National Speaker Series - Dave Thompson
On February 15th, 2023, the Colorado Neurodiversity Chamber of Commerce hosted a new event, the national speaker series. As we aim to include businesses and professionals from the Denver/Colorado region, we also understand the importance of including companies outside our local network.
Background:
Dave Thompson, Director of Strategic Programs for Potentia, led an incredible session on neurodiversity in the workplace. Dave himself has ADHD, dyslexia, sensory processing disorder, and left-right confusion. After struggling to enter the workforce initially, he turned his sights onto shaping the world around him to become more inclusive. His goals were to become a force of change and positivity so that others like him could find themselves in work environments that matched their needs. He began his journey assisting non-profits before using his connections and knowledge to start assisting larger scale companies. Thompson declared during his opening moments: "I realized that a lot of the work needs to be done to the world of work, not so much to the individuals. The world of work and the employer have a lot of catching up to"
As the introduction ended and he shared his screen (with a slide deck readied), Dave opened with his own definition of neurodiversity and discussed some high level points that companies focus on when working with neurodivergent employees.
What is Neurodiversity? "Neurodiversity refers to variation in the human brain impacting how we learn, process information, interact, and see the world"
Neurodiversity At Work:
Up to 45% increased productivity
2x Faster New Skills Adoption
96% Superior Retention Rates
Despite these statistics, we still see 30-40% if neurodivergent adults are unemployed. "This leads us to our main question", said Dave, "How do we become more inclusive to a neurodivergent workplace?"
Thompson highlighted four areas that companies can focus to improve on as they look at hiring processes.
Psychological Safety
This includes adjusting work culture and climate to promote inclusion and employees feeling safe.
Inclusion Safety - Do we safely include everyone's thoughts, feelings, and opinions? Are we including everyone?
Learner Safety - Does our workplace allow for learner safety? Can we make mistakes?
Contributor Safety - Can our employees contribute? Do we value employee opinions?
Challenger Safety - Do I feel safe as a challenger? Can we challenge ideas or norms?
Dave continues on to highlight that Potentia holds companies accountable to 'walk the walk'. Hiring neurodiverse employees is fantastic, but we organizations should strive to have employees feel like they belong. An organization that engages the full potential of the individual, where innovation thrives, and views, beliefs, and values are integrated. Having safety for employees, assists with creating a more full company where everyone is valued equally.
Neurodiverse Success Enablers
Rebranding of the term "accommodations"? How do we ensure everyone has the tools to succeed at their workplace? The fact of the matter is that everyone needs different tools to succeed. "We want to normalize," Dave says, "that everyone needs something different to be set up for success within the world of work." In explaining this, he held up some of his own tools that assisted him in his very own presentation. This included a stopwatch for keeping time, noise cancelling headphones to reduce distractions, LED lights instead of fluorescent lights in his office, fidget spinners on his desk, and other items to make him more comfortable. "I realized that when I can shape my own work environment, it really helps me, and my employer!" Dave continued on to explain that when we can make employees comfortable, it improves productivity, whether being neurodivergent or neurotypical!
Other examples of success enablers include:
Collaborative Structure and Organization:
Signs
Flow Charts
Lists
Reminder Notification Systems,
Coding Systems (colors, icons, labels)
Company Roadmaps
Collaborative Lists (Trello, Google Sheets, Monday, etc.)
Sensory:
Headphones
Fidgeting
Lighting
Preparation:
Pre-Work Documents (ex. watch this video)
Meeting Notes / Relevant Info
Time for Questions / Comments
Work Style:
When do we complete assignments?
Where can we complete these items?
How do we complete tasks? Is there a specific procedure?
Communication:
Email
Text
Verbal
By including more options in the workplace, we can assist those with different learning and organizational styles and be more inclusive for all employees.
Neurodiversity Inclusion Programs
Thompson's third point discussed how we can create more opportunities to include neurodivergent and neurotypical voices in the company. Inclusion programs help all companies, as they allow for communication and experiences sharing at all levels.
Companies looking to provide greater inclusion can start to look at their own practices regarding:
Greater support for neurodivergent employees
Many companies have current staff members that will not disclose their neurodiversity. How can we foster a safer environment for individuals to not 'mask' their feelings
Greater inclusivity for all employees
This includes improving selection techniques, structured onboarding, and person-centered leadership
Enhancing Your Brand
92% of people would rather buy from and work for companies that actively support diversity. Consumers do take notice!
Unleashing Neurodiversity Innovation
How do companies leverage those who think differently or see problems differently? Do they dismiss their ideas? Do we accept that and try to see tasks through their eyes?
The final from Dave was to discuss leadership.
Inclusive Leadership
Leadership and how companies lead is constantly changing. As we look to be more inclusive with our employees, Dave shared with the group a set of statistics that show how beneficial it can be to have a company with leaders that listen and incorporate feedback into their responsibilities.
Teams with Inclusive Leaders are:
17% more likely to report that they are high performing
20% more likely to say they make high-quality decisions
29% more likely to report behaving collaboratively
So what exactly is inclusive leadership? Dave highlighted 5 areas that leaders can improve so that they become more inclusive. This included:
Modeling humility, vulnerability, and empathy with the team
Prioritizing 2-way communication
Ensuring fairness between employees and teams
Demonstrating openness, availability, and accessibility
Encouraging/Inspiring team members to grow, develop, and contribute
Additional Challenges - The Hiring Process
In addition to discussing how we can improve the workplace for employees, Dave touched on how we can also improve the hiring process for employees. The discussion started by discussing job applications and job descriptions. Dave pointed to three items that are typically on hiring platforms
Must be a strong communication
Must be a team player
Must be proficient in Excel
Dave went on to discuss each of these points in length. "What does it really mean?" he asked about each of them. For communication, am I giving speeches in front of crowds? Am I communicating only by email? What does a team player do? Am I creating notes and reports for my teammates? How proficient do I need to be in Excel? Do I need to create a graph in it? Set up a pie chart? Create a logic sequence? Am I running payroll?
The Job Interview - How can companies work towards differentiating their job interviews? How can we reduce anxiety or unconscious interviewer bias? These items need to be tackled in order for companies to be truly inclusive and have their employees belong to their community.
Additionally, not everyone is a strong interviewer. Some candidates are better at showing off their skills rather than discussing them in a 1-to-1 setting. Others struggle with verbal versus non-verbal communication. "How quick is a person's processing speed in a conversation?" Dave asked the group. Everyone is different. People may have different strengths in communication styles that may not be available in an interview setting.
Dave formally closed out our presentation by including methods to assist neurodivergent employees with information retention. This included respecting different learning styles, emphasizing company fit, chunking information, and building rapport with employees.
After a round of applause, Dave and the CNDCC team opened the floor for questions. Several people came forward to discuss their own experiences and dive deeper into a few topics discussed over the session.
Potentia's National Speaker Series was a hit with all companies that attended. Dave Thompson was able to provide his speaking deck afterwards, allowing for participants to retain the information and take it back to their own companies.
Dave Thompson's presentation on inclusive leadership and the hiring process was a valuable learning experience for all attendees. The five areas of improvement highlighted by Dave can be implemented by leaders to create a more inclusive workplace environment. It was also insightful to learn about how companies can improve their job application and interview processes to reduce unconscious bias and anxiety for candidates. The CNDCC's National Speaker Series has been a success in providing valuable information on neurodiversity in the workplace, and we look forward to future events. We encourage interested individuals or companies to reach out and participate in upcoming speaker series events.
If you, or your company, is interested in joining a National Speaker Series, please feel free to reach out to Amanda Kelly, Tiffany Feingold, or Danny Combs.