A Call for Trauma-Informed Leadership
Leadership isn’t about titles or productivity: it’s about how you show up in everyday moments, especially in uncertain and turbulent times. In this episode, host Katie Kurtz explores what it really means to lead right now, offering a grounded look at how our nervous systems are responding, both individually and collectively, and how we can move from reaction to intentional, responsive leadership. As stress, burnout, and disconnection rise, trauma-informed leadership becomes essential for creating connection, stability, and trust in our lives and communities. This episode is a rallying call to lead with greater awareness, humanity, and accountability and to choose a different kind of leadership.
Resources mentioned:
Show Transcript:
Katie Kurtz (she/her): [00:00:00] Hi everyone and welcome back to a Trauma-Informed Future podcast. I'm your host, Katie Kurtz.
Deep, heavy sigh.
Let's be honest. Things are wild heavy. The horrors persist. Sometimes we can think of trauma as a too much, too fast, too soon, an overwhelm to our nervous system, or the collective nervous system, or culture's nervous system.
And that's what's happening right now. It's fast, it's furious, it's uncertain, it's loud. I just wanna name and acknowledge that what we're experiencing right now is compounded chronic stress from the historical trauma of the pandemic, which is still happening, political unrest, political violence dehumanizing policies. There's just one layer after another, right?
The compounded stressors and the acute nature that create this chronic deluge of stress that manifests into personal trauma, collective, cultural trauma. And we know trauma is on a [00:01:00] spectrum, right? Stress, burnout, moral injury, trauma, and resilience are all on this continuum.
And so that feeling that you may have. Maybe it's that raginess or that defensiveness, that's your nervous system, your body being absolutely brilliant. Let's first and foremost remember that our bodies are brilliant. The very nature and function of our nervous system is to fluctuate between dysregulation and regulation.
There's no good, bad, right or wrong, they are natural human functions of our nervous system. That is its job to regulate and dysregulate all day, every day. When we're activated, when something triggers dysregulation we're perceiving something as a threat.
Like we need to armor up. We need to protect. Our nervous system sends a message through our body that says, Hey, we're not safe. We need to survive and protect. And then we have these external, internal, reactions [00:02:00] and that may look like a hyper arousal, that what we, usually term as fight res fight response, meaning I am guarded.
You know, the bear is coming, bear being whatever horror you wanna choose, is coming at me. I need to survive and protect. And so, yeah, it might actually look like rage or fighting. It may look like guardedness, defensiveness, really that distancing to have that guard up to protect, you may feeling more of that flight response.
So the bear again, pick your horror is coming at you. What do you do? I need to survive and protect. I'm gonna flyaway flee That may literally look like distancing. A lot of times it's gonna like anxiety, it's gonna look like, keeping busy doing things that kind of distract.
If the bear is coming at you may become hypo aroused, which is that freeze response, and that's gonna look like sometimes like depression, dissociation, just numbing out, just [00:03:00] kind of really down and lethargic.
All are very human responses. Our bodies are brilliant. They are doing its job. Our lives , are lifeing, right? Our bodies are containers. Here's my giant water bottle. It doesn't even fit in the screen.
If our container our bodies, our lives are already at the top and another drop goes in. It may cause us to overflow, and that's where we may experience the impact of, burnout, moral injury, trauma. If we have more capacity though. And another drop goes in it. It impacts us, but it doesn't impact as much if we don't have existing traumas and that ability to move and fluctuate from regulation dysregulation that is, the goal of an, quote unquote of a healthy nervous system and the very function, I would say, of a nervous system, but also that's where resilience is.
And so, you know, there's the crash course on nervous, [00:04:00] the nervous system that no one asked for, but I wanted just to start there to a acknowledge however you're feeling, acknowledge it, validate it.
We're all feeling something right now because of America acting exactly how America has always acted, right? This isn't new. The depths and the roots of what is happening today in 2026, the second week of 2026. This isn't new. It's a manifestation of something very old, very much that has been since the start of the colonization of this country.
And also we're seeing it, we're seeing it constantly on our phones and our news feeds, and we're feeling the impact. Many of us are feeling the impact for the first time, whereas other people of culture have been feeling this for generations.
