Trauma-Informed Leader

Lisa Jones Christensen, Ph.D. is an organizational psychologist, management professor at the Marriott School of Business at Brigham Young University, and executive coach. Before academia, she spent a decade in Silicon Valley and co-founded an international nonprofit serving entrepreneurs in seven countries. Her research focuses on what stress and trauma do to people's capacity to think, speak, and perform under pressure, and what leaders can do about it. She brings to that research both organizational science and firsthand knowledge of high-performing stress responses: the overwork, hyper-productivity, and over-accommodation that can silence voice and constrain performance as surely as withdrawal does. She is a seventeen-year cancer survivor and the mother of one son.

• Introduction 1. A Book About Trauma That Barely Discusses Trauma 2. The Nervous System Is in Charge and That Means You Have Options 3. What "Trauma-Informed" Really Means at Work (and Why Leaders Care) 4. Safety Is Necessary but Not Sufficient: What Leaders Miss Under Pressure 5. Awareness: Detect Signals Before Harm Accumulates 6. Flexibility: A Characteristic of People and Systems 7. Empathy Under Pressure: How Leaders Lower Threat Without Lowering Standards 8. Regulation: How Not to Lose the Room 9. Rupture, Repair, and Leadership Under Pressure 10. Launching SAFER Safely: A Quick Start Guide and Encouragement

“Trauma-Informed Leadership is a deeply researched, serious, thoughtful work that brings trauma and brain science into the practice of everyday leadership. With compelling stories and clear, actionable suggestions, Lisa shows how trauma touches many of us—not only those visibly incapacitated by it—and offers an essential guide for leaders committed to creating healthier, more humane workplaces.” Amy C. Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management, Harvard Business School. Author, Right Kind of Wrong: The Science of Failing Well (2023)“Essentialism is about doing what matters most. But when people are overwhelmed or shut down, even the essential becomes difficult. Lisa shows what gets in the way and how leaders can restore the capacity required to do what truly matters.” Greg McKeown, New York Times bestselling author of Essentialism and Effortless"For decades I watched talented people go quiet, go brittle, or go elsewhere, and leaders couldn't explain why. Lisa can. The SAFER framework translates hard neuroscience into habits any leader can practice starting Monday. Clear, grounded, and deeply useful, this is the leadership book that finally explains what's happening under the surface when pressure rises." Susan J. Schmitt Winchester, former CHRO, Applied Materials and Rockwell Automation. Author of Healing at Work“Finally! Lisa explains how leaders can help others build, and use, their voice. For anyone who has watched talented people go quiet in rooms where they should be heard, this book finally explains why and what to do about it." Alison Fragale, Ph.D., international bestselling author of Likeable Badass"Stress narrows what people can access — their judgment, their voice, their ability to repair. Lisa shows leaders how to recognize that narrowing and how to build the conditions where capacity comes back. This is practical, science-grounded, and long overdue." Dorie Clark, Wall Street Journal & USA Today bestselling author of The Long Game“Lisa's book examines something most leadership development ignores: the real effect of pressure on the people being led. The research is rigorous, the framework is practical, and the argument compelling. This is serious work on a problem that has gone unaddressed for too long.” Kim B. Clark, former Dean, Harvard Business School; co-author of Leading Through“Lisa expands an essential and long-overdue conversation about what really shapes leadership behavior under pressure. Drawing on neuroscience, organizational research, and lived leadership realities, she shows how the condition of our nervous systems, not just our intentions, determines whether trust, voice, and sound judgment remain available when stakes rise. Her work beautifully adds to emerging research on how our formative experiences shape the leadership habits we carry into adulthood. Leaders who want to understand why people act the way they do, and how to create conditions where people can stay fully “online” will find this book both illuminating and practical.” Ron Carucci, Managing Partner, Navalent, Bestselling author of Rising to Power and To Be Honest“The Trauma-Informed Leader translates hard neuroscience into habits any leader can use to create a safer, more effective workplace. If your goal is to get real performance from real people, this timely book can improve your odds of success." Kyle Austin Young, author of Success Is a Numbers Game“Dr. Christensen finally takes leaders where few have dared to go. This book acknowledges the stark physics of human performance—that sustained workplace stress inevitably saps results—but refuses to make the fools choice between soft accommodation and stern accountability. The SAFER model of leadership is a brilliant new framework for building human systems that produce enduringly remarkable results.” Joseph Grenny, co-author Crucial Conversations, Influence, and co-founder The Other Side Academy“Organizations don’t fail for lack of ideas—they fail because people don’t speak them. Lisa’s book reveals how stress and trauma quietly shut down intellectual honesty and employee voice, undermining innovation and performance. A must-read for leaders who want to build environments where people speak up, challenge assumptions, and drive real results.” Jeff Dyer, Ph.D., Strategy Professor and bestselling author of The Innovator’s DNA and The Innovator’s Method“One of the hardest truths about leadership development is that what we teach often disappears when pressure rises. Lisa Jones Christensen’s book explains why - not as a development failure, but as biology - and offers a framework leaders can actually rely on when the stakes are high. Her solution is honest, useful and worth reading.” Lisa Wardle, Director of Executive Leadership and Development, Nike“Lisa’s book suggests that inevitable trauma need not be debilitating is relevant for all leaders. Leaders who understand and practice her S-A-F-E-R method will help employees recognize and overcome trauma. Her combination of research, stories, and actions enable every leader to turn trauma into growth.” Dave Ulrich, Rensis Likert Professor Emeritus, University of Michigan; Partner, The RBL Group “Lisa clarifies an essential reality: the stress and emotional exhaustion that emerges from trauma is increasingly a function of ongoing organizational life. And this stress/exhaustion reduces everyone’s capacity – employees and organizational leaders alike – to exercise good judgment and, in particular, to act on their values when pressures arise. Individuals already working at a pace and under conditions that tax their ability and their emotional resilience often feel their options are more limited than they need be –or should be. Lisa provides a set of tangible guidelines and -- in true “Giving Voice To Values” fashion -- exemplar scripts and tools to enable leaders to bring the emotion down, to create a greater sense of safety and enhance everyone’s ability to recognize and effectively address challenges – especially values-related challenges in the workplace.” Mary C. Gentile, Ph.D., Author, Giving Voice To Values: How To Speak Your Mind When You Know What’s Right “In my work with trauma and human behavior, I’ve seen how we often misinterpret team member silence, rigidity, or disengagement as character issues rather than nervous system responses. Lisa brings both clarity and practicality to this gap. The Trauma-Informed Leader gives leaders the tools to expand team capacity, sustain performance, and keep people from shutting down under pressure.” Chris Yadon, MPA, Managing Director, Saprea