Do you have an inspiring, but possibly frustrating co-worker? Someone who jumps from task to task and does them at great speed and with decent quality, but is unlikely to fully document their work? Or know someone who dives deep into topics, but not necessarily always the ones you want them to focus on? Or know someone who has great insight at seeing an overarching pattern but may not remember your name? These are all common neurodivergent traits such as ADHD, Autism, and Giftedness.
But what if I told you these are two sides of the same coin? By recognizing and working with the neurodivergent aspects, you can avoid the trip hazards, work with each other’s best qualities, and everyone thrives.
In this article, I’m going to cover current understanding around neurodiversity, neurodivergency, why it is so prevalent in our ecosystem, and how this knowledge can benefit your career.
Why Neurodivergent Minds Thrive in the Salesforce Ecosystem
Salesforce is a product that requires significant depth of knowledge, has considerable variety, and is ever-evolving. In short, it’s perfect for hyperfocus (autism), those that love novelty (ADHD), those that want significant intellectual stimulation (gifted), and those that have great spatial visualization (dyslexia). Of course, these are generalisms and cannot be guaranteed.
The Trailblazer Community is a wonderful network of warm, friendly people who are generous and offer safe spaces where neurodivergent types can be their authentic selves. The word gets around, and those who feel welcomed and valued for who they are stay, even if they have some social anxiety or are struggling with (un)masking.
Many people within the Salesforce ecosystem are neurodivergent, including the following non-exhaustive list of MVPs, just as an example: Andre van Kampen, Brian Kwong, Elizabeth Davidson, Erin Duncan, Frédérique Mounier, Janeen Marquardt, Kathy Waterworth, Katka Vokrinkova, Kristi Campbell, Lilith Van Biesen, Martin Humpolec, Paul McCollum, Sam Wadhwani, and Tom Bassett.
The point being that if you are neurodivergent, you are not alone.
Understanding Where Neurodivergent Minds Fit In
If there are ten people in your immediate office or team, two are likely to be neurodivergent. In other words, they may have ADHD, autism, giftedness (high IQ), dyslexia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, Tourette’s too, or a combination of these traits, as they often overlap. Collectively, these individuals are known as “neurodivergent”, while those without such differences are considered “neurotypical”.
The science of neurodivergency continues to develop at a rapid pace, so what we know now is likely to become much better understood – or perhaps completely reinterpreted in a few years. For instance, until 2013, it was thought that you could only have Autism or ADHD, but not both. Now the opposite is realized, in that if you have one, there is around a 50% chance you have the other. It is now recognized that if you have one neurodivergency, you are likely to have more than one neurodivergency – something I didn’t know back when I last wrote about this subject for Salesforce Ben.
There is also a historic underdiagnosis of women and black people with ADHD. Much of the early research was undertaken by white middle-class men, studying white middle-class boys. It’s a reminder that sampling bias can distort our understanding – worth keeping in mind when making data-driven decisions.
For my money, at some stage, we may discard the individual labels and become content with “neurodivergency” as an all-encompassing phrase because there is a lot of crossover between the different aspects. That high level of intensity could be ADHD, Autism, or Gifted, for example.
Best Ways to Work With Neurodivergent Colleagues
You are going to work with – and possibly be surrounded by – people who are neurodivergent, so what are some good suggestions? In fact, you may read these tips and realize that they can benefit most people in most situations, regardless of the diagnosis.
- The single biggest tip is that if you’ve met one neurodivergent person, you’ve just met one neurodivergent person. We’re unique. Our own values, experience, combination of neurodivergencies and how they interact with one another, and physical attributes affect the outcome every time, so don’t pre-judge.
- The best step is to sit down with your colleague and ask what works best for them. Come with an open mind to the conversation, rather than solutions you have already decided ahead of time. Also, perhaps ask them “what about this activity you are finding difficult” – “what” is an open question, whereas “why aren’t you doing this activity” holds a lot of presumption and judgment, in that the person should be able to do it, or even that it’s a good place to start from. That’s your view, not their experience. They may have a different perspective that you haven’t thought of.
- Lastly, focus on strengths and not weaknesses – i.e. the true outcome you want to achieve as a team. If someone is not particularly good at something, is it really a good use of time focusing on that? Options include offering additional support or swapping specific tasks with other members of staff.
How to Further Your Career If You Are Neurodivergent
Knowledge is power, so welcome to the voyage of self-discovery! Your local doctor is a good starting point, but doing your own research is also a requirement. That thing about being unique… it makes you your own best specialist.
Exercise and mindfulness are also both proven to be particularly helpful for neurodivergent types, although inevitably not for everyone.
Dig deep into your motivations and interests, and try things out. If you find aspects of your professional goals that align with these, you are likely to be more successful. It’s like putting the right type of oil into an engine – everything just goes much more smoothly. I would be remiss not to mention coaching as an option.
At work, you can also ask for reasonable accommodations. These are enshrined in law throughout the EU, UK, and US, amongst other countries, although the exact legislation varies.
One popular misconception is that if an adjustment is made for one employee, then it has to be made for everyone else. No, neurodivergency is a protected characteristic, and it is exactly for this reason that the deviation from the standard routine is allowed. Also, I’ve found it best to describe the accommodation as an experiment. Try it for a few weeks to see if it works. After all, it may not do. If it does work, great – everyone benefits because the working environment is more cohesive – if it doesn’t, then that is trial and error, as with working through any attempt at innovation, and can be abandoned and chalked up as experience.
Summary
Neurodivergency is here to stay. It can’t be changed, but you can learn how to work with it and not fight it – one is a constructive activity, the other is destructive. Find the tips, tricks, and information format that works for you. For some, it will be podcasts, for others, TikTok. For some books, and for me, listening to audiobooks and processing what I’ve learnt by writing blogs. We’re all different!
If, after reading this article, you think you may be neurodivergent, here is an ADHD self-test, and this is one for autism. Neither of these is a guarantee, but they are indicators that further investigation is warranted.
Further Resources
- Neurodivergency and mental health – a 30-minute dash (presentation with Pei Mun Lynn and Paul Ginsberg).
- Neurodivergency Trailblazer Community Group.
- Gifted: Exceptional Talent by Corten Frans (Kindle).
- The ADHD Adults (podcast).
- National Autistic Society (UK).
- Deeper dives into ADHD, Autism, and Giftedness, written with a Salesforce context in mind (blogs).
With thanks to Roger Farrow, my regular neurodiversity thinking partner, and a good person to follow on LinkedIn for lots more insights!
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