In this episode, Katharine Manning, author of The Empathetic Workplace: 5 Steps to a Compassionate, Calm, and Confident Response to Trauma on the Job, discusses her LASER technique for supporting those in trauma at work: Listen, Acknowledge, Share, Empower, and Return.

Katharine Manning is the author of The Empathetic Workplace: Five Steps to a Compassionate, Calm, and Confident Response to Trauma on the Job(HarperCollins Leadership 2021) and the President of Blackbird DC. She has worked on issues of trauma and victimization for more than 25 years. As a Senior Attorney Advisor with the Executive Office for United States Attorneys, for fifteen years Manning guided the Justice Department through its response to victims in cases ranging from terrorism to large-scale financial fraud to child exploitation. Some of the cases she advised on include the Boston Marathon bombing, the Pulse nightclub and South Carolina AME church shootings, the uprising in Charlottesville, the Madoff investment fraud, and the federal case against Larry Nassar, doctor for the U.S. Women’s Olympic Gymnastics team.

Manning now uses her expertise to help organizations prepare for and respond to the challenges they face involving employees and clients who may be in trauma. Her work has been featured in the Harvard Business Review, Fast Company, Thrive Global, and CEO World. A member of the bar in Washington, D.C. and California, Manning also served as an attorney with the law firm Pillsbury Winthrop in San Francisco, where she represented Fortune 500 companies in class actions, insurance, and media cases. She is a graduate of Smith College and the University of Virginia School of Law and teaches at American University and in the Master’s in Trauma-Informed Leadership Program at Dominican University.

Resources:

One-Pager with Resources to Support Those in Trauma: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xgtqXd0xE333yDtLnuwqM_wdhLWa_mDT/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=118366941708245904525&rtpof=true&sd=true

LASER Technique Infographic: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1e8BCBE5BLOnVwaGiZTDSDQILWx9wgFw4/view?usp=sharing