ADHD receives a lot of press for the challenges and difficulties associated with the condition, but the positive side is almost entirely neglected. Professionals with ADHD offer a vast variety of strengths, skills, knowledge and experience to any workforce, ideally positioning them to drive creativity and innovation as well as an array of business-critical benefits.
This ADHD Awareness Month, Templeton’s recruitment specialists (20% neurodiverse ourselves) reveal how employers and managers can get the best out of their employees with ADHD.
Although ADHD stands for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, there are in fact many different types, which are all experienced individually by each person with ADHD. The condition falls into the category of neurodivergence (as opposed to neurotypicality) including:
Neurodivergent individuals experience the world in a different way to neurotypicals, which can translate to different thought patterns, feelings, preferences, reactions to events, needs, challenges and strengths. Whilst 1 in 7 people are estimated to be neurodivergent in some way, as many as 1 in 20 people are estimated to have ADHD. The condition is characterised with the following signs and symptoms:
ADHD can have a significant impact on the lives of individuals, causing difficulties with school and work, social interaction and achievement of personal and professional goals.
Although the condition is widespread and believed to impact millions of people in every country around the world, understanding of ADHD remains low and confused. Some of the main myths surrounding the condition as based in:
Just like any other person, every individual with ADHD is different, and will experience different challenges and needs. Many people with ADHD experience some or all of the following challenges in the workplace:
Whilst individuals with the condition experience problems with a lack of focus in many areas of life and work, the opposite can be true with topics and projects that someone with ADHD is especially interested in and passionate about. The term ‘hyperfocus’ is similar to a ‘state of flow’ where the worker is completely absorbed in their activity, except neurodivergent individuals experience this more intensely and for longer periods of time, to the exclusion of other activities such as forgetting to eat or drink. Employees with ADHD often experience hyperfocus on large intricate projects such as coding and software development, as well as design and creative tasks. Hyperfocus periods see employees operate at a much higher level of efficiency and effectiveness, often producing work in hours that would have taken others several days to produce, and coming up with ideas and improvements that are completely unique.
Neurodiversity naturally empowers ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking: people with ADHD experience the world in a very different way to neurotypical colleagues and bring a wealth of knowledge and ideas. Individuals make connections more easily and can imagine problems from different perspectives for a truly unique way of thinking. Cognitive diversity means unique and often underutilised perspectives that can help with creative thinking and new approaches when challenges and opportunities arise. With every neurodivergent person working in a group, that group becomes more diverse and better equipped to innovate and solve problems. Harvard Business Review report that diverse groups of people, especially those that are cognitively diverse, are much better at solving problems than within teams in which there are only cognitively similar people.
With 1 in 7 people in the global population thought to be neurodivergent in some way, neurodivergent customers and customers with ADHD present vast consumer bases of millions in every country all over the world. Diverse consumer groups are historically under-supported and undervalued, with large purchasing power ready to be addressed by companies that truly understand and can cater to their needs. This is even more true of neurodivergent customer bases, who as an ‘invisible’ diverse group have long been left out of Diversity & Inclusion initiatives. With their first-hand experience of living with ADHD and their different ways of viewing the world, employees with ADHD can better anticipate, understand and design for the needs of neurodivergent customers, helping to grow customer satisfaction, consumer loyalty and ultimately business revenue.
Where others see chaos, those with ADHD see opportunity. These creative powers can translate into a determination to solve difficult problems and come up with ideas that go far beyond the realms of company standards to drive true innovation. Neurodivergent employees are constantly learning and striving to improve their own skills and the success of everything they do, which includes supporting their colleagues and helping employers achieve company goals.
Often described as ‘relentless’ and known for their hyperactivity, individuals can display an energy and enthusiasm for work even when others feel tired, burned out or lacking in motivation. High energy levels help them and encourage others to push through difficult project stages and periods of change, and when harnessed properly can reach new levels of productivity and effectiveness.
Employees with ADHD often make excellent managers because they genuinely love and are gifted at motivating others, exciting team members and bringing them along with new projects and major change. Their positive influence is infectious, lifting the mood of a group and uniting colleagues for better team spirit and collaboration.
Impulsivity enables spontaneity and flexibility: a character that can pull ideas from nowhere, can follow and get on board with new ideas and suggestions, and with the right support can more quickly and easily adapt to – and thrive in – unfamiliar situations than neurotypical colleagues. Fast thinkers are strong in a crisis, responding intuitively and innovatively to emergencies and acting effectively whilst keeping the best interests of everyone involved at the forefront of their response.
Adventurous and brave, employees with ADHD can offer all the benefits of an entrepreneurial style whilst collaborating well within a team. A unique way of seeing the world means less fear of taking strategic risks and trying new things, with an optimism for positive outcomes and the drive to lead a revolutionary vision. Individuals can lead unprecedented changes to systems, ways of working and the very core of companies themselves, focusing more on the benefits of positive change than the limitations or corporate politics behind them, and serving as true leaders who achieve the never-before-possible.
