About The Book
Leadership can inspire and transform, but it can also wound.
When Leading Hurts: Understanding and Healing from Traumatic Experiences of Leadership shines a light on this hidden truth. This groundbreaking volume explores the emotional and psychological toll that leadership roles can take, revealing how trauma sometimes emerges in organizational contexts and why it is so often ignored.
Drawing on interdisciplinary research and compelling case studies, experts in psychology, leadership development, and organizational behavior identify the forces that leave leaders feeling isolated, undermined, and sometimes deeply harmed. Topics include toxic cultures, identity-based harm, bullying, scapegoating, and gaslighting issues leaders frequently endure but rarely discuss. Readers will find evidence-based strategies for prevention and healing, including clinical guidance for therapists, coaching models, and organizational interventions for systemic change.
Designed for leaders at every level and the professionals who support them, When Leading Hurts provides insight, validation, and a roadmap toward resilience, recovery, and reform.
Chapter overview
When Leading Hurts
Understanding and Healing from Traumatic Experiences of Leadership
Chapter 1
Introduction to Trauma in Leadership: Sources, Mechanisms, and Impacts by Jennifer P. Wisdom and Nina A. Nabors
PART I : SOURCES AND IMPACTS
Chapter 2
Relational Sources of Workplace Trauma for Leaders 23 Nina A. Nabors, Kelley Costner, and Qiana Wells-Haridat
Chapter 3
Organizational Forces That Contribute to Traumatic Experiences of Leadership by Cynthia Drake Morrow and Jennifer P. Wisdom
Chapter 4
Impact of Childhood Adversity on Traumatic Experiences of Leadership by Brenda J. Huber
Chapter 5
Marginalized Identities and Institutional Trauma in Leadership by Nina A. Nabors
Chapter 6
Gender and Traumatic Experiences of Leadership by Jennifer P. Wisdom and Candice G. Nelson
Chapter 7
Intersectionality and Traumatic Experiences of Black Women Leaders in Higher Education by Savitri V. Dixon-Saxon
Chapter 8
The Impacts of Negative Leadership From a Motivational Perspective by Christina M. Frederick and Mary Coussons-Read
Chapter 9
Sources and Effects of Traumatic Experiences of Leadership Among Women by Kristina Hallett
Chapter 10
The Burden of Command: Navigating Psychological Stress and Institutional Betrayal in Law Enforcement Leadership by Tamara S. Lyn
Chapter 11
How Traumatic Experiences of Leadership Affect Religious and Spiritual Women in Academia by Rochelle Gilbert
PART II : INTERVENTIONS
Chapter 12
Coaching Approaches to Healing Traumatic Experiences of Leadership by Shari N. Dade and Chamarlyn L. Fairley
Chapter 13
Therapeutic Approaches to Healing Traumatic Experiences of Leadership by Alina Perez
Chapter 14
Trauma-Informed Organizations: Culture, Practices, and Leadership by Catherine T. Kwantes and Perpetual Ankamah
Chapter 15
Future Directions in Understanding, Preventing, and Healing Traumatic Experiences of Leadership by Nina A. Nabors and Jennifer P. Wisdom
