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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.
222 Episodes
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In this episode, Lauren explores how leaders can promote growth and give feedback without triggering fear or threat responses. She explains why traditional evaluation systems dysregulate staff and why regulation, clarity and collaborative feedback matter for culture and performance. She shares strategies like predictable check ins, strengths first framing, and micro goals to make feedback supportive instead of punitive. Learn how to build systems that create clarity, trust, and empowere...
In this episode, Lauren explores onboarding as a nervous-system experience rather than paperwork. She shows how predictability, belonging, clarity, and emotional tone shape a new hire’s first 30 to 90 days and influence whether they feel safe, confident, and connected. She also offers regulating structures like clear roadmaps, warm welcomes, buddy systems, and communication norms to help organizations create a more grounded onboarding experience. Sign up for the University of Pennsylvania Beh...
Lauren shares how policies and procedures act like an organization’s neural pathways, shaping safety, trust, and overall regulation. Punitive or confusing policies create anxiety, while clear and compassionate ones build stability and support. She explains the difference between stress-driven and safety-driven policies and offers simple steps to make them more regulating. Lauren encourages listeners to reflect on their own policies and take one small step toward a safer, more supportive workp...
Meetings set the tone for an organization. Lauren explains how structure, pacing, tone, and clarity can calm the nervous system and keep teams grounded instead of drained. She also shares simple practices like ritualized starts, sensory grounding, one word check ins, and clear closures to help meetings become stable, productive spaces that support a healthier culture. Sign up for the University of Pennsylvania Behavior Breakthrough Accredited Course Learn about the Staff Sustainability System...
Lauren launches The Regulated Organization series, exploring how stress and regulation affect entire workplaces, not just individuals. She explains how an organization’s “nervous system” shapes culture, communication, and trust, and how the Five Ives framework helps bring balance and sustainability to teams. 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 Other re...
In this episode, Lauren explores how organizations can move beyond burnout to build lasting staff retention through the Three M’s: Moments, Memories, and Meaning. She explains that small daily interactions, shared experiences, and a sense of purpose create connection, stability, and momentum. True retention, she says, isn’t just about keeping people; it’s about helping them thrive. Sign up for the University of Pennsylvania Behavior Breakthrough Accredited Course Learn about the Staff S...
In this episode, Lauren dives into Reinforce, the third phase of the Staff Sustainability Program. After moving through relief and reset, this stage is about turning new, healthy patterns into lasting habits that define an organization’s culture. She shares how repetition, reflection, and consistent routines help build stability, trust, and regulation across teams. By focusing on reinforcement, organizations can move beyond short-term fixes and create a culture of well-being that truly lasts....
In this episode, Lauren explores what it means for organizations to truly reset after burnout. She shares how leaders and teams can move from short-term fixes to lasting change by addressing root causes, rebuilding trust, and fostering compassion-driven accountability. Through small, consistent practices and reflective leadership, Lauren shows how organizations can build cultures that support well-being, connection, and sustainable growth. Sign up for the University of Pennsylvania Behavior B...
In this episode, Lauren explores why many organizations try to build sustainability while running on empty and how real change begins with creating relief. She shares how survival mode shows up through reactivity and disconnection and offers practical ways for leaders and teams to calm their systems, rebuild trust, and create the foundation for lasting change. Sign up for the University of Pennsylvania Behavior Breakthrough Accredited Course Learn about the Staff Sustainability Sy...
In the second episode of the Staff Sustainability series, Lauren explores why women in leadership often turn to micromanagement and how it’s rooted in stress, trauma, and cultural expectations. She shares practical steps to move from control to co-regulation, helping leaders build safer, more sustainable workplaces grounded in trust and collaboration. Sign up for the University of Pennsylvania Behavior Breakthrough Accredited Course Learn about the Staff Sustainability System a pr...
In this episode, Lauren launches a new series on staff sustainability and explores the hidden costs of burnout and turnover in trauma-impacted organizations. She shares why quick fixes like pizza parties or gift cards fall flat and how deeper systemic change is needed. Through the lens of the nervous system, Lauren reframes burnout as a collective issue rather than an individual failing. She explains how creating cultures of belonging, safety, and regulation can shift organizations from survi...
In this Q&A episode, Lauren tackles some of the most pressing challenges organizations face including burnout, high turnover, and behavior struggles in both staff and students. She explains how the Five Ives framework, rooted in nervous system science and trauma-informed care, offers practical micro-strategies that boost morale, improve regulation, and create sustainable cultural shifts without adding extra burdens. Sign up for the University of Pennsylvania Behavior Breakthrough Accredit...
In this episode, Lauren unpacks how nervous system regulation shapes workplace culture. She explains how stress and micromanagement spread through teams, and why leaders who model calm can shift an entire organization. Lauren also shares simple rituals like intentional meeting openings, midday resets, and predictable rhythms that help teams move from survival mode to thriving together. Sign up for the University of Pennsylvania Behavior Breakthrough Accredited Course Other related resources f...
In this episode, Jessica explores how nervous system regulation shows up across the many roles we play, whether we’re leading, teaching, parenting, or supporting others on the front lines. She explains why our nervous system doesn’t switch hats when we do, and how our presence impacts the people around us in every setting. Jessica offers practical strategies for bringing calm, steady energy into classrooms, meetings, and family life. From co-regulating with students to repairing after rupture...
In this heartfelt episode, Jessica turns toward a question many of us have wrestled with: Why wasn’t I good enough? Drawing from her own experiences with rejection, criticism, and seasons of struggle, she reflects on how painful moments can shape our identity, hold us back, and make us doubt our worth. Jessica invites listeners to reframe those experiences not as proof of inadequacy, but as protection from what was never meant for them. Through stories, encouragement, and gentle guidance, she...
In this episode, Lauren explores the hidden power of daily rhythms and how they shape our ability to stay calm, focused, and resilient. From sleep and meal times to email habits and screen use, she shows how predictable patterns support the nervous system and how disruptions can quietly lead to stress and dysregulation. She shares why building consistent routines matters, offers examples of small shifts like winding down without screens or adding rhythmic movement, and explains practical ways...
Transitions are everywhere from shifting between tasks at work to moving through family routines and they can quietly dysregulate us. In this episode, Lauren shares why these moments feel so disruptive and how tiny rituals can anchor them, bringing calm and predictability. Discover simple, sustainable practices like a breath after a meeting, calming music before bed, or a quick stretch at the end of the day that turn daily shifts into opportunities for grounding and resilience. Sign up for ...
In this episode, Lauren takes a thoughtful look at the often overlooked impact our environments have on regulation and well-being. She explores how seemingly small elements like lighting, layout, sound, and even clutter can either support or sabotage our nervous systems. Drawing from both personal examples and brain-based strategies, Lauren shows how to create spaces that cue safety and calm, whether at home, in a classroom, or in an office. She also shares quick, practical ways to regulate w...
In this episode, Lauren dives into the real world challenges of creating a morning routine that supports nervous system regulation, especially when life feels chaotic. She breaks down the morning into four key parts and offers practical, compassionate strategies for bringing more calm and intention to each one, from wake up rituals to the first interaction of the workday. Whether your mornings start in a sprint or you’re just looking for a little more stability, this conversation reminds us t...
In this episode, Lauren explores what it really means to regulate in the midst of everyday chaos. Building on the Five Ives framework she and her partner developed, she explains why common strategies like breathwork or meditation often fall flat when we are overwhelmed and in survival mode. Regulation, she reminds us, is not about staying calm all the time. It is about noticing when we are dysregulated and learning how to recover quickly and effectively. Lauren shares practical, real world to...
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