Understanding that my ADHD is just a neurodiverse way of thinking

2020/21 has been a mentally challenging year for everyone, but a series of personal events also led me to be recently tested and diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). This article is about my experience of ADHD in the workplace and I hope that it will create more awareness of ADHD, that it may help others to identify whether they also fit on the ADHD spectrum and to consider ADHD as a form of neurodiversity, rather than a disability. Afterall, should it really surprise anyone that many of us think, differently?

What is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?

This article is about my own experience of ADHD, so I won't go into detailed descriptions of what ADHD actually is. In short, it affects around 4% of the population, is an imbalance of the brain's dopamine and noradrenaline neurotransmitters, leads to dopamine deficiency and a range of symptoms affecting concentration levels and impulsivity. For anyone wanting to know more, feel free to read about it in the Royal College of Psychiatrists, or the American Psychiatric Association.

ADHD is mostly diagnosed in childhood, if disruptive enough and, although I can point to some personal childhood symptoms of ADHD, I generally managed to control and compensate for these. Most adults with ADHD are actually undiagnosed.

When I first tell people about my ADHD, the reaction is generally - but you're successful in your job?! Symptoms vary greatly between ADHDers, so although I managed to adapt and play to my strengths at work, this doesn't mean that it's easy to do so, or that my personal life is also plain sailing. It's not.

ADHD in my professional career

One point I will make right now is that, although ADHD diagnosis involves identifying the more negatively perceived behavioral symptoms, there are many positives about having ADHD too. In fact, I would go so far as to say that ADHD has been my key strength and single most defining aspect of career development.

ADHD is my personal operating system. I can still load all programs and function like a neurotypical, but I will always work and perform differently

From day one in my career, digital marketing provided me with the excitement, challenges and video-game-like hits of dopamine that my brain craves. Managing multiple marketing channels and campaigns allowed me to fire my ideas and creativity off in all directions and receive instant praise for being able to get involved everywhere so passionately.

My personal ADHD strengths

Over time, I realized that certain strengths, which I can now attribute largely to ADHD, helped me to get where I am today.

• Creativity and innovation - I thrive on new challenges and finding creative or different ways to solve problems.
• Empathy - I care a lot about what people think, what they say and what their problems are. I can moderate situations, find compromise and mitigate conflict and am resilient under pressure. I am a people pleaser.
• Multi-project management - I can easily and happily handle multiple projects, which I can jump between at any time, quickly identifying the main tasks and addressing immediate needs and challenges.
• Hyperfocus - Once I found a subject or challenge that interests me, I can spend days and weeks, deeply involved in learning the intricacies and exact ways to get the results I wish e.g. learning and operating new marketing technology.

My ADHD weaknesses

During my career, I have also realized that my ADHD comes with its weaknesses. I have received feedback that I wasn't bringing certain activities to an end, or was forgetting about them. That I didn't seem interested in some topics, or wasn't taking some things seriously. Also, I would tend to leave important activities until the last minute, only then becoming motivated enough to perform a desperate drive for completion.

I spend a lot of time 'in myself', leading many people to think that I don't care about situations, am not self confident, nor ambitious enough

Procrastination - Switching often between tasks and putting off ones which disinterest me, until the last minute

Lacking a sense of urgency - Getting distracted by or deeply involved in tasks, losing track of time and urgency until it's sometimes too late for certain deadlines

Lacking focus, concentration - Zoning out of conversations and losing track of what was being said, already thinking about ideas or activities I could work on. Getting up from my desk often to walk around, to think, or just because a task disinterests me.

Lacking self confidence - My ADHD often gives me a feeling of inadequacy. Of not being worthy or strong enough. That others have priority over me. I generally do not talk about or promote myself and have a fear of rejection.

Restlessness - More of a symptom than behavioral weakness, but my restlessness leads to sleeping issues, large energy drop-outs in the afternoon, trouble sitting still or even lying can be difficult (see 'Restless Leg Syndrome') and general nervousness.

'NEURODIVERSITY' - another way of thinking

That everyone's brain is wired uniquely, affecting how we work, is no surprise to anyone. I now have little fear about sharing my weaknesses in this context. So why is it so difficult, in a professional work environment, to acknowledge these neurological/behavioral differences, consider and organize ourselves accordingly and achieve better working outcomes as a result?

Neurodiversity is the idea that neurological differences like Autism and ADHD are the result of normal, natural variation in the human genome

The term Neurodiversity has been around since 1998 and is gaining attention as a form of inclusion and optimization in the workplace. Companies such as SAP and JP Morgen Chase have already changed the ways they hire and deploy neurodiverse employees. Startups like Auticon are even employing the solely Autistic in the IT space, due to their strengths in attention to detail and systematic ways of working.

What's more, if you consider that Elon Musk and Greta Thunberg have Asperger's (on the Autistic spectrum), Sir Richard Branson, John T. Chambers (Cisco CEO) and Ingvar Kamprad (IKEA founder) have ADHD, surely this is proof of the potential for success, rather than a label of disability?

In the workplace today, individuals tend to side with and form teams with colleagues who are either similar to each other (think the same way) or with leaders/perceived leaders (colleagues who can help them climb faster). Although research tells us that diverse teams are more successful, our unconscious bias and instinct will always attract us to the same kinds of people. I believe that in the near future, artificial intelligence will be able to analyze the behaviors, strengths and weaknesses of all employees ( e.g. Gallup's 'Clifton Strengths') and help us create teams that are diverse and based on the most probable likelihood for productive outcomes.

You can read more about Neurodiversity in the HBR article Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage.

I hope this article helps us consider certain neurological disorders in a different way and that we can remove the stigma associated with them. Thanks for reading!