Leading Neurodiverse Teams

Having led multidisciplinary teams for the past 20 years, I, like most leaders found myself focusing some of my attention on leading multiple generations in the workplace, from Baby Boombers through to Gen Y’s and Z’s. Placing faith in that considering how each generation is motivated, it would help me to navigate the complex world of leadership. And to an extent, it has. I have worked for years, learning to adapt my style to connect effectively with diverse groups. HOWEVER, maybe I (we) should have just accepted and focused on the person, not the label – I’ll come back to this!

At this point I would like to introduce my colleague Sam. Sam Rosa is a senior HR business partner at Ramboll and together we co-chair the People Steering Group for Transport in the UK.

It is our view that we are now in the midst of what we believe is the single most significant leadership opportunity for our businesses - managers and leaders - learning how to develop and flex to effectively lead neurodiverse teams. There are proven benefits to organisations from being intentionally neuro-inclusive, including increased productivity, better problem solving and decision making, enhanced innovation and creativity.

According to Lexxic, 1 in 7 of the UK population is considered to be neurodiverse, (15% of the population), with a higher rate of diagnosis in males, and 32% of neurodiverse employees feeling unable to openly share their neuro-difference at work.  Neurodiversity is a term used to describe the range of differences in individual brain function and behavioural traits, which are regarded as part of normal variation in the human population.  It is an umbrella term that includes conditions such as autism, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia, and Tourette’s syndrome. It is recognised that some individuals may experience more than one of these conditions (intersectionality). The concept of neurodiversity emphasises that people experience and interact with the world around them in many different ways, and there is no one “right” way of thinking, learning, and behaving. Once you understand and acknowledge this, how you view and handle interactions in the workplace will change forever.

To help frame this, we would like to step through this from an organisational and individual view. First, Sam’s view on the organisational lens.

So, what should businesses be doing to better embrace the opportunity? There are many things that need to be addressed as we evolve in this space. Whilst not intended as an exhaustive list, the following are considered as key if organisations are to unlock this leadership opportunity.

• Recruitment – ensuring the practices that form part of the attraction, recruitment and onboarding processes are designed and implemented to enable all candidates to showcase their talents/potential and proactively asking candidates whether any reasonable adjustments are needed to support them through these processes. These may include additional time at interview or for assessment, providing interview questions in advance, ensuring a diverse interview panel is in place and that consideration is given to the format and presentation of any written materials.
• Guides/policies – within Ramboll, in addition to policies we have a series of “supporting our people” guides, to help people managers lead effectively. Ensuring these guides, together with any training material reflect the neurodiverse nature of our teams and signpost managers to additional resources and support is essential.
• Manager training – once the material is in place, successful implementation of the guides is key. Providing training to raise awareness of neurodiversity and supporting people managers in accepting that managing neurodiverse teams will require a greater degree of self-awareness and practice to get right and equipping them with tools and techniques to develop their leadership styles as needed, as well as peer support groups to allow the sharing of knowledge and experience.
• Supporting employees – this is a space that at times can be difficult to get right. As we all drive for enhanced efficiencies, single operating platforms, reducing bespoke software applications and standard approaches to delivery, we must remain cognisant of the need to create a psychologically safe and inclusive culture where differences are valued. This helps provide a sense of belonging and ensures people are comfortable requesting any reasonable adjustments needed to thrive. Not only is this a legal requirement but it is key to success and will contribute positively to employee wellbeing, engagement and retention. If your company policy on, for example, mobile phones or computer software is preventing staff accessing the tools they need, this must be challenged and addressed.
• Ongoing awareness raising – providing a platform to continue this journey is important. Within Ramboll we have set up our Ability Employee Network and have already hosted a series of webinars and discussion groups to help raise awareness and empower employees to “call out” non-inclusive behaviours in a collaborative and supportive way. This LinkedIn article will hopefully go a small way to supporting this awareness raising.

So what can we do as individual leaders?

• Grow your network - engage openly with diverse individuals and groups, make it a priority to develop your awareness and understanding of neurodiversity. Accept this is a learning journey and others around you can help support your progress.  Listen deeply, be humble, admit and correct mistakes and actively request and act on feedback about what more you can do to be neuro- inclusive.
• Be aware and accepting and provide reassurance - lead with empathy and adapt your approach. This includes being aware of your language, be mindful of the settings and format of meetings; having a clear agenda, recapping actions and responsibilities and timelines can be helpful for all, not just neurodiverse colleagues. These will all help create an environment where people can flourish.
• Focus on the person, not the label (I said I would come back to this!) - ask your people what THEY need to succeed, don't make assumptions, make reasonable adjustments to support them and enable their skills.
• Play to their strengths - understand how to get the best from people whilst being aware of the challenges and headwinds they face. If you haven’t yet, take time to talk to them about this.
• Be socially diverse - ensure your plans are inclusive and accessible to all. Dare to make plans that don’t include pubs and restaurants! Or accept that they may not want to participate at all. And that's ok.
• Be positive about differences - remember embracing difference represents opportunities for future growth and greater success.

Before I conclude and leave you with my key takeaways, I just wanted to share a personal reflection. My “penny dropping” moment only occurred mid-way through 2023. Having provided similar themed feedback to an individual on a number of occasions, I was starting to become frustrated by what looked like inaction. Was I not explaining myself very well? Were they just ignoring me? Was I seeing something others weren’t? Was I being unreasonable? Of course, any of these are possible and may well have been the case. But, I now find myself asking, could I have been struggling to lead where neurological differences existed? I for one will continue to learn, practice, and develop my ability to lead neurodiverse teams. My hope is, you’ll join me.

Your key takeaways:

• Be curious, be aware, seek to understand and adapt, accept you won’t always get this “right” but above all else your role is to create the environment where everyone can flourish.

We would love to hear your insights and reflections.

Mike Birch – Divisional Director, Ramboll UK

Sam Rosa – Senior HR Business Partner, Ramboll UK