With attribution to Dr. Gav Schneider, creator of the Presilience® concept.
I’ve been stalked by both a cougar and humans. I’ve received death threats connected to my professional role. I was physically assaulted three times while working in a psychiatric institution many years ago. I’ve also lived through an earthquake, a tornado, spun 360 degrees on black ice, and faced personal trials like divorce and systematic discrimination.
But these aren’t stories of just enduring hardship—they are chapters in a deeper leadership journey. Each experience carved out a set of decision-making tools honed under pressure. I learned to assess risk dynamically, lead in disruption, and adapt with clarity even when chaos reigned. I also learned how to recognize non-verbal cues and signals that something was about to go wrong—an ability that has become one of the most powerful tools in my situational awareness and risk mitigation toolkit.
More than resilience, what I developed was Presilience®—a proactive leadership approach that doesn’t just weather storms but anticipates, plans for, and grows through them.
The hidden crisis in nonprofit leadership
Nonprofit work is profoundly meaningful—and deeply vulnerable. Many of us operate in emotionally volatile environments. We serve communities in crisis, support people through trauma, and make life-changing decisions on limited budgets.
But too often, we do so without supporting our own staff or systems.
Burnout, moral injury, and psychological harm can go unacknowledged in the name of service. Internal breakdowns—caused by conflict, poor communication, or systemic gaps—often take a back seat to external mission demands.
This is a risk issue. And it’s one we can’t afford to ignore.
From resilience to Presilience®
The term Presilience® was coined by Dr. Gavriel (Gav) Schneider, an internationally recognized expert in human-centric risk management and strategic leadership. As CEO of the Risk 2 Solution Group, Dr. Schneider holds a Doctorate in Criminology and Risk Management and is a global authority on integrated safety, leadership, and security systems.
In his book “Can I See Your Hands: A Guide To Situational Awareness, Personal Risk Management, Resilience and Security”, he defines Presilience® as:
“The integrated approach to enhancing resilience by proactively identifying, understanding, and mitigating risks and vulnerabilities before they manifest into crises or threats.”
(Schneider, G. 2017)
We know resilience is what occurs after the adversity, conflict, disruption, or critical incident. Resilience is about risk mitigation – personally, professionally, organizationally, operationally, financially, and environmentally.
Presilience, however, is a framework that shifts the focus from reactive resilience to pre-event foresight—embedding adaptability and protective factors into people, processes, and policies before trauma or disruption occurs.
Understanding the concept of Presilience®—combined with my lived experiences and risk intelligence—is exactly why I became a Registered Presilience® Practitioner. It aligned with everything I had learned the hard way: that psychological safety, emotional intelligence, and proactive planning aren’t “nice to haves”—they’re leadership essentials.
Trauma-informed leadership IS risk leadership
Presilience® is most powerful when paired with trauma-informed leadership—an approach grounded in safety, awareness, empathy, and trust.
In nonprofits, this means understanding that many staff, clients, and leaders carry invisible loads: lived trauma, systemic discrimination, neurodivergence, or intergenerational adversity. These aren’t deficits—they’re data. If seen clearly, they become invaluable assets for strengthening organizational culture and continuity.
When leaders adopt trauma-informed practices with a Presilient mindset, they can:
- Recognize early warning signs of stress, conflict, or disengagement
- Design safer structures that reduce re-traumatization and burnout
- Lead with clarity under pressure, making decisions that prevent harm
- Center lived experience as intelligence, not instability
Practical tools for nonprofit leaders
1. Invest in workplace culture assessments early
Taking a presilient leadership mindset means proactively assessing workplace culture before disruptions arise. A culture assessment is a practical tool to identify psychosocial risks and hazards, and intervene early. This is not just a compliance step—it’s a strategic investment in continuity, morale, and well-being.
2. Train for decision-making under pressure
Equip leaders with skills to read non-verbal cues and build situational awareness. This training enables confident, calm decisions in real time and helps prevent escalation when tensions rise.
3. Use lived experience as intelligence
Reflective lived experience is a powerful asset when integrating trauma-informed frameworks into policies, procedures, and organizational decision-making. It helps ground your strategy in reality, not assumptions.
4. Create open feedback loops
Foster psychologically safe communication channels where staff feel heard and supported. When people feel safe to speak up, leaders can respond before issues escalate.
5. Prioritize psychological safety and psychological health and safety
Embed psychological safety into all levels of leadership and governance. A safe culture fosters trust, adaptability, and innovation—qualities every nonprofit needs in times of disruption.
Why it matters
When I was physically assaulted three times while working in a psychiatric institution (my high school and university summer job), I wasn’t just surviving incidents—I was learning how systems respond under stress. When I received workplace death threats (in my 30’s), I learned how to evaluate safety in real time. Each of these moments—however harrowing—shaped the leader I am today.
They taught me how to make decisions in chaos, how to read a room without a word being spoken, and how to recognize micro-shifts in body language or tone that signal risk. That kind of situational awareness is a cornerstone of effective, trauma-informed, presilient leadership.
Embracing our social history—our lived experiences, intergenerational knowledge, and cultural narratives—is an asset that helps us develop presilience and build inclusive risk intelligence within our roles and organizations.
These experiences didn’t just build my resilience—they gave me a compass.
Final thought: From WTF to OMG
My “WTF” moments were never meant to define me—but they did refine me. They gave me a map. Not just of what went wrong—but of what could be built stronger, smarter, and safer.
Your story, your team, your mission—they deserve a presilient future.
Let’s move from surviving disruption to leading through it—together.
By Treena Reilkoff, TLR Solutions4Conflict INC.
Conflict Management & Risk Consultant
Register Presilient Practitioner
Connect with Treena Reilkoff on LinkedIn
TLR Solutions4Conflict INC.
Specializing in trauma-informed mediation, workshops, and workplace cultural and/or psychosocial risk assessments and restorations that build trust. Driven by a Registered Presilient Practitioner – we help teams move from reactivity to restoration.
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