Welcome to the leADDership brief
A weekly newsletter for creative and innovative people, like you, with ADHD who want timely, helpful, and interesting resources
for leading and living well with ADHD.

“Should I tell my boss and colleagues about my ADHD diagnosis?” is one of the most frequently asked questions of my clients as well as friends and family with ADHD and my answer is usually “no” because this disclosure can backfire and have very negative repercussions for you at work.

While we’ve come a long way in our understanding and acceptance of things like depression, anxiety, and mental health, we still have a ways to go, especially around ADHD and the workplace. Not everyone understands ADHD or wants to take the time or energy to help an employee succeed.

Often people with ADHD (diagnosed or un-diagnosed) are hired because of their creativity, energy, innovation, and problem solving strengths and a boss will overlook the accompanying “weaknesses” like a messy desk, tardiness, and missed deadlines because they often high producers for the company. For some bosses, once they hear “ADHD,” they may have less tolerance for a messy desk, tardiness, or missed deadlines rather than grace and acceptance. Not everyone is positive or knowledgeable about ADHD, and you don’t want your boss thinking you are making excuses.

There are exceptions to the rule of course.

I have several clients who were referred to me by their employer and are doing everything they can to support their employee at work. One of those ways is by covering the cost of their coaching and working with me and the client to create a work atmosphere that leverages their employee’s strengths rather than works against it.

And some of my clients have very safe and supportive relationships with their bosses and are able to share their ADHD diagnosis with their boss and work together to create a productive and ADHD friendly work environment. '

I would love for either of these two options to be the rule for all of my clients and every adult with ADHD in the workplace!

What Should You Do?

As a diagnosis, "attention deficit" is miss leading. People with ADHD do not pay less attention, we pay more attention—so much more it's often too much. Our impulse is to take in extra stimuli instead of screening it out. We hear and observe everything, which makes focusing on one thing difficult. When your brain is wired to let everything in without a filter, the upside is an ability to make connections no one else can. Since we take in more info than people without ADHD, we can connect data and patterns they often overlook.

You'd think the neurological brain wiring secret to thinking like JetBlue founder David Neeleman, or Pulitzer Prize winner Katherine Ellison, would be a good thing, even something to brag about at work. Not so. The very reasons we got hired in the first place often become the things that can come to frustrate our boss and colleagues.

So, what should you do?

Talk to your boss about your symptoms and needs rather than ADHD. Focus on what makes you productive and your strengths as an employee. Remind them of why they hired you.

How should you talk to your boss about your symptoms and needs?

Know your strengths and what you bring to the company. Many workplaces have their employees take assessments like the DiSC, Strengths Finder, MBTI, Round Peg, or Color Code Personality Science. Assessments, when used well, helps employers understand the strengths and greatness of their employees as individuals and as a team. When used effectively, they can increase productivity, teamwork, and communication, leading to a happier and more profitable business.
If you have assessment results form your current or past employer, take some time to familiarize yourself with the language of your results. What do they say about how you work, what motivates you, your communication style, what shuts you down, your strengths, how you make decisions, and what sort of environment you will thrive in.
If you’ve never taken an assessment here links to my favorites:

I created a worksheet/spreadsheet of my strengths, personality traits, and learning style for myself years ago when I was first diagnosed with ADHD. It helped me to be very familiar with the language of my assessments and how to use them to my and my employer’s advantage. You can download a free PDF of the worksheet here and a brief example of how I use it here.

Here are a few ADHD specific examples for you to consider as you talk with your boss and/or colleagues:

“I really need to reduce my distractions so that I can focus on completing this project and bringing it on time. I'm going to spend the next two hours in the conference room rather than in my noisy cubicle.”
“I am most productive when I have a clear understanding of what is expected of me. Could we schedule a 15-minute touch base on Mondays so I stay focused on what’s important?”
“I’ve never met an idea I didn’t like, it’s one of the reasons I love this company, you’re innovative and creative, however, I also have a high value for meeting and even exceeding expectations on projects and I sometimes get distracted by all the cool stuff going on here. It would help my productivity and focus if we could put together a short list of what’s most important and critical so that I don’t get distracted by the interesting but unimportant.”
“I think and process best when I can talk things through. Could we set up a time each week to verbally process the project I am on and problem solve some of the knottier issues?”
“I think my productivity is suffering because I am often distracted by all that’s going on around me. I noticed that there is a cubical on the end, in a much quieter part of the office that is unoccupied, could I move there?”

2. Make a list of your specific issues (this is just for your information):

Distraction
Time management (short time horizon, time-blindness, now/not now)
The need to move around
Anxiety
Boredom
Organization
Etc.

Using the same approach as the one suggested above, identify ways you can address these issues. Use your problem solving and innovative skills to come up with ideas you can present to your boss for helping you to be more productive.

3. Assess your own core values—if you are unsure, download my worksheet here to help you discover your core values. Our core values are often indicators of what motivates us and you can use this when talking with your boss. Here’s an example:

“It’s really important to me that I am producing what I promised and meet deadlines. I really hate it when I drop the ball. There are so many exciting things going on here that I am apt to say yes to things I shouldn’t right now. It would help my productivity and focus if we could regularly touch base ensuring that I am staying in my lane and set some hard deadlines on pieces of this project.”

Your boss can only do so much. It’s also important to assess and address your key ADHD vulnerabilities and put the strategies in place that will best support your success. Check out early editions of the leADDership brief for ideas on resources and strategies that will help you thrive in your career.

Related editions:

7/1: https://pamlarsoncoaching.org/blog/unlockingthesecretsoftime

7/15 https://pamlarsoncoaching.org/blog/selfcompassionandtimemanagement

7/22: https://pamlarsoncoaching.org/blog/learningstylesandtimemanagement

7/29: https://pamlarsoncoaching.org/blog/strengthsbasedtimemanagement

8/19: https://pamlarsoncoaching.org/blog/howtoprepareformeetings

10/14: https://pamlarsoncoaching.org/blog/executivefunction