In this episode of Mindful Management, host Shenandoah Chefalo challenges leaders to shift from asking "what's wrong with you?" to "what's strong in you?" She explains how trauma-informed leadership moves from deficit-based thinking to strength-based leadership, reframing behaviors as communication rather than problems. Shenandoah introduces the concept that "defiance is communication waiting to be understood" and shares examples of reframing: seeing "distracted" as creative, "pushes back" as courageous, and "negative" as critical thinking. She cites research showing that employees who use their strengths daily are six times more likely to be engaged and that leaders who focus on strengths see performance improve up to 36%. Drawing from her personal experience in foster care, she emphasizes that people rise to the expectations we set for them. The episode includes a practical exercise: identify one problem behavior and rewrite it as a strength.
