Can Trauma-Informed Leadership Improve Performance? | Leadership Development | Angela Crockwell

What’s really holding you back from performing at your best? Your personality? Your habits? Or the way your brain responds to discomfort?This week on Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with Dr. Chris Friesen, sport and performance psychologist, neuropsychology expert and author of Achieve, to explore the psychology behind human performance, and why even highly capable people sometimes struggle to reach their potential.Drawing on his work with elite athletes, executives and entrepreneurs, Chris explains how our personality traits influence the way we think, lead and work, why our brains are wired to avoid discomfort, and how self-defeating beliefs can quietly sabotage our success.Together, they explore:Personality and performance: How the Big Five personality traits shape our strengths, challenges and behaviour at work.Motivation and self-sabotage: Why avoiding discomfort can be more powerful than chasing rewards.Goals versus values: How to stop endlessly chasing achievements and start making more intentional choices.The power of recovery: What workplaces can learn from elite athletes about rest, resilience and sustainable performance.Changing the way we think: How to recognize and challenge the beliefs that keep us stuck.Whether you're leading a team, building a business or looking to perform better in your own career, this conversation offers a fascinating look at the neuroscience and psychology behind what drives us — and what gets in our way.Learn more about Dr. Chris Friesen and his books : https://drchrisfriesen.com/Chapters00:00 Meet Dr. Chris Friesen, performance psychologist and author07:06 His sequence for performance: personality, values, goals, and obstacles10:45 How to identify values and separate them from goals15:41 Why values and goals need regular review18:47 The Big Five: personality as tendencies, strengths, and liabilities23:36 Changing habits without changing your core temperament29:04 How personality awareness builds empathy in teams32:02 Leadership, susceptibility, and the limits of power35:39 What business can learn from athletes about recovery38:24 A practical nervous-system reset: movement, relaxation, and breathing43:01 Making recovery a workplace non-negotiable52:12 Approach and avoidance: how motivation works54:32 Why scrolling is a double-whammy reward57:18 The evolutionary mismatch behind modern work stress01:01:04 Use emotions as information without letting them take over01:04:41 Four self-defeating beliefs that hold people back01:09:03 Mental Fortitude Method and Friesen’s books01:12:00 The simplest definition of success: act from goals and values

What can a 5,000-year-old approach to health teach us about the way we work today?Modern workplaces are designed for productivity, efficiency and performance. But somewhere along the way, have we forgotten how human beings actually function?In this episode of Wired to Work, host Jess Chapman welcomes Dr. Mona Warner, Ayurvedic Doctor, yoga therapist and founder of Janati Yoga School, to explore what the ancient wisdom of Ayurveda can teach us about workplace stress, burnout, wellbeing and human performance.Drawing on her experience as a practitioner, educator and author of Ayurveda’s Three Pillars of Health, Mona challenges us to rethink how we approach health and productivity at work.Together, Jess and Mona explore:* Why workplace wellness programs sometimes do more harm than good* How chronic stress keeps our nervous systems in overdrive* Why rest and recovery should be part of the workday* How our natural rhythms influence energy, focus and performance* Why treating everyone the same isn’t necessarily treating them fairly* What compassion has to do with building healthier workplacesIt’s a conversation that bridges traditional wisdom and modern science, challenging some of our assumptions about what it really takes to create a workplace where people can thrive.ABOUT MONA:Mona Warner is a warm and joyful educator practicing Āyurveda, Yoga, and Vedic Astrology. She works from Kingston, Ontario, Canada, where she strives to guide others toward health, happiness, and well-being every day. She is a Doctor of Āyurvedic Medicine, an Āyurvedic Yoga Therapist, a Yoga Teacher Trainer, and a Vedic Astrologer. She is the author of Āyurvedic Yoga, Ayurveda's Three Pillars of Health, The Grief and Ayurveda Workbook, and Whole to the Marrow (releasing in Nov 2026). Mona shares her home with her wonderful husband, enthusiastic dog, and ninja kitten. Find her online at: www.monawarner.com SHOW NOTES:00:00Meet Mona Warner and the aim of Wired to Work03:31Ayurveda’s focus on maintaining health06:23Why traditional and modern medicine can work together09:42A holistic view of people, animals, and environment11:52What healthier workplace routines and spaces look like17:11Workplace design, individual needs, and fairness19:22Supporting shift workers through changing rhythms22:25Where leaders’ wellbeing responsibilities begin and end29:09When wellness programs become a way to dismiss concerns32:00Trauma-aware care and the risks of group practices36:31The nervous system’s role in safety and work42:06Why workplaces need recovery, not just activation46:07Rethinking sprints and designing around personal rhythms50:57Compassion as the foundation of workplace wellbeingsHFu5oag3Sq5IhcAq27j🎧 Listen to Wired to Work with Jess Chapman:https://wiredtowork.buzzsprout.com/✉️ Follow Wired to Work on Substack:https://wiredtowork.substack.com/#Ayurveda #WorkplaceWellbeing #Burnout #Neuroscience #Leadership