And so wherever you're at, again, just practicing that pause and acknowledging, huh, deep [00:05:00] breath. , Where are you? , What's going on? If you're like me, you may be fluctuating between all three of those nervous system states, depending on the trigger activation.
I wanted to start there because we cannot, I repeat. Cannot keep going about our lives day to day as if this shit isn't happening. I'm sorry. The denial, I get it. The wanting to, you know, stay positive, all of that. Like, you don't do politics. Well babe, it's happening. So like , that doesn't work anymore. We are in a politically violent state right now and most people are exhausted, reactive, numb, or just trying to get through the day.
And so you may not wanna look, you may want to ignore, deny, whatever, but the rest of [00:06:00] us are looking at it, we're feeling it. Many people are experiencing it firsthand. And so I wanna invite us. Because I know if you're listening to this podcast, you're likely not one of those people. You're in it, you're feeling it, you're rallying you're reckoning.
The question I can't stop asking is, how are we choosing to lead our lives in the middle of all of this? Not your job title, not your resume, not the pay grade, your nervous system, your relationships, your choices. You hear me say this a lot, that this approach isn't complicated, but it's a choice. And this conversation today isn't about leadership or leaders from that very old, boring corporate view of leadership. This is for humans and how are we choosing to show up in lead our lives every day.[00:07:00]
We have been sold this idea of leadership as output, performance control, authority, whatever, but we know that actual leadership are in the everyday moments, , how we speak, how we respond, how we treat people, how we repair when we mess up. And right now we are being asked to show up amidst a deluge of horrific and chronic stress, shared in collective trauma and on global and collective levels, cultural levels, and then community and personal levels.
So I want us to pause here and really think , ask ourselves, how am I leading every day? How am I choosing to show up and lead every day? My life, my family, maybe my business,, my team, my work, in my community, how am I [00:08:00] choosing to lead my body through these moments?
When we ask this question, we're shifting from, again, not taking the responsibility off the systems that have created the conditions for this to happen, but we are actually utilizing our autonomy and agency to say, how am I choosing in this moment to show up and lead with what's within my control?
How am I moving my body about this world? And for many people, especially people who hold historically or intentionally marginalized identities and bodies, that is going to look vastly different than me or people who look like me. And so I just wanna always name and acknowledge and bring us back to the origins of trauma-informed care, which again, quick reminder, this approach exists because of, and continues to exist because of survivors activists and advocates who were and have been and continue to be at the helm. This is rooted in social justice frameworks.[00:09:00]
We can't be trauma-informed and support ice. We can't be trauma-informed and support this administration. We cannot be trauma-informed and, not just support, but celebrate the existence of trans people.
Like it's not either or. We can't cherry pick and choose, who deserves this approach and who doesn't? It's all intersected.
When we think about this question, coming back to that question of how am I choosing to show up and lead my life, lead my body through these times? This is probably going to ask us to pause and consider these systems that , have and continued to create these conditions for unsafety, for harm, and for. Power over control, right? Because, we exist in capitalism first and foremost. And so that has caused us and continues to tell us to push through, to numb out, to speed up, to stay productive. And that has led us to what? Burnout? Compassion fatigue, disconnection, distrust, [00:10:00] loneliness, isolation.
And then the narrative turns into, well, that's on you. That's you. Not a personal failure, that's your mental health that, we have our shit together, but , that's on you. It's a system that it has not only told us, but it has been designed to override our humanity. And so we're up against these big systems, but we also have choice, and that comes back to a key component and principle of trauma-Informed leadership is agency and autonomy.
How do we choose with what we have and what's within our control and our lens of influence- how do we choose to show up and lead our lives and bodies through this time? And it is a choice and it's not often an easy choice. And for those of us who hold positionality and power and identities where we have [00:11:00] a little more control than others, we really need to reckon with this choice right now.
What can we say that is a little safer for us to say than our counterparts who may be living in bodies of culture? What can we do? Where can we put our bodies in places and spaces and moments where it may not be safe or quite harmful or dangerous than other people who don't hold the same positionality, power and identities that we do?
