As part of our ongoing support and consultation with high-profile executives, we acknowledge that with high levels of responsibility and authority comes greater stresses, from both within an organization and oftentimes the outside world. These stressors can impact an executive’s ability to function at the level needed to sustain continued success personally and professionally. In addition, due to their high-profile status and the competitive nature of industry, many of these executives are hesitant to reach out for assistance through typical channels. According to the research on workplace violence, an accumulation of difficulties and frustrations amid a life often spiraling downward can set a perpetrator on a pathway to violence to achieve his or her definition of justice (Borum, Fein, Vossekuil, & Bergland, 1999; Calhoun & Weston, 2003; Meloy, Hoffmann, Guldimann, & James, 2012; White & Meloy, 2007). This makes it increasingly essential for organizations to consider whether they are setting their executives up for success or failure.
Our intent in providing executive concierge services is to provide discreet, objective, timely and thorough support for high-profile executives. In addition to being independently subcontracted consultants, our panel of executive concierge consultants all have extensive mental health training and are respected clinicians licensed to practice independently in each of their states. Simply put, they not only bring decades of experience consulting with high-profile executives, but also have the clinical training necessary to identify when there may be mental health issues impacting executive performance, and have the capacity to facilitate obtaining the appropriate referrals when and if those issues do arise during the course of the consultative relationship.
If we consider some of the warning behaviors or thought patterns that may typically be observed or reported that prompt concern regarding an employee being a threat to the safety of an organization, it could be postulated that having regular access to and consultation with one of our executive concierge consultants could potentially act as a preventative tool against possible workplace violence. Some of these concerning behaviors include violent ideation or references; a sense of entitlement; anger, harassment, or intimidation; boundary violations; stalking behaviors; paranoia or thoughts of persecution; delusional thoughts; mood instability; psychosocial stressors; a history of violence; and patterns of severe interpersonal conflict. With the clinical expertise our executive concierge consultants have and their years of experience honing their assessment skills, it would be natural for them to pick up on the more subtle indicators that a consultant without that clinical expertise might overlook. In addition to being able to accurately identify these indicators, our executive concierge consultants are simultaneously providing psychoeducation and self-management tools to enhance resiliency and improve functioning of the executive. This could potentially allow for early identification of warning behaviors and present the opportunity to triage that individual into appropriate treatment to address those behaviors or cognitive dysfunction before any emergence of violence occurs.
References
Borum, R., Fein, R., Vossekuil, B., & Berglund, J. (1999). Threat assessment: Defining an approach for evaluating risk of targeted violence. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 17, 327-337.
Calhoun, F. S., & Weston, S.W. (2003). Contemporary threat management: A practical guide for identifying, assessing, and managing individuals of violent intent. San Diego, CA: Specialized Training Services.
Meloy, J.R., Hoffman, J., Guldimann, A., & James, D. (2012). The role of warning behaviors in threat assessment: An exploration and suggested typology. Behavioral Sciences and the Law, 30, 256-279.
White, S., & Meloy, J.R. (2007). The WAVR-21: A structured professional guide for the workplace assessment of violence risk, Second edition. San Diego, CA: Specialized Training Services.
About the Author: Amanda Reszkowski, LCSW, ICGC is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Internationally Certified Gambling Counselor. At R3 Continuum, she is a Special Projects Manager for executive concierge services, developing and coordinating operations for executive concierge services projects. She received her Masters of Social Work with a concentration in direct practice from the University of Pittsburgh, and completed her undergrad in Psychology at Pennsylvania State University. Before joining R3 Continuum, she has worked in different capacities in a variety of behavioral health field settings, with the majority of her career spent as a corporate crisis response coordinator and a private practice clinician.