Why do we keep falling back into habits we know aren’t working for us?In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman talks with engineer, entrepreneur and manifestation coach Aparna Dubey about the patterns that keep us stuck, from overworking and constant busyness to distraction, multitasking and the belief that productivity equals worth.Aparna explains her approach to manifestation as more than simply wishing for an outcome. She discusses attention, repeated thoughts and behaviours, nervous-system familiarity and the role she believes they play in determining what we notice and how we act. She also shares practical techniques she uses with clients, including activity and energy audits, visualization, journaling, somatic work and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) tapping.In this episode:Why familiar patterns can be so difficult to changeHow busyness and overwork can become part of our identityWhy focus can feel uncomfortable when we’re accustomed to constant stimulationAparna’s four-part activity and energy audit for examining where your time actually goesPractical foundations for focus, including sleep, movement, nutrition and hydrationVisualization, mindset and behaviour changeWhat somatic practices and EFT tapping are and how Aparna uses themThe difference between changing your own patterns and recognizing when the environment itself needs to changeWhy awareness creates an opportunity to make a different choiceAbout Aparna DubeyAparna is an engineer, serial entrepreneur and manifestation coach and the founder of The Logical Manifestor. Her work combines mindset, habit and somatic practices with her interpretation of neuroscience to help entrepreneurs work toward personal and business goals.Find her website at: https://thelogicalmanifestor.com/Wired to Work explores the science behind how we think, lead and perform.🎧 Listen to Wired to Work:https://wiredtowork.buzzsprout.com/📬 Join us on Substack:https://wiredtowork.substack.com/Chapters:00:00 — Why Your Nervous System Keeps You Stuck00:37 — Meet Aparna Dubey: The Logical Manifestor01:56 — Is Manifestation Really “Woo-Woo”?03:04 — What Manifestation Actually Means to Aparna05:09 — Why We Repeat Familiar Patterns09:17 — When Being Busy Becomes Part of Your Identity10:18 — Changing Habits Through Somatic Work & EFT12:41 — Is It You—or Does Your Environment Need to Change?13:14 — The Activity & Energy Audit15:56 — How to Improve Focus at Work16:29 — How Hydration Affects Focus & Decision-Making17:50 — Sleep, Movement & Better Brain Performance18:20 — Why Your Physical Environment Matters19:11 — Stop Trying to Focus on Everything19:59 — Journaling & Meditation for Mental Clarity22:07 — What to Do When You’re Overwhelmed at Work24:02 — What Is Somatic Work?27:08 — What Is EFT Tapping and How Does It Work?30:00 — Breaking the Link Between Busyness and Self-Worth31:54 — Rewiring Old Patterns Through Repetition32:18 — Aparna’s Advice for Creating Change33:31 — Where to Find Aparna#neuroscience #leadership #performance

In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with organizational design and culture change expert Erin Stadler to challenge some of the assumptions we’ve built around workplace culture, growth and change.Because organizations are always changing. People join. People leave. Teams grow. Products evolve. Markets shift. And every one of those changes affects how an organization actually works.So instead of asking how we can better manage change, Erin asks a different question: how do we build organizations that are designed for it?Jess and Erin get into why company culture is about much more than a set of values, what happens to culture as organizations scale, why onboarding should be treated as a year-long experience, and how founders can unintentionally lose the very ways of working that made their company successful in the first place.They also explore change fatigue, the pressure to protect what’s already working, and why the ability to continually adapt may be one of the most important things a leader can build.As Erin puts it, business strategy tends to focus on markets, customers and financials. But there’s another strategic question we often leave out:How do we work?Because the thing you’re building isn’t just the product.It’s the organization capable of building what comes next.keywordsculture change, organizational design, systems thinking, change management, leadership, onboarding, organizational behavior, culture shift, founder insights, adaptive organizationskey  topicsThe distinction between values, behaviors, and principles in cultureHow to start building culture at the founder levelThe importance of behaviors and principles in organizational changeRedesigning onboarding as a year-long experienceManaging expectations and energy during changeThe role of systems thinking in organizational adaptability sound bites"Workplaces that meet my preferences aren't always safe""Behavior is the principle we make decisions on""Managing change is like managing risk, not opportunity"Chapters00:00 Introduction to Erin Stadler and the episode's focus02:14 The importance of starting culture from scratch at the founder level05:53 Key advice for founders on establishing culture early07:19 The distinction between values and behaviors in culture design11:30 The role of mindset and principles in organizational behaviors16:46 Using psychoanalysis as a tool to understand organizational entity20:20 The risk of scaling culture without clear principles23:17 Redesigning onboarding as a year-long, co-created experience30:32 The difference between managing change and creating opportunities35:49 Shifting from change management to embracing uncertainty41:32 The importance of framing and collective responsibility in change47:27 Building a culture resilient to pivots and pivots as opportunities52:09 Erin’s upcoming book on creating conditions for change

