Operationalizing Grief

Practical tools to help leaders respond to grief, support their people, protect the team, and sustain the mission. Grief comes to work—even when no one talks about it. It may follow the death of someone important, but grief can also emerge through divorce, illness, caregiving, trauma, job loss, organizational change, estrangement, betrayal, or the loss of a future someone expected to have. Even when grief remains unspoken, it can affect concentration, judgment, communication, relationships, performance, safety, and trust. Yet most leaders have never been taught what to do when someone they lead is grieving. Should you bring it up or respect the person’s privacy? Offer flexibility or maintain the same expectations? Listen, provide advice, contact Human Resources, or recommend professional support? How do you demonstrate compassion without crossing the line into counseling? Operationalizing Grief gives leaders a practical framework for navigating these moments with greater confidence, clarity, and care. During this interactive one-hour session, participants will learn how to: • Recognize grief related to death and other significant losses • Understand how grief can affect an individual, a team, and the mission • Begin an appropriate workplace conversation • Witness someone’s grief without trying to fix, minimize, or explain it • Balance compassion with clarity and accountability • Understand what belongs within the leader’s role—and what does not • Recognize when additional resources or professional support may be needed • Avoid common responses that unintentionally create more isolation Participants will leave with practical language, leadership strategies, and a clear list of what to do—and what not to do—when grief enters the workplace. This session is in partnership with Stillwater's Peggy Murphy Grief Center; grounded in the teachings of grief expert David Kessler and facilitated by Sabrina Moon, Certified Grief Educator and leadership development professional. This is not grief counseling or group therapy. Participants will not be asked to disclose a personal loss. It is leadership development for people responsible for supporting other human beings while protecting the wellbeing of the team and sustaining the mission. Because leaders cannot remove another person’s grief—but they can determine whether that grief is met with silence or support, confusion or clarity, and isolation or humanity.