can understand how we support ourselves and each other AND move the work and the support forward for the clients. It’s a very tender line to walk, and I think it’s really important to have these conversations in very safe spaces together so we understand how we support ourselves and each other.

Stacie Watson
It really is the “being” of leadership, as we often talk about.

Alicia Davis
It really is, yeah. So if you know, if anybody’s interested and wants to learn more, reach out to us at info@tlstransforms.com. I’m Alicia Davis…

Stacie Watson
I’m Stacie Watson…

Alicia Davis
And thank you so much.

Stacie Watson
Thank you.