Returning to Us
To help people who help people, the organization needs to be healthy and have practices in place that consider the trauma of those they serve. Lauren Spigelmyer and Jessica Doering have helped thousands of people who help people all over the world. Each week they'll explore tools, insights, and stories to help you lead and live with more clarity, calm, and connection. If you’re looking for support as you grow your organization’s capacity for caring for staff and the community, we would love to be part of that journey.
Returning to Us
Leading Through Conflict Without Escalation
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After taking a week off to tend to personal matters, Lauren returns to the series on leading under pressure with a focus on navigating conflict without escalation. She reframes conflict as a nervous system event rather than simply a communication issue, explaining how stress activates threat responses around control, safety, and belonging. When leaders become dysregulated, they lose access to clarity and often default to avoidance, control, or appeasement.
She also explores what it looks like to stay grounded in tense moments through steady tone, clear boundaries, defined next steps, and meaningful repair when needed. Conflict is inevitable, but escalation is not when leaders choose regulation over urgency.
Sign up for the University of Pennsylvania Behavior Breakthrough Accredited Course
Learn about the Staff Sustainability System a proven system to reduce burnout at the root
Resources:
The Body Keeps the Score by Bessel A. van der Kolk, M.D.
Other related resources from Five Ives:
Blog Post:
- Why Traditional Employee Wellness Programs Fail (And What Works Instead)
- Survive Mode: Recognizing When Your Organization is in Crisis
- What are the Five Ives?
Podcast:
- A Fresh Look at the Five Ives Framework in the Workplace
- Clarity as a Safety Cue
- When Leaders Become the Stressor
- Episode 2: Authority Without Fear
- Episode 1: What Stress Does to Decision Making
- The Pause Between Now and Next
- Leading From a Regulated Core
- When Culture Dysregulates
- Growth & Feedback Without Fear
- Onboarding as Co-Regulation
- Policy as a Nervous System
- The Regulated Organization: What it Means to be a Regulated Organization
Our Online Programs:
- Behavior Breakthrough
- Policing Under Pressure
- Board Governance Training
- University of Pennsylvania Behavior Breakthrough Accredited Course
Subscribe to our mailing list and find out more about Stress, Trauma, Behavior and the Brain!
- Check out our Facebook Group – Five Ives!
- Five Ives Website
- The Behavior Hub blog
If you’re looking for support as you grow your organization’s capacity for caring for staff and the community, we would love to be part of that journey.
Schedule a free discovery call and let us be your guide
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