Supporting Neurodiverse Leaders to Thrive
Barbra Carlisle • May 16, 2025
So you're Neurodiverse and Leading - read on to find out how to support yourself
Today there is, on the face of it at least, greater acceptance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Perhaps I sound slightly sceptical because I am.
What happens for leaders who are neurodiverse? Are they increasingly recognized for their unique strengths and perspectives? When we think of neurodiverse leaders we may think Richard Branson and Elon Musk, and as soon as we say their names our unconscious biases will be kicking in around what we think of these two and what it would be like to work for them.
Estimates suggest that up to 20% of the global population are neurodiverse. Neurodiversity covers such a wide range of conditions such as ADHD, autism, dyslexia, and more, which affect how individuals process information and interact with the world. This makes assuming you know what it would be like working for a neurodiverse leader virtually impossible. It also means that if you work with one neurodiverse leader then another one they are unlikely to be the same! Just like neurotypical leaders!
Leah Godfrey, COO at Neurodiverse Sport
and a Neurodiverse leader herself talked to me on The Unlikely Executive Podcast
about how her neurodiversity traits influence how she manages her work, her health and her leadership.
What I want to do in this article is to explore the advantages neurodiverse leaders bring to the table and provide ideas for navigating the leadership landscape. I will leave it to others to talk about the challenges of neurodiverse leaders.
The Strengths of Neurodiverse Leaders
Neurodiverse people often have natural skills that can be leveraged in leadership roles. Three I can think of are:
1. Problem-Solving and Creativity:
Neurodiverse leaders tend to excel in pattern recognition and creative thinking, allowing them to approach problems from unique angles
2. Resilience:
Having navigated a neurotypical world, neurodiverse leaders often develop resilience and adaptability
3. Laser Focus:
Conditions like ADHD can enable leaders to maintain intense focus on tasks, driving productivity and innovation
Strategies for Neurodiverse Leaders
While every leader is unique a couple of ways to manage and excel as a neurodiverse leader are shown below.
1. Embrace Your Strengths:
Recognize and leverage your unique abilities. For example, use your creative problem-solving skills to tackle complex challenges.
2. Build a Supportive Network:
Surround yourself with colleagues and mentors who understand and support your neurodiversity, a coach can help and there are more and more Neurodiverse specialist coaches now than ever before.
3. Develop Coping Mechanisms:
Implement strategies to manage potential challenges, such as using organizational tools to stay on track
4. Be kind to yourself:
You are unique and have valuable insights, experiences and perspectives to share with others. It won’t always be easy and there will be back lash, misunderstandings and frustrations. Recognise what your triggers are. Awareness of triggers then gives you the option of what you want to do to support yourself. It is not wrong to look after yourself first.
Supporting Neurodiverse Leaders
Organizations can play a crucial role in supporting neurodiverse leaders:
1. Awareness and openness:
Provide opportunities to talk about neurodiversity, respect and culture helps people to feel they have a place at the table. As a neurodiverse leader the power you have to positively influence others around you is significant! Be yourself.
2. Flexible Work Arrangements:
Know what working pattern works for you and be that role model who works in a way that suits you. Others will follow and productivity will increase as people are able to work at their best without judgement.
3. Mentoring and Coaching:
Offer leaders coaching to support and guide neurodiverse leaders in their career development
Conclusion
Neurodiverse leaders bring invaluable strengths to the workplace. By embracing their unique abilities and implementing supportive strategies, they can navigate the leadership landscape effectively and drive organizational success.
Connect with me to explore how personalized coaching can elevate your leadership skills.
Listen to The Unlikely Executive podcast
where I talk to neurodiverse, and neurotypical leaders, who have taken an unconventional path to follow their passions.
Share this article with your network, subscribe for more insights, and discover the transformative impact a coach can have on your journey.
Ideas and thoughts on how to lead well through complexity and change
The Intergenerational Advantage: Why Construction Firms Who Blend Ages Will Outperform Everyone Else
If you’re worried about not having enough young people, including women coming into construction, you’re asking the wrong question. The real risk is what happens when you don’t use the people you already have properly. The Crisis No One Is Solving Properly Across the UK, the construction workforce is ageing faster than it’s being replenished. There are 20% more workers aged 55+ than under 25. And it gets worse: 35% of the workforce is now over 50, and only 20% is under 30. Yes this presents an industry risk, but closer to home we see organisational risk. Leaders worry about recruitment, apprenticeships, T levels, Skills Bootcamps all useful, but none of them address the real issue: Experience is walking out of the door every single day, and new capability isn’t being integrated fast enough. This is exactly what my conversation with Colin McEllin MCIOB of Clan Contracting highlighted. When a 21 year old commercial graduate joined Clan Contracting, Colin didn’t roll his eyes or think, “another kid who’s never been on a site.” He leaned into it and welcomes thoughts, ideas and advice from 'young Aaron'. Massive benefits for him, and Aaron, and the wider team. Why Intergenerational Leadership Is Now a Strategic Priority The construction sector is staring at a workforce cliff edge: • 140,000+ vacancies lie unfilled. • By 2036, 750,000 skilled workers will retire, stripping the industry of vital capability. • The UK will need nearly 1 million additional construction workers by 2032. Yet recruitment alone isn’t enough. You cannot hire your way out of this crisis. We must integrate generations on purpose, not by accident. What Younger Workers Bring (That Leaders Ignore at Their Peril) Younger talent offers: • Modern thinking around sustainability and digital tooling • Analytical approaches and better documentation habits • A willingness to question processes that haven't been updated since the 90s • A commercial lens shaped by newer training systems In Colin’s words, their thinking “took him right back to when he was 21” eager, energetic, ideas driven. You want that energy before they lose it. What Older Workers Bring (That You Can’t Replace) Your experienced people have: • 30+ years of instinct • Pattern recognition that no textbook teaches • Quiet influence that stabilises teams • Technical fluency on heritage, concrete, structure, sequencing, conservation, problem solving These people are your institutional memory. Once they go, they’re gone. And currently, UK engineering employers admit they only retain knowledge effectively from 57% of retiring staff. That is a crisis hiding in plain sight. Leadership Actions That Works 1. Create deliberate two way mentoring (not hierarchical mentoring). Younger staff teach digital skills, new processes, sustainability thinking. Older staff teach technical judgment, site sense, risk spotting. Both feel valued. 2. Give young people actual responsibility, not token tasks. The CITB plans 40,000+ industry placements a year. It means nothing if leaders hide young people in the corner. Let them make decisions, with support. 3. Systemise knowledge transfer. You cannot afford to rely on “ask Dave if you need help.” You need processes, templates, technical walkthroughs, shared documentation. 4. Remove the “that’s not how we do it here” reflex. 76% of construction workers say current training doesn’t adequately prepare people for the job. So your way probably isn’t the best way anymore. Your Competitive Advantage Is Sitting Right Under Your Nose When generations work in isolation, capability leaks. When generations work together, capability compounds. The firms who win over the next decade won’t be the ones who grab the talent, it will be the ones who blend talent. Listen to the full episode of the podcast here or watch on You Tube here About me I write about topics that my podcast guests bring to the podcast. They have years of experience with challenges and opportunities along the way, highs and lows and are in the thick of leading with purpose and passion, faults an'all. As a coach and trainer I work with leaders and their times to help them thrive, laugh, enjoy their work, be productive and to build teams of all ages.
We love what we do so we grow in that role, we end up as leader with people around us but we want to stay doing the thing we love doing. Balancing leadership is hard.
