Diana Hendel, Pharm.D, and Mark Goulston, M.D., are the authors of “Trauma to Triumph: A Roadmap for Leading Through Disruption and Thriving on the Other Side” and “Why Cope When You Can Heal?: How Healthcare Heroes of COVID-19 Can Recover from PTSD.” Hendel is an executive coach and leadership consultant, and former hospital CEO. Goulston is a board-certified psychiatrist, former assistant clinical professor of psychiatry at UCLA-NPI, and a former FBI and police hostage negotiation trainer.

Have you noticed your colleagues and employees seem a little stressed lately? It’s understandable: The pressures we face and the hurdles we must jump are quite stressful. Yet the truth is far more worrisome: There’s a good chance your company has moved past stress and into trauma territory.

Yes, COVID-19 was a big part of it. The pandemic disrupted every industry and changed our lives forever. But also factor in the economic and social turmoil of the past year. And consider that for decades we’ve been battered by an onslaught of tech-driven shake-ups and other challenges.

Any of these changes and crises by themselves would be tough to deal with. But add them all together — and factor in the frequency, intensity and duration that characterizes them — and you have a “perfect storm” for trauma.

Stress and trauma must be treated differently. Stress shakes our balance and is unpleasant to experience, but we’re able to power through it, build resilience and go on with our lives. Trauma causes us to act from a place of fear. We go into survival mode and get caught up in the “fight, flight or freeze” response. It changes how we see the world — and it’s not something companies or workers can cope with long-term.

Unprocessed trauma is dangerous for organizations. It causes individual employees and leaders to act in destructive ways. Companywide, it compromises your structures, systems and values. This is why it’s important to “name, claim and frame” trauma. It’s the most effective way to fix what’s wrong now and prepare to deal with traumatizing events.

Luckily there are some tactics to help leaders create stability in the midst of chaos, move productively through a traumatic event and come out even stronger on the other side.

Recognize the Types of Trauma

Trauma doesn’t always look like “shock and awe.” It can also be a “boiling frog” scenario. Sometimes trauma is ongoing and cumulative. For example, it may take the form of sexual harassment, racism or some other type of discrimination. When trauma is not connected to a single event, many of us may not even realize we’re experiencing its effects. In these kinds of scenarios, where the trauma is chronic, the organization is like the proverbial frog in the cooking pot. You know the story: At first the frog is sitting in lukewarm water. Over time, the heat slowly intensifies until, finally, it is at the boiling point, and the frog is in serious trouble.

Many leaders think trauma doesn’t apply to them because there’s not a single dramatic event. But trauma can happen in a variety of ways, all of them destructive.

Learn to recognize these red flags. When people go into “fight, flight or freeze” mode, they may respond differently. Some people might become hostile, belligerent, aggressive or otherwise “difficult” — often seemingly without adequate cause. Others might cling to their “competence zone,” blindly doing what they’ve always done even though it no longer works. People dig in and resist change. Or they may insist they are “fine,” even when it is clear they are struggling.

Meanwhile, leaders may behave in distinctively un-leaderly ways as well. They might hide out in their office instead of jumping into action, or make rash, knee-jerk decisions when they were previously known for level-headed steadiness.

Certain “common threads” define traumatized organizations. Blaming and finger-pointing ensue, and often, people divide into opposing camps and the workforce rapidly polarizes. Opposing views can be taken to the extreme, and rifts can divide an organization.

Because it isn’t being addressed, people continue to struggle, and the ongoing, perhaps deepening, division/polarization, blame, shame and guilt hurts the culture. All of this can damage collaboration, cooperation, cohesiveness and teamwork and erode their belief and trust in one another.

Fortunately, there are strategies for addressing and mitigating the impact trauma has on individuals — and on the culture of the organization. When leaders navigate trauma effectively, they can minimize risks to employees and to the organization, help people recover and heal, and position the organization to thrive in the future.

A Rapid Response Process enables you to spring into action when a crisis occurs. You might think of this as a “Code Blue.” It’s a standardized, pre-planned approach for dealing with disruption. Getting one in place helps everyone know exactly what to do so decisions can be made quickly, efficiently and with a focus on safety. Here are the components to focus on.

Gather your Rapid Response Team. Appoint people to this team before a crisis happens and make sure they know their respective roles. It should include all senior leaders and leaders of key functions such as operations/logistics, security, finance, HR, communications/PR, facilities, etc.

Allow the leader in charge to delegate. You need a central commander to manage response activities such as assigning personnel, deploying equipment, obtaining additional resources, etc.

Have the team report to the command center. This is a pre-determined location — whether physical or virtual — for monitoring and reacting to events. You should also select a code word that puts the process into action.

Gather relevant information. In a crisis it’s critical to centralize information. The goal is to organize and coordinate response activities, ensuring that the most pressing needs are met and that resources are properly allocated.

Promote a unifying message. It is vital to deliberately shape and disseminate a message of unity. Make sure your message is one of “we are all in it together.” This helps people transcend the impulse to split into factions.

In times of crisis, employees need frequent, real-time, transparent communication more than ever. The acronym VITAL will help you remember the tenets around communicating in the aftermath of trauma:

Visible. Leaders must be highly visible and take the lead in communication. Don’t hide behind a spokesperson. Communicate quickly and clearly to reduce ambiguity.

In it together. Double down on messages that connect to team building, camaraderie and purpose. Acknowledge people’s fears, worries and anxieties as normal.

Transparent. Align leadership in how they see the external environment and make sure everyone agrees on what “success” looks like. Don’t create voids with silence, and tackle rumors head-on. Don’t downplay, and share bad news the minute you have it.

Accessible. Use all modalities — video, email, intranet, text, town halls, etc. — to convey messages from the senior leader. Have a central repository/FAQ where people can get info. Establish a central number/site for employees to ask questions in between regular communication sessions.

Listening. This is the most important piece of the communication formula. Ask questions and leave room for inquiry. Resist the temptation to just listen for what you want to hear.

Also, a “both/and” approach can turn things around. In the best of times, businesses routinely struggle with dilemmas that can lead to polarization. People tend to have different ideas even in the best of times, but trauma can stoke and inflame them. Instead of approaching these issues with an either/or mentality, remember these are false choices, and organizations can, instead, leverage each side of these polarities with a both/and approach.

We live in a time of constant flux and chaos, and that will never change. Putting a solid framework into place to lead organizations through trauma is not just a good idea but, increasingly, a necessity. It’s the only way to successfully navigate the future. C&IT