What happens when a brilliant employee is working in a system that fights the way their brain works?In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with entrepreneur and C-suite leader Remy Meraz for a candid conversation about neurodivergence, ADHD, dyslexia, masking, accountability, and what workplaces can do differently.Remy was diagnosed with ADHD in her 30s and later discovered she was dyslexic; experiences that helped make sense of years of frustration, exhaustion, and feeling like certain things that seemed easy for everyone else took far more effort for her.Together, Jess and Remy explore:What neurodivergence actually feels like at workWhy masking can be exhaustingHow ADHD can show up as both strength and frictionWhy accommodations don’t have to mean designing a different workplace for every personThey also tackle a question that often gets avoided:Where does workplace support end and personal accountability begin?Because neurodivergence isn’t an excuse to opt out of expectations. But expecting every person to think, communicate and perform in exactly the same way isn’t good leadership either.If you want to create workplaces with enough flexibility, clarity and humanity for different kinds of brains to succeed - this one's for you! 🎧 Listen to Wired to Work:https://wiredtowork.buzzsprout.com/📩 Join the Wired to Work Substack:https://wiredtowork.substack.com/#WiredToWork #Neurodiversity #ADHD #Leadership #WorkplaceCulture #FutureOfWork #Neurodivergent #InclusiveLeadership

Burnout. Thriving. Boundaries. Grief. Menopause.These aren’t side conversations anymore. They’re shaping how people experience work — and what leaders need to understand about the humans inside their organizations.In this special season finale of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman revisits five conversations that challenged assumptions, introduced new ideas, and raised questions that stuck with her long after the recording ended.Featuring:• Dr. Jo Burrell on the alarming burnout crisis among HR professionals — and why resilience can’t compensate for an unhealthy workplace• Dr. Paul Zak on the neuroscience of thriving and what happens when we stop measuring how people say they feel and start looking at how they actually respond• Ange Crockwell on boundaries, trauma-informed workplaces, and why protecting your own capacity isn’t selfish• Dr. Ashlee Cunsolo on climate grief and the emotional impact of a changing world that people inevitably bring to work with them• Tina Pomroy on menopause, the brain, and why this stage of life needs a very different narrativeIf you’re thinking about leadership, workplace culture or simply what it means to be a human at work right now, these are the workplace conversations you can’t afford to ignore.🎧 Explore Wired to Work:https://wiredtowork.buzzsprout.com/📩 Join the Wired to Work Substack:https://wiredtowork.substack.com/#WiredToWork #FutureOfWork #Leadership #WorkplaceCulture #Burnout #Menopause #WorkplaceWellbeing

HR is supposed to support everyone else.But who is supporting HR?In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with clinical psychologist and Ultimate Resilience co-founder Dr. Jo Burrell to unpack some deeply concerning data about the mental health of HR professionals — and the workplace systems helping drive it.Dr. Burrell’s research found extraordinarily high levels of burnout, anxiety and depression among HR professionals, with many reporting that they feel poorly supported despite being the very people organizations turn to when everyone else is struggling.And that raises a bigger question:Have we mistaken asking people to cope with broken systems for resilience?Jess and Jo explore:Why HR has become the emotional shock absorber of modern workplacesWhat happens when leaders outsource every difficult people problem to HRWhy HR professionals are being asked to handle grief, trauma and mental health issues they were never trained to manageHow the “helper” identity can make it difficult for HR people to say noWhy resilience cannot compensate for an unhealthy workplaceThe problem with one-off wellness initiatives and “lunch and learn” solutionsWhy organizations need to address the source of stress — not just teach employees to tolerate more of itWhat HR professionals can do to protect their own wellbeing without emotionally shutting downBecause you can be the healthiest, most resilient person in the world — but if your workload is impossible and your workplace is toxic, eventually the environment wins.And if the people responsible for everyone else’s wellbeing are burning out themselves, that should concern every leader.🎧 Listen to the full episode of Wired to Work:https://wiredtowork.buzzsprout.com📩 Join the Wired to Work Substack for practical insights, tools and conversations about making work work better:https://wiredtowork.substack.com#WiredToWork #HR #Burnout #Leadership #WorkplaceCulture #MentalHealthAtWork #Resilience #FutureOfWork

