5 ways to transform trauma into a growth opportunity

Is your company in chaos? Time to check your core values | practice | 5 ways to transform trauma into a growth opportunity

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December 21, 2023

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Leading the Way

Is your company in chaos? Time to check your core values

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Shared values are the glue keeping your organization together, write RHR executives Dan Russell and Cristina Jimenez, but they must be shared at every level, which can only be accomplished when leaders constantly communicate those values, model them and extend them across all teams. "Leaders who break down silos across functions and set consistent expectations around behavior even outside the team are the most successful," they write.

Full Story: Chief Executive (12/20)

Put it into practice: Get a handle on how effective you've been at creating shared values across your organization by conducting a 360-degree feedback program focusing on team culture, write Russell and Jimenez. "There is an opportunity here -- for leaders to get better at creating shared values for those outside the senior leadership group and to create that all-important shared sense of purpose within their teams."

SmartBrief on Leadership

5 ways to transform trauma into a growth opportunity

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Finding meaning in adversity or suffering can help develop "post-traumatic growth," which, combined with a growth mindset, can lead to healing and a new sense of purpose and connection to others, writes LaRae Quy. Embracing spiritual practices such as meditation, mindfulness or yoga and finding a supportive community can also transform trauma into strength, Quy notes.

Full Story: SmartBrief/Leadership (12/20)

Put it into practice: Tap into "post-traumatic growth" by accepting that the traumatic event took place, acknowledging your feelings about it and focusing on the opportunities created by the situation instead of its adverse effects, Quy recommends. "Research shows that when you think of stress produced by trauma as having a function, you pay more attention to positive stimuli around you."

Read more from LaRae Quy on SmartBrief on Leadership

Smarter Communication

Before using generative AI, learn to speak its language

When using large language models such as ChatGPT or other generative AI, you'll need to provide as much context as possible along with relevant examples, then ask the bot to summarize the information before requesting insights, writes Jaime Teevan, chief scientist at Microsoft. If you're genuinely stuck, Teevan suggests asking the LLM to tell you how to improve your questions and prompts.

Full Story: Harvard Business Review (tiered subscription model) (12/15)

Put it into practice: Some advanced AI systems have a library of prompts to help you out, Teevan notes, and it's a good habit to keep a list of your own prompts that produce the best results. Research, Teevan writes, has "shown that a good prompt can often provide even more benefit than improving the underlying model."

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In Their Own Words

Former Cargill CEO on 2 traits of good leadership

Good leaders are careful to surround themselves with others who will challenge them to think deeply before acting, but also have a sense of "constructive impatience," says David MacLennan, the former CEO of Cargill. "You want to find that balance between taking the time to get the best information, being a good listener, taking everything into account before you make a major decision, and also moving quickly, because the world moves very quickly," MacLennan says.

Full Story: LinkedIn (12/14)

Daily Diversion

Rudolph, with your eyes so blue?

(Pixabay)

As in other animals, tapetum lucidum tissue in reindeer eyes glows a golden color when illuminated in summer. But the light-enhancing tissue glows bright blue when illuminated in winter, possibly as an evolutionary advantage for spotting lichens and other favored foods during snowy, dark Arctic winters, according to a study in i-Perception.

Full Story: The Washington Post (12/18)

SmartBreak: Question of the Day

On the day of the Northern Hemisphere's winter solstice, you'll be able to see a rare full moon if you're alive in what year?

About The Editor

Candace Chellew

Chellew

A line from one of my favorite Indigo Girls tunes goes: "What was once your pain will be your home."

That's the spirit of LaRae Quy's advice to learn how to turn trauma into a growth experience. When distressing things happen in our lives, we have a choice: We can allow them to overwhelm us, or we can look for the lesson and the opportunity for expansion that it brings.

Quy admits this is not an easy process. "Growth after trauma requires resilience, but the true magic happens when you reflect, grow and shift your perspective. According to experts, post-traumatic growth is a process of change -- not the outcome of change."

How have you used challenges and upsetting events to foster growth? Tell me about it.

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