Adina Dinu

One of the most common questions I get when I talk to leaders is:  “Can you give me some clues on how to recognize signs of trauma in my team?” It’s a well-intended question. It comes from a natural desire to put theory into practice and start working on the problem—because that’s what leaders do. They fix problems. Except,  fixing this particular problem doesn’t start with the leader scanning for trauma in a team.  I cannot emphasize this enough: leaders cannot "spot" trauma in others at...

Trauma is the sum of all the changes we undergo in the aftermath of overwhelming, negative experiences that exceed our ability to cope. Adversity - particularly when it's chronic and experienced at an early age - can leave a lasting imprint on us, modifying how our minds and bodies work. The changes in our patterns of thought, feeling and behaviour as a result of adversity are often called traumatic adaptations . Constant hypervigilance, emotional disconnect, reluctance to trust, or pulling...

Trauma. The word alone makes people twitch. Few people can talk about trauma without an uncomfortable look on their face. And I don’t blame them! Merriam Webster defines trauma as "a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury"   or - and this is perhaps even worse - "an emotional upset". That is inaccurate and misleading. There’s so much we’ve learned about trauma in the last 10-15 years, but most of it hasn’t made it into...