Neurodivergence can be a superpower, if managers create the right conditions

You may have heard people describe their neurodivergence – whether that’s attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), dyslexia or another differentiator – as a ‘superpower’. If you’ve ever wondered why, ask Anna Price CMgr MCMI. She credits her ADHD with making her more empathetic, intuitive and able to make connections others can’t. 

She also says that it has compelled her to leap at incredible opportunities – before her more cautious side has the chance to decline them. 

“I travelled the world with my first job after university,” says Anna, who runs Human, an EDI consultancy. “I’ve played basketball for my country. I took a job with a tech start-up in Berlin, despite not speaking any German. I’ve given evidence to a House of Lords select committee. And when the opportunity came up to work with the prime minister’s office, I was excited and said I would. Only then did I think: ‘Can I actually do this?’”

Popcorn think

Anna is not alone in seeing the super strength in her neurodivergence. Jenna Jenkins CMgr FCMI is senior operations manager at Nationwide Building Society. She was diagnosed with ADHD two years ago. She now realises her ADHD has given her the ability to absorb lots of different information, to “popcorn think”, and to juggle a huge number of jobs at once – skills that served her very well as she progressed into management.

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