Episode Idea: Neurodiverse Professionals, Managers, and How To Manage Them

Hi! I'm a long-time listener, first time on the forums, so I'm not sure if this is the right place to suggest an episode idea...

I haven't fully listened to the most recent two episodes on Discussing Your Mental Health With Your Boss, but I skimmed the show-notes, and it gave me an idea for an episode both I and my manager wish was out there: How to deal with neurodiverse professionals, both as a neurodiverse person and their manager, and also effective ways to manage people when you, yourself, are neurodiverse.

I'm dealing with ADHD, Autism, and the standard constellation of "friends" they bring along, and it would be great to get tips and advice on how to deal with others in the workplace, such as what are common pitfalls, accommodations that are usually made for people with different kinds of neurodiversities, things that I should just plan to suck up and deal with, and so on. I know my manager, as recently as this morning's weekly 1:1, asked me what else he can do to help me be more successful, and most of the advice I find for managing people with ADHD or Autism focus on retail or other lower-level jobs that doesn't really resemble the life of an, in my case, IT professional well into my career. I'm also working towards getting into management, myself, at some point, so it would be great to know what to expect, systems I can build up ahead of time, and so forth. Maybe split the content aimed towards ICs to Career Tools and how to manage ND ICs to Manager Tools; doing a segment on how to train your reporting managers to be cognizant of and effective in managing their ND direct-reports or peers and ways to shape your organization to take advantage of these people in Executive Tools could be interesting, as well.

It would be valuable to see a collaboration, say, between people in the ND space and MT. The first two who spring to mind are Jessica with How To ADHD or Paul from Aspergers From The Inside, both YouTubers who speak frequently on the more general topics affecting those with ADHD or on the Autism Spectrum. MT's focus on professionalism and managing professionals talking with subject-matter experts and communicators like these would, I think, lead to some fascinating insights into how to make the workplace more welcoming and effective for those whose brains are wired differently.

Thanks for the years of wonderful content -- it's added so much value to my career and those of the people I've turned onto MT and CT -- and I look forward to future episodes!

Digitally yours,
George Pandzik