Leadership in Focus
Teaching Notes
Case: Building Culture to Manage Trauma
Leader: Christina Valentine Slabinski
Topic: Vision, Values and Culture
Reference: Medal of Honor Leadership Series
NOTE OF WARNING: Content in this case may trigger extreme emotions or adverse reactions. Discussion content includes issues relating to war, death, and grieving.
Case Challenge
As a SEAL team military spouse still grieving her husband’s death, Christina Valentine sees how the war is not only impacting her personally but also tearing apart her community - emphasizing the need to take action and lead families through their grief along with her own by building a culture of support.
Summary
Leading community members of an elite military unit, Christina is faced with a tragic loss and then surrounded by others who subsequently experience losses of their own. Christina realizes the numbers of war casualties continue to rise, motivating her to build a strong culture of support in a variety of ways that makes a difference in the survival of her community and future success of the military mission.
Context
Christina Valentine Slabinksi is the spouse of a SEAL team leader who is killed in a training accident just before a series of others in the unit experience loss during the war in Afghanistan. As a mother, daughter, and community leader, she must navigate her own pain while supporting those around her who are also overcome with grief. Her ability to manage the loss is critical for not only her own family but also the lives of her entire community.
Case Design
These leadership cases are designed to be discussed in a group so that divergent viewpoints can be debated. This enables participants to broaden their perspectives and gain insights into the values and instincts that drive decision-making. Each video pauses to allow for discussion at key points in the leader’s presentation.
Keep in Mind
The cases do not always provide the correct or ideal solution. Rather, they present one person’s experiences and judgment based on the circumstances faced at the time. Some critical details may have been unintentionally omitted.
Facilitation Tips
To help create a trusting, open atmosphere:
- Establish ground rules for the discussion, such as setting up a safe space
- Feedback should not be personal but directed at behavior
- Encourage participants to state and defend his or her opinion
- Refocus participants by raising broad questions and themes
- Reassure your group that leadership is an art that can be learned through practice, feedback, and experience
- In closing, provide a theoretical context for the discussion and takeaway lessons
Teaching Insight - Leadership Background Content: Leading Self and Building a Culture of Support
Living in a high risk, war-torn community is a stressful place, especially when leaders are personally impacted. In this setting, leaders must tap into a unique set of skills to both lead self and others through grief, confusion, and uncertainty. There is no clear path or precedent for leadership, yet resilient leaders face the stress of these situations and do the difficult work of coping effectively. Moreover, they help members of their community to cope with stresses in ways that are meaningful for them so that they too can be more effective. A leader must understand and identify the skills and attitudes that promote resilience in not only him or herself, but also what is necessary to develop resilience in others. Coping through difficult situations may come more naturally to some than others, especially children. By building a culture of resilience and support, a leader is able to build systems to help families cope and help everyone in the community to build resilience.
In this video case, Christina must not only manage her own grief, but build a culture of support while putting systems in place to help others learn to cope and build resilience. To help the community endure, she realizes she must communicate methods for grieving, build visible forms of support, demonstrate behaviors of compassion, and gather resources to provide programming.
Video Segment 1
Background and Challenge: Leading community members of an elite military unit, Christina realizes the losses to war are increasing and the impact is spiraling to the point that the community is breaking down - all of this is exacerbated by the fact they had lost their compass provided by leaders who are no longer present.
Discussion Questions:
Ask these questions to the group at large or to particular students. Encourage everybody to participate by seeking a variety of different opinions.
- Realizing the community has “lost their compass” and is “disintegrating”, what options does she have to “fight back” and lead them to a better place?
- What is the potential impact if the “families break down”? Why is this important for the soldiers and their military mission success?
- How would you describe the culture of this high performing community before the impact of wartime loss? What changes in culture might be important in times of trauma?
- What do you prioritize when you are leading others through a crisis, especially when high performance is critical?
Video Segment 2
Decision: Christina works to build a new culture in the previous self-reliant community by bringing people together to endure hardships and to avoid succumbing to grief alone. She not only builds a culture of support through her own actions but also gains the support of the group Commanding Officer (CO) to set up a “Gold Star Family” program for additional resources and programming.
Discussion Questions:
Ask these questions to the group at large or to particular students. Encourage everybody to participate by seeking a variety of different opinions.
- What specific actions does Christina take to strengthen the mind and spirit of the community? (Instructor’s note: sitting together at funerals, gold star family support structure, commanding officer/admiral commitment, programs and retreats for children, emphasis they are “a family”)
- How do Christina’s behaviors create a new culture in the community? What is the shift in culture and why is this new culture especially important at this point? (Note: Listening, empathizing, giving people “space to grieve”, compassion, bringing people together, communicating values such as “family”, “acceptance”, “not alone”)
- When an individual or members of your community face emotional trauma that distracts from your business or mission, what options do you have as a leader?
