Has any Manger, HR, or owner ever said to you, ‘If I had known that you were ADHD or Dyslexic or … (I’ll let you fill in the blank), then I would never have hired you!’
This could happen despite the fact that you have worked for them for several years during which you performed well at your job.
They only see your difference and proceed to discriminate immediately.
This is quite sad and yet not surprising. In fact, in a 2020 study about Neurodiversity in the workplace, conducted by the Institute of Leadership & Management in the UK, they found that 50% of Managers and HR would not hire a person who is Neurodiverse… 50% !!
It’s funny how people and organisations only focus on the negative and not on the positive. It is said that a lot of this relates back to our ancestral Neanderthal days when we were constantly afraid of what may jump out and eat us; this has now developed into who can harm our business and reputation.
When this happens, we become problem-focused and can only look and think in terms of problems. A better mindset is to become solution-focused and consider what strengths and benefits can be achieved by hiring Neurodivergent individuals.
Believe me, there are plenty to consider.
Each Neurodiversity has plenty of strengths that would be an asset to a business. When a business looks at Neurodiversity, they need to evaluate how best a Neurodiversity could be applied to achieve their objectives.
Do you have a major project that requires an individual that can dedicate a significant degree of energy, be extremely focused and solve problems while under pressure? Then you will want to consider a person with ADHD, as they have the qualities you require.
Are you trying to build systems and processes for your organisation, perhaps for a new department, and you require an individual who can develop new strategies, be creative and have an intuitive ability to be a problem solver? A good hire would be a person who has dyscalculia.
Or do you need someone who is strong in sales presentations, has strong verbal skills, is good at selling through stories, uses creative thinking to help solve a client’s needs and is a natural networker for business development? If this is the type of person you are after, you will want recruiters to find you a person who is dyslexic.
Final Remarks
Employers, managers and human resource professionals often lack the understanding that Neurodiverse people are team members that have talents they will want in their organisation. The more we become aware and the more we utilise such talents, the more opportunities businesses create to become more competitive.
What’s your opinion?
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Listen to this topic and others like it on my podcast Take A Leap & Transform: A Neurodiversity Journey