What benefits one neurodivergent individual may be very different for another neurodivergent individual: the best thing a manager can do is listen. Active listening means not only asking for opinions and feedback, but also making an employee feel genuinely valued and supported, that their voice is heard, and that they are empowered to create positive change. The most effective managers will personalise their approach to each direct report by proactively and regularly seeking to discover what employees experience challenges with, what their wants and needs are, and how they can be best supported. Questions should include:
Particularly if the individual has only recently been diagnosed, they may not have much knowledge of what specifically will be helpful to them. Managers who personalise their approach to their employees will have the best grasp of what motivates and helps each individual, and will be able to make suggestions that are most likely to address their specific problems and needs.
The UK Equality Act of 2010 legally binds employers to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ for employees with disabilities, under which umbrella ADHD and other neurodivergent types can be recognised. Listening to employee challenges and needs can make it clear exactly which adjustments will help and in which way, including but not limited to:
Most adjustments to working environments are completely free or very low-cost but the benefits they bring for employee productivity, engagement and retention are monumental. Not every adjustment will work for every individual, but the right adjustments will make a world of difference, and help managers ensure employees are as effective and fulfilled as possible.
Good delegation is an important part of any managerial role, but so often overlooked. Employees need to truly understand not only what they’re doing but also how and why, to ensure the task is completed to the exact standards and timelines required, and that employees are consistently working towards wider team and company goals. Delegation is often rushed, with employees expected to ‘pick things up as they go along’ due to time pressures. However, neurodivergent and neurotypical employees will all deliver more value in both the short and long-term, and remove far more time and task burdens from their managers, with more initial investment in communication and training.
The best managers will set clear agreements and deliverables for all their direct reports, and provide additional explanation to their employees with ADHD, by:
Where there is no set deadline for a task, many individuals with ADHD will find it helpful to be set ‘fake deadlines’: they agree to deliver a task into their manager’s inbox by a certain date and time, helping them prioritise similar tasks and avoid forgetting less timely tasks until they become an urgent problem.
Asking the employee to repeat instructions back in their own words helps managers check the employee’s understanding of the task, and provides the opportunity to further clarify anything that has been missed before the employee starts to work on the task.
The process itself is less important than the agreement: keeping to one way of doing something, delivering it and reporting on it will all help maintain consistent quality of tasks and prevent employees from expending time and energy on unnecessary ways of working. Processes enable managers to keep their teams accountable and develop skills in time-management and organising their own workload.
Post-it notes and paper diaries can help recall and prevent details from being lost in the short-term, but long-term organisation requires one system containing tasks and projects plus all information and communication associated. Project management tools help to:
Verbal instructions can easily be misunderstood or forgotten, especially during times of stress or when communicated alongside several other directions, and which is especially true of employees with ADHD. Communicating on paper (or screen) forces a manager to explain clearly, in brief to focus on the most important elements of the task, and think about how the employee will understand and interpret the instructions. Writing down instructions helps employees pay attention to important details and feel empowered to complete the task independently, reducing the need for managers to repeat conversations and reducing employee errors.
Checklists can help individuals to manage their own time and remember to complete daily, weekly and monthly tasks well in advance, as well as keeping track of exactly where they are in regular processes and what actions need to be taken next.
Individuals with ADHD can initially show much enthusiasm for tasks and projects, but sooner or later become bored, unchallenged and unmotivated. Some employees will require a variety of different things to do every day to keep them engaged, whereas others will want days or weeks set aside to deep-dive into one particular activity that they love.
Hyperfocus can be harnessed by managers who pay close attention to what most engages, interests, excites, motivates and fulfils their direct reports. Managers can employ various tactics to access hyperfocus in a positive way whilst ensuring employees do not become burned out or work too hard in one area. Tactics include:
Keeping employees engaged will require regular checking-in to see how they’re feeling, where they’re excelling and motivated to keep learning and improving, and where they need support and closer management. Some of the accommodations put in place in the beginning may not serve an employee months of years later as the business changes and their career trajectory advances. Regular 1-2-1 meetings, ideally weekly or at least fortnightly, provide every employee with a safe space where they can share confidential worries and ideas with their manager without fear of judgment or recrimination. Managers can utilise 1-2-1s to gage what employees will need in terms of training, support and further adjustments, planning changes to ways of working and additional adjustments alongside employees to involve them and empower them in their own working life and career.
The challenges of ADHD can negatively impact the mental health and personal wellbeing of individuals at different stages of their careers and lives. As people bring their whole selves to work, personal problems can quickly become professional problems if left unvoiced and unsupported. The best managers know their direct reports well and build relationships based on trust and respect, empowering employees to proactively come forward with struggles and requests for help early on, enabling managers to support as soon as possible.
A recruitment agency created and staffed by neurodivergent recruiters who understand the power of neurodiversity will be far more effective at engaging neurodivergent talent. Built on the principle of diversity and inclusion in 1996, Templeton are an 85% diverse, majority-female team of specialist tech recruiters; 1 in 5 of us are neurodivergent, compared to 1 in 7 of the general population. Our team have first-hand knowledge and understanding of candidates with ADHD, their needs and challenges, and how employers can harness their skills and experience.
Read more about how we help employers recruit neurodivergent and diverse talent.
Discover the Benefits of Autistic Workers and How to Recruit Autistic Employees.