A supervisor asked me a question recently that I haven't stopped thinking about.
He had just been diagnosed as neurodivergent.
His question wasn't:
"How do I lead neurodivergent employees?"
It was:
"Is there leadership development that teaches me how to lead as a neurodivergent person?"
That's a very different question.
We spend a lot of time talking about the changing workforce. Gen Z. ADHD. Autism. Sensory processing. Four very different temperaments trying to work inside the same organization.
But neurodivergence doesn't stop at the supervisor's door.
Maybe the supervisor who constantly creates lists isn't rigid. He's building the structure his brain needs to keep ten competing priorities moving.
Maybe the leader asking unusually specific questions isn't challenging someone's competence. He needs insight before he can process the problem.
Maybe the manager who thrives during a crisis but struggles through routine administrative work isn't inconsistent. Different demands may simply engage his attention in different ways.
Neurodivergent leadership adds another variable to understand.
But his diagnosis also makes me wonder about all the years that came before it.
How long has he been overcompensating?
Before he had a diagnosis, he still had to lead.
Maybe he created elaborate systems so no one noticed what he struggled to remember. Maybe he prepared twice as long because he was terrified of appearing unorganized. Maybe he forced himself through environments that overwhelmed him because that's what a leader was "supposed" to handle.
Maybe what looked effortless to everyone else never was.
A diagnosis doesn't suddenly change someone's ability to lead. Sometimes it finally gives him language for what he has been working so hard to overcome.
What if leadership development helped him do something different?
Not excuse the challenges.
Not hide them.
Understand them.
Where does his wiring make him stronger? Where does it create blind spots? What systems can help him lead successfully without exhausting himself trying to appear unaffected?
That raises an uncomfortable question for all of us:
How much workplace behavior are we misreading, both above and below the organizational chart?
That's part of what we're going to investigate in:
Distracted, Different, or Done With Us?
Gen Z. Temperament. Neurodivergence. Attention. Expectations.
And whether some of our assumptions about all of them need an update.
Live Webinar: Distracted, Different, or Done With Us?
Is Gen Z struggling to focus — or refusing to invest attention in systems that no longer make sense? We’ll examine generational conditioning, neurodivergence, and the four temperaments to help leaders distinguish inability, misalignment, and disengagement.
This will be a recorded webinar. If you are unable to attend live, please register so you can still access it and learn more.
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