Real Human Performance

What an honor to keynote the Ohio Trauma-Informed Care Summit pre-conference for HR professionals.

I spent the day with leaders (499 years of combined experience!) who carry the responsibility of balancing compliance, policy, workforce wellbeing, and human development. While many organizations have implemented trauma-informed care initiatives, our conversation focused on a deeper question:

How do we create systems that don’t just talk about trauma-informed care, but truly embody it?

We explored what it means to build workplace cultures grounded in safety, predictability, agency and trust...not only for employees, but for the leaders responsible for supporting them.

One of the most important reminders of the day: Trauma-informed care begins with the caregiver, helper, supervisor, and leader.

We cannot sustainably care for organizations, teams, and communities if we are disconnected from our own needs, energy, and nervous system health.

Empathy and sensitivity are human superpowers. Without boundaries and energetic hygiene, it is a fast pathway to overwhelm and burnout.

What do you do to refresh yourself?

We’ll go first… water! 💦 Showers, rivers, lakes, oceans, pools, no matter. For an extra reset and remineralization: epsom salt baths.