And this all comes back to again when we think about trauma-informed leadership, when we choose this approach, this isn't about principles, right? Because you can have all the principles in the world, right? Safety, trustworthiness, all of that. But like no one has ever felt safe by you saying, I believe safety is important.
No one has ever felt safe with intention. Principles need to be put into practice, and that's what trauma informed leadership is. That's what I specialize in. That's what this podcast [00:12:00] is about. It's literally what I do every day. And trauma informed leadership, true real trust centered leadership is a choice.
It's a choice to counteract that too much, too fast, too soon to slow down to practice that pause. It's a choice to when we pause to choose, how do we respond rather than react? How do we nurture our nervous system so we can co-regulate with one another? We know our most powerful co regulators are people, but don't forget that we also co-regulate with plants, nature, parks, nature, pets, animals, poetry, art, movement, dance.
They're all co-regulators..
How do we choose to lead in a way that doesn't cost us our health, our mental health, our relationship, our values? And again, how do we show up imperfectly consistent in this, with those small everyday moments? Not these big, loud grand [00:13:00] gestures. 'cause that's what true leadership is.
Trauma informed leadership shows up when we pause, maybe before we snap or get irritated or impatient with someone we love. It, happens when we admit we don't have the answer by simply saying, you know, I don't, I don't really know. Trauma informed leadership happens when we decide, instead of rushing through to the next thing, we pause and check in, like, how's everyone arriving here today?
And give people the chance to be seen, heard, and respected. Trauma-informed leadership is when we share our power with other people in decision making instead of just doing it ourselves. Trauma-informed leadership is saying, you know, I was wrong. And this is what I actually meant. And taking ownership of mistakes rather than armoring up and defending.
Yes, they seem small. Yes, they may see sim seem simple, but when we shift and reorient through a trauma-informed lens, this can change everything. Those are trust points. And when we build trust, we're creating conditions for safety, not just [00:14:00] physical safety, but psychological, social, moral, financial and cultural safety.
And that continues to sustain conditions for trust and safety to grow. Whether that is, again, personally, professionally, we're talking about humans leading their lives, which means personally, professionally, communally, whatever it may be.
And so right now we need trauma informed leaders turbulent times call for trauma informed leaders, not because trauma informed care is an intervention, not because trauma-informed leadership is something we do after or during when times are tough.
Trauma informed leadership is prevention. It's intervention, it's everything. It's the lens through which we lead our lives. So when it comes to trauma informed leadership, especially right now when we are experiencing that too much, too fast, too soon, that overwhelm to our personal and collective nervous system, [00:15:00] we are needed.
We are needed to counteract what is happening. We are needed to counteract what is happening, not just globally, but in the everyday moments to show people that, their humanity can be affirmed within our presence to show people that we are not gonna contribute to these conditions of harm. To show people, yeah, I value these things and let me show you through my behaviors, through my everyday actions.
Every single one of us that chooses to show up and lead our lives and our bodies in a trauma-informed manner, not perfectly, and as consistent as possible. But you know, I'm in this work, I lead this work out loud, and I am , far from perfect, but I still show up and choose it. We are familiar with the long game of this approach, and now we are being called and beckoned to, [00:16:00] to stand even firmer in this commitment.
Not someday, not when I take another training or practice. Like we need it. We need you now. To imperfectly start to be imperfectly consistent and imperfectly practice this.
And when you do show up and you choose this approach in any interaction you have, people , might be taken aback because it is so counter-cultural, especially right now when we were in the thick of it.
But you are going to be a mirror. You're modeling what is possible. You're modeling what hope can be found during these times of constant dysregulation and activation. And you can be a co-regulation for others even if you don't know them.. Being a presence can be possible, and so a reminder that. Co regulation doesn't mean [00:17:00] calm and zen and you're just, living through these times completely grounded.
No, no. Regulation equals neutrality. And so even if it's a moment where you're, I i'm firm in my ground. I'm neutral. I'm good. I can hold space for you. I can bear witness to you. I can be present for you. Those are those moments, those pockets of presence and pause. And that's what we can do.
And we can do it immediately. You can do it while you're listening to this. You can do it right after I'm doing it for you right now, where I'm showing up. I am grounded. I am present. Am I mad as hell? Fuck yeah. Am I raging inside all the time. Am I anxious , and fidgety? Of course. I mean, that's like baseline for me as a high functioning, anxious person.
