A topic I find myself discussing a lot lately is institutional betrayal. In times of crisis, we look to our leaders to support and protect us. When instead they communicate inconsistently (or not at all) or take actions that we fear will hurt us or those we care about, that creates a breach of trust that can take a long time to mend.
That’s why the way we lead right now is so important. In a normal year, there may one or two people on your team who are going through a personal crisis of some kind. Right now, it’s everyone. As we face the pandemic, racial injustice, political upheaval, and economic uncertainty, trauma is the air we breathe here in the 2020s. If we don’t show up well for our people now, it’s going to affect our organizations for years to come. See the video below for a short explanation of institutional betrayal.