What if creating a trauma-informed workplace actually led to higher performance—not lower expectations?Many leaders worry that supporting employees through difficult circumstances means compromising accountability. Angela Crockwell, Executive Director of Thrive, argues the opposite.In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with Angela to unpack what trauma-informed leadership really means, why every workplace—not just healthcare or social services—should be thinking about it, and how leaders can create psychologically safe environments while still expecting excellence.They explore:Why trauma is more common than most leaders realizeThe difference between being trauma-aware and trauma-informedHow to create psychological safety without becoming a therapistWhy strong boundaries are essential—not optionalHow curiosity can replace judgment in difficult conversationsWhy accountability and compassion can (and should) coexistPractical ways leaders can support people without lowering standardsWhether you lead a team of two or two thousand, this conversation will change the way you think about people, performance, and what it really means to create a healthy workplace.🎧 Listen & Subscribe🎙️ Listen wherever you get your podcasts, or on Buzzsprout:https://wiredtowork.buzzsprout.com📬 Join the Wired to Work Substack community for exclusive leadership insights, behind-the-scenes content, and episode takeaways:https://substack.com/@wiredtowork

A stressful week is not the same as burnout.Stress usually has an end point. Burnout develops when overwhelm becomes chronic, recovery disappears, and your brain and body no longer have the capacity to keep up with what is being asked of them.In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with burnout and resilience coach Cherri Forsyth to explore how burnout develops, what it looks like before someone reaches a breaking point, and why pushing through is not the same as being resilient.They discuss:• The difference between temporary stress and chronic burnout• Why burnout can be difficult to recognize from the outside• The early signs leaders and colleagues should notice• How brain fog, exhaustion and detachment show up at work• Why rest and recovery are essential to performance• How workplace systems can contribute to burnout• Why self-care has to mean more than an occasional bubble bath• How leaders can support someone without trying to diagnose or fix themBurnout is not a personal failure. And it is not simply a matter of learning to cope better.Sometimes the person needs support. Sometimes the workload needs to change. Often, the system needs to be examined too.🎧 Listen to the full episode of Wired to Work:https://wiredtowork.buzzsprout.com📩 Join the Wired to Work Substack for practical insights, tools and conversations about making work work better:https://substack.com/@wiredtowork#Burnout #Stress #Leadership #WorkplaceWellbeing #MentalHealthAtWork #Resilience #WorkplaceCulture #WiredToWork

Most organizations invest heavily in workplace wellness and still end up with teams that feel flat, disengaged, and exhausted.The problem may not be the programme. It may be what we're aiming for.In this episode of Wired to Work, Jess Chapman sits down with behavioural neuroscientist Dr. Paul Zak to explore what actually helps people and teams thrive—and how leaders can measure it in real time.They discuss:• Why wellness may be too low a bar• What a thriving brain actually looks like• How psychological safety can be measured rather than surveyed• What neuroscience reveals about remote and in-person work• Why autonomy and a clear sense of purpose matter so much• How “train extensively, delegate generously” changes performance• Why traditional engagement surveys only tell part of the storyAfter 30 years studying the neuroscience of human connection, trust, and performance, Dr. Zak offers a very different way to think about workplace wellbeing.Because the goal shouldn't be helping people just get through the week.It should be creating the conditions where they can actually thrive.🎧 Watch or listen to Wired to Work with Jess Chapman wherever you get your podcasts:https://wiredtowork.buzzsprout.com📩 Get practical insights on leadership, neuroscience, and making work better:https://wiredtowork.substack.com#WiredToWork #WorkplaceWellbeing #Leadership #Neuroscience #EmployeeEngagement #PsychologicalSafety #FutureOfWork