Am I numbing out? Am I just like bummed out? Oh, yeah. Ask me at nine o'clock tonight when I'm doing, as I scroll through, you know, [00:18:00] TikTok looking at Heated Rivalry memes and things like that, right? When we find ourselves in those moments. It's not like we need to snap right out of them. We need to discharge that activation.
So for hyper aroused, we need to release it and then come ground, come down to ground in that neutrality. And if we're numb or frozen, we need to release it. So, you know, dive into that escapism a little bit. Don't get stuck there. rest and then come up, release, shake, move, do something to come back to neutrality.
And if it's really hard to do that, find other people, places, pets, poetry, meaning art, to help you get there.
I wanna just remind us and when I remind us, I'm reminding myself too 'cause I am in it always with you, that this moment, these moments are calling for trauma informed leadership. And no one's gonna deem you a trauma informed leader.
There is no pay grade, there is no , [00:19:00] badge of honor. There is no regulatory board that says these are the people we should be looking at. We will know them through their actions. We will know them when they show up in the principles and then the practice. And that's you.
That's me, that's you. That's all of us, as long as we choose it. So I hope as you move through this time, whether you're listening to this now or later, whenever, is to take a moment, first to practice that pause, be present, tune in to yourself, notice what's happening in your nervous system. If it's hard or not possible or new, find others to support you in that.
We're not, we can't wait for things to calm down 'cause like again. I am speaking from my point of view in America, like this is how we've always been. It's just, again, we haven't reckoned with the history of this country and the supremacy culture of this [00:20:00] country.
And so wherever you're at, , this isn't new, but this, we're meeting ourselves in the moments we're meeting ourselves in is, and so how do we nurture our nervous system but continue to show up? Again, dysregulation isn't good, bad, right or wrong. It's necessary. It's a part of our everyday nervous system function, and our bodies are brilliant.
So however you're responding isn't a failure of you. It's not you. It's the systems. It's fascism, it's authoritarianism. . Right now, what will help you choose this approach in the moment? I have a few, things that can help you kind of recommit or feel supported or be with other people actively choosing this approach.
First and foremost, you can join me for a workshop with the Integrate Network. Integrate is a national trauma informed network. I'm doing a workshop on January 30th, 2026. If you're listening to this during that time, , on trust as a behavior, everything will be in the show notes.
I have a [00:21:00] free guide on us how to talk through these times when times are turbulent, when things are happening at a rapid pace, when it's crisis after crisis, like you still have to do the thing, right? You have to do the thing, you have to do the job, do whatever. But how do you talk? How do you acknowledge it without denying it?
You wanna do or say something, but you don't know what to do. But there's a free guide to create some simple steps. I use them each and every day. That's also in the show notes.
And if you're ready to like really commit you, you want to really have something to lean on, a framework, a model that advances that leadership so that choice becomes easy, that choice becomes confident.
That choice becomes embodied. That it's just how you choose to lead your life. Open enrollment is always happening for TRUST™ Works. The training certification I have on these, this advanced trauma-informed leadership model, which goes beyond any traditional kind of training. It goes into a specific training, but then practice. So again, like you can take all the trainings in the world, but none of it matters unless you're [00:22:00] practicing it. So we have a community of practice model built in coaching support community, that is always open for enrollment, and you can always join us and you receive that certification.
And hopefully a little more ease and confidence in showing up as a trauma informed leader and that signal to others like, yeah, I take this seriously, and here's how.
Those are just some options. We have a great lineup of guests this season on the podcast. Again, hearing from people in a who are leading this approach out loud in their lives, in their field.
How are we meet ourselves in this moment and how do we continue to show up? As always, I'm in this with you and, you know, share this with someone who may need to hear it too. And if you're feeling, isolated or alone, like you're the only one choosing this right now, reach out and connect social media wherever send me an email. I'm always happy to, remind you're not alone in this work.
And so with that being said, remember there are thousands and millions of us choosing this approach [00:23:00] every day across the world. And so we are building that groundswell every single time we choose it. So in this with you always, and take good care.
