Do you sometimes feel that you can never have enough impact on the things that matter the most to you? Have you ever thought that the issue is so big, complex or challenging? That no matter what you do, it could never be enough?
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The value of neurodiversity training
In this article I’m going to talk about the value of undertaking training on neurodiversity and how your organisation could benefit from it.
I’ll show you how what might seem like quite specific training could actually help you in a number of different ways that you’ve probably not previously considered. Primarily how can better support the mental health of your staff and improve employee engagement.
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A client that I'm working with at the moment (an employee) has been challenged with getting focused and being productive.
They're the sort of person that takes lots of notes, has plenty of ideas and is generally pretty clear on what they need to do. Except they still struggle to get through their work and to cover all their bases.
To help overcome the overwhelm of multiple tasks, due dates and expectations we've adopted a simple, tried and tested approach.
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When it comes to inclusion and supporting greater workplace diversity, many of us understand the rationale, the value proposition. The 2018 report released by Deloitte on the diversity and inclusion revolution is a heavily cited view of just how valuable real diversity can be for business.
Though it’s not easy.
You know that. Your daily experience of trying to find ways to lift diversity and support greater inclusion of the more diverse employees that come into the organisation is one of wins, fails and plenty of head-scratching.
How do you create inclusive environments, processes and practices when everyone is so different?
Could this one simple strategy be the solution you need?
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Earlier this year when attending the Autism@Work Summit in Melbourne I heard from a panel of employers who have commenced autism hiring programs. It’s fantastic to see so many businesses open their doors to talent they may have not explored before and start learning to be much more inclusive as a result.
A question raised from the audience around how smaller organisations can replicate what these typically very large corporates are doing. It was a great question and one that I’d also like to share some thoughts on.
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Have you ever had an employee that didn’t seem to work well with their team members? Have you come across those project teams that seemed to be dysfunctional and worked against themselves more than for themselves?
All too often you’ll have lost employees, they’ve just left or worse still perhaps is they have remained and ‘underperformed’ or being problematic. Imagine if you didn’t need to face the constant threat of attrition, poor performance or interpersonal conflict within teams.
Imagine how much more productive, effective and engaged your staff would be if they understood each other, the organisation and had a voice.
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Once again I attended the Autism@Work Summit in Melbourne, hosted by DXC Technology, ANZ Bank and the Autism Co-operative Research Centre.
This has proven to be a fantastic day (this was my second time attending) the last couple of years and it’s hard not to learn something. With speakers from a variety of organisations and insights from many angles on a range of topics there is plenty to learn about and loads of great connections to make as well!
I had previously shared a short video post on the key takeaway I had from the day, but let’s explore that in a little detail along with the other key takeaways.
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Learning is as they say, ‘a journey’, and something that we continue to do through our lives.
I suspect that like many people in the broader HR community, you’ve come across the term Neurodiversity. I’ve no doubt that you have definitely heard of terms such as autism, dyslexia and ADHD.
So, neurodiversity is then how we describe this idea of difference as it relates to the way a person thinks and processes information. It’s cognitive or neurological difference.
Maybe, if you’ve been reading my blog for a while you’ve got a pretty good understanding and an appreciation of the strengths that neurodiverse people bring to work, but you’re looking for more.
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The neurodiversity concept or movement is gaining traction globally. Certainly as awareness increases, more people are coming to understand what it means and how to relate to neurodiverse people.
A follow on implication is greater understanding of the contributions that neurodiverse people can make. What also seems to stand out for me is the realisation people have when it comes to how many people are touched by it.
So whilst approximately 10-15% of the population may identify as neurodiverse, think of all the people directly connected to that individual. With the ‘average’ family represented by four people, there are potentially at least a further three people directly and closely connected to every neurodiverse person.
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Having dealt with the challenge of how to recruit neurodiverse candidates and on-board them into your business, you’re now considering the next steps as part of your diversity and inclusion plans.
Or you may be in the camp where you have identified existing staff who have disclosed as being neurodiverse or are facing ‘stereotypical’ workplace challenges.
Making reasonable adjustments to the workplace are often mandatory legislative requirements in most countries. But beyond that, having an inclusive workplace that caters for the needs of your staff will allow them to perform at their best.
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I’ve been exploring mindsets again of late and have circled back to the work of Carol Dweck and the Growth Mindset.
The idea of the Growth Mindset is the belief that your ability to learn and adapt is flexible. It is something that we have direct control over.
This leads to the view that your potential is limited by your effort and imagination.
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An area that I find interesting and I believe many others do also, is that of creativity. What is it? And is it something that can be learnt, developed and harnessed?
Through an exploration of three well known creative figures, I had hoped to gain some insight into potential answers to these sorts of questions.
Whilst a sample size of three is clearly not going to be statistically significant, there were a number of key insights that can provide some useful lessons regardless.
The three people that were the subject of this ‘grueling’ analysis were James Dyson, Richard Branson and Thomas Edison. You might be wondering why the inclusion of Edison, he’s a little of out time with the other two.
The rationale was that including someone from the previous century (or two) would provide an interesting perspective as to how pervasive (over time) any insights might be.
I had hoped to see if any lessons we might learn would likely have future validity beyond the here and now.
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