When you experience something that elicits an emotional response at work, you respond according to the extent of the emotional burdens you carry.

Our burdens come from our past traumas combined with the real-time heart-wrenching news–on repeat–we are moving through right now in our country. 

And our places of work can also be ground zero for some really painful experiences or where we relive difficult life experiences. 

When we can connect the impact of our traumatic and difficult life experiences to how we lead, that builds the foundation for a trauma-informed culture. 

It also moves us out of an individualistic lens to a collective approach to healing and change.

And when we can name the traumatic experiences that happen in our places of work without retribution and move to accountability and repair, this also builds a trauma informed culture that moves us beyond pathologizing pain and struggle to normalizing. Even healing it.

When the whole community is moving forward together guided by principles that foster safe and brave spaces, this is where we can cultivate change individually and systemically.

My guest today has an approach to leading that supports workplaces to be thriving businesses that build the kinds of communities that heal and push back on the power over approaches so many of us were raised in and trained in.

Pamela Slim is an award-winner author, speaker and business coach who works with small business owners ready to scale their businesses and IP. She is the author of Escape from Cubicle Nation, Body of Work, and The Widest Net. Pam and her husband Darryl co-founded the K’é Main Street Learning Lab in Mesa, Arizona, where they host scores of diverse community leaders and regular small business programming.

Listen to the full episode to hear:

• What her years as a management consultant taught Pamela about over-identifying ourselves with the organizations we work for
• Why leaders need to cultivate cultures of safety, trust, and openness in order to respect their employees’ needs
• How leaders can engage their employees in transparent, participatory decision-making
• Why an ecosystem approach to entrepreneurship is more sustainable than empire-building

Learn more about Pamela Slim:

• PamelaSlim.com
• K’é Main Street Learning Lab
• Twitter: @pamslim
• Facebook: @pamela.slim
• Connect with Pamela on LinkedIn
• Instagram: @pamslim

Learn more about Rebecca:

• rebeccaching.com
• Work With Rebecca
• Sign up for the weekly Unburdened Leader Email

Resources:

• What is Trauma-Informed Care?
• Lizzo - Grrrls
• Sanditon
• Moonstruck