Helping Leaders To Support Neurodivergent Team Members

Guest post by Voice At The Table EDI Coach and Consultant María Quevedo

I recently finished coaching more than 50 women as part of a large-scale career acceleration programme.? I worked with them for several months, and many of them told me that they had ADHD but had not shared this with their managers.

This got me thinking that many managers are probably leading teams and supporting neurodivergent people without knowing it, and I often wonder whether this is happening when my clients reflect upon management challenges. ?I ask them to consider what else might be at play, especially when the challenge is about colleagues that are outstanding at their job but struggle to meet deadlines, or when the manager describes behaviours and ways of working that they can’t understand because they are different to what they see as the norm. ?Few clients start by considering neurodivergence as a possibility, and instead try to find ways to help their colleague fit into and behave in more neurotypical ways.

Neurodivergence is a way of being and experiencing the world that is different from what is considered the norm, and the norm is dictated by what neurotypical people do. That divergence brings huge strengths to teams and people?but managers often do not know enough about it to fully support their teams.

It is important to me as a coach that I enable managers to create truly inclusive cultures that welcome and support neurodivergence as much as any other characteristic. It is not about helping colleagues to be fixed and fit in better – nobody here needs to be fixed. It is about creating environments where everyone can perform at their best.

I invite clients to consider their behaviours and beliefs to uncover what might be getting in the way of?being truly inclusive leaders. For example, might there be an ableist bias embedded in?their everyday practices? How could they celebrate difference and appreciate what everybody brings to the table?

I am not an expert, but below are a few ideas I’ve collected through my work that may not only remove barriers for neurodivergent colleagues but make it better for everybody else too.

Safety Create a safe space for colleagues to ask each other what they need and enable your team to create ways of working that get the best out of each other. Try to be predictable: if you have established a meeting structure that works for everyone, stick to it; always provide an agenda before a meeting, including what contributions you expect from colleagues. Support neurodivergent-led ERGs or promote the creation of one if there isn’t one already.

Communication Ask about preferred communication styles, and how they like to receive instructions and feedback. If possible, normalise the use of voice messages. If you need to send a written request to someone who prefers a voice message, make it brief and always include deadlines. If you need to know that your email was received and understood, then say so: always include a clear call for action if you require one.

Sensory needs Consider your motivation for requesting that all cameras are on for virtual meetings – they may be too distracting for some colleagues and prevent them from focusing. Accept that some people find it uncomfortable to make eye contact; try not to make assumptions about what this means and reflect on how you can reduce the importance you place on this behaviour. The act of listening looks different for different people?and some may need to move or fidget in order to focus. Consider having meetings when all cameras are off or switching to phone calls for one-to-one conversations.

Think about what else you could do: ask colleagues regularly how you could better support them, find out how your colleagues process information best and check whether they’re getting what they need to complete tasks. Finally, and this applies to all your team members, make sure you celebrate successes as much as you can to build everybody’s confidence and belief in themselves.

If you want to learn more about Neurodiversity, a good start might be this article from?Harvard Health Publishing.

This blog was first published on the Voice At The Table website ?

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