- What is helpful about the way Christina talks about her approach to managing grief, “allow people to grieve, respect each other's grief, but do not allow it to suffocate you. You will lose so much more than the person they love?” (Note: she provides a useful framework for grieving)
- How does Christina’s work to rebuild the community benefit from the Admiral’s efforts to make them a “Gold Star Community”? (Note: The admiral brings resources and structural support for programming along with personal commitment)
- Considering this community is typically “secret,” high-performing, and self-reliant, what is especially significant about how the Commanding Officer (CO)/Admiral communicates his support by saying, “My commitment to you will never end. No matter how long I live, I will always be here. My devotion to you, the Gold Stars will never cease.” (Note: the Admiral builds trust, commitment, loyalty, permission, and acknowledgement for the need of support even though they may not have needed it in the past)
Video Segment 3
Lessons Learned:
- As leaders we must have compassion for others in the time of loss and to give people tools to heal (time off, grief counseling, support through the legal and financial issues of death).
- Grief will reflect in peoples’ work regardless of how they may “look” on the outside.
- Your people are your bottom line and your people need you to be a compassionate, empathetic leader especially since you have the ability to lift them up in a variety of ways.
- Be willing to listen to the concerns of your direct reports. If they feel loved and they know you are acknowledging them, they will be more likely to confide in you when they are struggling, helping you to avoid negative impacts.
Lessons Learned Discussion Questions:
- Do you agree with the lessons learned here? (Note: An instructor will need to mention the above lessons learned.)
- What are ways you feel comfortable supporting members of your team who may be dealing with grief or other personal and emotional challenges?
- How can you prepare for the realities of leading team members through emotional challenges?
- What are the impacts of NOT addressing significant emotional challenges when they emerge in your team?
- How can your efforts to build a strong culture in your team be important when faced with trauma?
Considerations
The lessons shared by this leader are based on his own experiences. These lessons are not necessarily substantiated by academic research but are shared to spark consideration and insight.
Background and Challenge: Leading community members of an elite military unit, Christina realizes the losses to war are increasing and the impact is spiraling to the point that the community is breaking down - all of this is exacerbated by the fact they had lost their compass provided by leaders who are no longer present.
Discussion Questions:
Ask these questions to the group at large or to particular students. Encourage everybody to participate by seeking a variety of different opinions.
- Realizing the community has “lost their compass” and is “disintegrating”, what options does she have to “fight back” and lead them to a better place?
- What is the potential impact if the “families break down”? Why is this important for the soldiers and their military mission success?
- How would you describe the culture of this high performing community before the impact of wartime loss? What changes in culture might be important in times of trauma?
- What do you prioritize when you are leading others through a crisis, especially when high performance is critical?
Decision: Christina works to build a new culture in the previous self-reliant community by bringing people together to endure hardships and to avoid succumbing to grief alone. She not only builds a culture of support through her own actions but also gains the support of the group Commanding Officer (CO) to set up a “Gold Star Family” program for additional resources and programming.
Discussion Questions:
Ask these questions to the group at large or to particular students. Encourage everybody to participate by seeking a variety of different opinions.
- What specific actions does Christina take to strengthen the mind and spirit of the community? (Instructor’s note: sitting together at funerals, gold star family support structure, commanding officer/admiral commitment, programs and retreats for children, emphasis they are “a family”)
- How do Christina’s behaviors create a new culture in the community? What is the shift in culture and why is this new culture especially important at this point? (Note: Listening, empathizing, giving people “space to grieve”, compassion, bringing people together, communicating values such as “family”, “acceptance”, “not alone”)
- When an individual or members of your community face emotional trauma that distracts from your business or mission, what options do you have as a leader?
- What is helpful about the way Christina talks about her approach to managing grief, “allow people to grieve, respect each other's grief, but do not allow it to suffocate you. You will lose so much more than the person they love?” (Note: she provides a useful framework for grieving)
- How does Christina’s work to rebuild the community benefit from the Admiral’s efforts to make them a “Gold Star Community”? (Note: The admiral brings resources and structural support for programming along with personal commitment)
- Considering this community is typically “secret,” high-performing, and self-reliant, what is especially significant about how the Commanding Officer (CO)/Admiral communicates his support by saying, “My commitment to you will never end. No matter how long I live, I will always be here. My devotion to you, the Gold Stars will never cease.” (Note: the Admiral builds trust, commitment, loyalty, permission, and acknowledgement for the need of support even though they may not have needed it in the past)
Lessons Learned:
- As leaders we must have compassion for others in the time of loss and to give people tools to heal (time off, grief counseling, support through the legal and financial issues of death).
- Grief will reflect in peoples’ work regardless of how they may “look” on the outside.
- Your people are your bottom line and your people need you to be a compassionate, empathetic leader especially since you have the ability to lift them up in a variety of ways.
- Be willing to listen to the concerns of your direct reports. If they feel loved and they know you are acknowledging them, they will be more likely to confide in you when they are struggling, helping you to avoid negative impacts.
Lessons Learned Discussion Questions:
- Do you agree with the lessons learned here? (Note: An instructor will need to mention the above lessons learned.)
- What are ways you feel comfortable supporting members of your team who may be dealing with grief or other personal and emotional challenges?
- How can you prepare for the realities of leading team members through emotional challenges?
- What are the impacts of NOT addressing significant emotional challenges when they emerge in your team?
- How can your efforts to build a strong culture in your team be important when faced with trauma?
Considerations
The lessons shared by this leader are based on his own experiences. These lessons are not necessarily substantiated by academic research but are shared to spark consideration and insight.