Micromanagement and Trauma

My blog this week will be some preliminary thoughts on the intersection of micromanagement and trauma awareness. It comes from re-reading sections of Alex Shevrin Venet's Equity-Centered Trauma-Informed Education which we are reading as part of a pedagogical reading group this term.

I started reflecting on things that Venet said alongside the many instances of folk feeling trapped, burnt out, helpless, at odds with what they are being asked to do, and I tried to find a reason that connected all these dots besides the obvious fact that we are still in a pandemic (no matter what the "back to normal" people would like to tell you). 

It occurred to me that these feelings and these responses could be very individualized trauma responses to the fact that the ability to choose has been taken away, not just from the pandemic and public health guidance, but within the everyday work and school frame. 

A trauma-aware pedagogy is one that has opportunities for choice, it is one that builds trust in community, it is one that empowers learners. It is also one that should in some way empower instructors to make those choices, to feel like they are in community. What happens when every choice is questioned, when every movement surveilled, when every thing becomes a number without context? The answer is easy, it is exactly what is happening now. It is the very definition of micromanagement and it creates trauma responses. Similarly, the urge to control everything in a classroom instead of being aware that it is an organic space, is not trauma aware. Cameras on, write exactly 150 words on how you loved this article, 5% off per minute late, no technology (except you with accommodations that is now outed because of this policy), the rigidity and lack of choice in these structures is pedagogical micromanagement.

These instances of micromanagement are based on labels without lenses. Venet does a great job of reminding us that trauma aware is a lens not a label. Teacher, instructor, student, professor, sessional, adjunct, all of these are titles, but also labels and these labels come with assumptions about how folk should be treated (read infantilized). And what happens when folk focus on the label instead of the person is that a trauma aware lens becomes impossible. Boss worker, bourgeoisie proletariat. You get the idea. 

Labels are the easy points of connection in a micromanagement situation. It paints over with a nice brush all the people who share the label. Capitalist systems thrive on that "easy work." It is a lot easier to just name a person by their position as opposed to seeing the person for their humanity. This labelling easily and readily comes from people who haven't done the work to reflect on their positionalities and the many ways they may be using their privilege and power based on labels. As I reflected this morning on this the only thing that kept coming in my head was a Dream Warriors' song from 1991, "My Definition of a Bombastic Jazz Style." It is a good song and you should look it up. I am not linking here because I sadly could not find a video with captions. One of the many great lines in the song is "your definition of me is definitely wrong" and it is a line that speaks so much of the assumptions folk make in their interactions. 

Micromanaging and controlling the decisions of those who have years of experience, knowledge, and the positionality to make informed decisions is a recipe for apathy and destruction from within. Being able to have real conversations where folks' opinions and knowledge are respected, and not erased or silenced due to power dynamics/managerial style, is a way to build the trust and community that we need. It is a way to acknowledge trauma and not add to it. There's so much to say about this topic. As I say this is just a start of some ideas percolating in my brain and I welcome yours.