How to be a Neurodiversity Champion at Work

Are you curious about neurodiversity in the workplace?

Did you know that nearly 30% of the population falls into the neurodivergent category, including individuals with autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and more? Understanding neurodiversity is crucial because it challenges the notion that processing information differently is a deficit. Instead, it recognizes that people are just different. Accommodating their unique needs can lead to increased productivity, innovation, and happiness.

This episode offers valuable insights and practical advice for leaders to promote neurodiversity and create inclusive workplaces where individuals can thrive.

Meet Katherine McCord

Katherine, a physically and neurodiverse woman herself, built her career on inclusive innovation in People Operations and HR Tech. She lives by the motto that different is not a deficit.

In 2014 she founded Titan Management, a national people operations consulting firm, and then in 2021 she shook up HR Tech by designing the first ever fully accessible, anti-bias Applicant Tracking System plugin that fires the resume and showcases company diversity!

Featured at Web Summit, HR Disruptor, SHRM, and London School of Business, she makes an energetic, interactive, education-based speaker who always brings some spice!

In this episode Katherine and I discuss…

• The definition of neurodiversity and understanding that these differences are not deficits but rather natural variations.
• The significance of making accommodations for neurodivergent individuals in the workplace and the need for leaders to create psychological safety, listen to employees’ needs, and provide appropriate accommodations to enable their comfort and productivity.
• How, by standardizing accommodations to make them available to everyone, not just neurodivergent individuals, leaders can create an inclusive work environment where everyone feels supported.
• Using Humor! Katherine shares her personal experience with neurodiversity and suggests using humor as a tool to diffuse tension and normalize differences.
• Why, If you are a neurodivergent leader, sharing personal experiences and being open about one’s own neurodiversity can establish trust, create psychological safety, and encourage open conversations about diversity, mental health, and physical differences.

Connect with Katherine:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katherine-mccord-093bb343/

Resources

Register for the How to Get Mentally Fit webinar: Learn the 3 core muscles to build to gain mental fitness.

Apply to be on an “On-Air Coaching” episode. Are you a female leader who has been promoted in the last year? Apply to be on the podcast.

Leadership Coaching. Find out more about my coaching, pricing, or how to ask your employer to sponsor your coaching.

Leadership Operating System Inventory. Wondering what kind of Leadership traits you have? Take this FREE, FAST self-assessment and find out more about yourself as a Leader.

Accomplished: How to Go from Dreaming to Doing. The book containing a simple, step by step system to help you design your goals and make them happen.

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