Most leadership content teaches what to do. The work that runs underneath all of it is the state your body is in when you walk into the room. Your nervous system as a leader sets the ceiling for what your team can access: their creativity, their honesty, their willingness to take risks. Three practices a trauma-informed leader can start using this week to lift the ceiling.

Some of the most reliable people on your team are running on something that looks like engagement and feels closer to a trauma response. Here is what to look for, plus four things any manager can do this quarter.

It is 9:14 on a Tuesday morning. The report is not in your inbox. The employee has gone radio silent. The next ten minutes are where trauma-informed leadership actually lives.