This Is Not Business as Usual: Lessons from Leading on the Frontlines
Part of the series: This Is Not Business as Usual — Lessons from Leading on the Frontlines
I’ve been sitting with this for a while.
Having led frontline teams during the first Trump administration, I’ve learned that moments like this test more than policy or strategy—they test our humanity. What follows isn’t theory. It’s shaped by lived experience and by what leadership actually requires when fear, uncertainty, and collective trauma are present.
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Psychological security isn’t a policy.
It’s a daily practice—and it belongs to all of us.
While leaders set the tone, culture is built—or broken—in everyday moments: how we listen, how we respond to mistakes, and how we treat one another when things are hard. Psychological security does not live in Human Resources. It lives in every meeting, every conversation, and every decision we make under pressure.
As an executive who led frontline teams during the first Trump administration, I learned that psychological security cannot be delegated—it has to be practiced, especially in moments of collective stress and trauma.
And this moment matters.
Leading in this moment requires telling the truth about what people are experiencing—fear, uncertainty, and being scared—not pretending it’s business as usual. And the truth is, it hasn’t been business as usual since 2016.
Psychological security is being deeply impacted—particularly for those on the frontlines and within BIPOC communities.
Asking people to be resilient while they are actively trying to survive is not leadership.
People are witnessing Americans being killed in real time on social media and are still being expected to move on with their daily lives, including work.
That expectation ignores trauma. It erodes trust. And it undermines psychological security at its core.
Some things leaders can do right now:
Acknowledge what’s happening. Silence doesn’t create security. Naming reality does.
Ease up on “business as usual.” Urgency without humanity causes harm.
Give people permission to step away. From the news, from social media, or from work when needed.
Check in like a human. You don’t need perfect words—presence matters more.
Protect psychological security inside your teams. Do not allow minimizing, dehumanizing language, or forced debate in moments of pain.
Lead with steadiness and compassion. A leader’s regulation shapes the entire system.
Psychological security isn’t about comfort.
It’s about dignity under pressure.
And moments like this are when culture is revealed—not by what’s written on a wall, but by how we treat people when it’s hardest.
Remember: someone on your team may be mixed-status—or have family members who are. What feels abstract to leadership can be deeply personal for others.
And finally—take care of yourself.
One of my biggest learnings is this: we are only as good as our ability to stay grounded, regulated, and human. Burned-out leaders don’t create safe teams.
This is the work.
And it matters.