The Regulated Leader
The Most Overlooked Workplace Risk
Leaders today are expected to produce more with fewer resources while navigating challenging staff, constant change, competing priorities, and increasing pressure from executives, boards, funders, and other stakeholders. Grounded in the science and principles of trauma-informed leadership, The Regulated Leader explores how stress, adversity, and our lived experiences shape how we show up at work—how we respond to pressure, form relationships, build trust, navigate conflict, exercise authority, and hold ourselves and others accountable.
The workshop is built around three interconnected dimensions of trauma-informed leadership:
REGULATE SELF — What is happening within me?
Recognize how lived experiences, triggers, emotions, and stress responses influence how you lead. Develop the self-awareness and skills to move from reaction to intentional response.
REGULATE RELATIONSHIPS — What is happening between us?
Understand how people respond differently under pressure. Build trust, navigate challenging behaviors and conflict, communicate expectations, and balance empathy with accountability.
REGULATE SYSTEMS — What is happening around us?
Examine how culture, policies, workloads, resources, power, and organizational practices can increase or reduce unnecessary stress. Create conditions that support psychological safety, resilience, accountability, and sustainable performance.
Together, these three questions provide leaders with a practical way to pause, assess what is happening, and determine where their attention and action are most needed.
Dr. Dawn Emerick calls for a mental health revolution—starting with trauma-free leadership and psychologically safe workplaces.
Content Structure
- Three 90-minute live, virtual sessions (0.45 CEUs)
- Action learning experiences
- Reflect upon knowledge of concepts and personal experiences
- Interactive lectures
- Group discussions
- Team exercises
- Pre- and post- tests
Learning Objectives
Participants will be able to:
- Understand the science and core principles of trauma-informed leadership and workplaces.
- Examine how lived experiences influence leadership behavior, relationships, trust, conflict, and accountability.
- Apply the Regulated Leader framework to self, relationships, and organizational systems.
- Recognize and regulate personal stress responses, and reactive leadership behaviors.
- Navigate challenging and dysregulated staff, difficult conversations, resistance, and performance concerns while maintaining trust and accountability.
- Lead through pressure and change, including limited resources and competing expectations from employees, executives, boards, funders, and stakeholders.