ADHD in the Workplace: Finding Gifts, Meeting Needs

Neurodiversity is a given in the workplace. Genetic diversity implies wide variation among different brains. Neuordiversity advocacy is a revolution supported by evidence that among the 7 billion people on the planet we have brains as different and varied as any trait on a normal curve.

What if in the workplace, instead of stigmatizing these differences that make a difference, there was a concerted effort to meet the needs of these brain difference through accommodations, to recommend treatments such as therapy and medication and encourage finding the right job that best matches your brain?

Niels Bohr, a physicist when asked to give feedback on a colleague’s work was reported to say, “We all agree it’s crazy, the question is — is it crazy enough?” Research increasingly demonstrates ADHD is closely associated with creativity. You may be wondering why anything needs to be “crazy enough?”

In any business today, the marketplace is overcrowded. To get customers, every brand needs to differentiate itself from other businesses. It is creativity and innovation that makes any business stand out. Is your product or service far out enough to get attention from customers who are constantly bombarded with advertising messaging?

Brain scan researcher and creativity researcher Dr. Nancy Andreason summarizes her work by saying “When eureka moments occur they tend to be precipitated by long periods of preparation and incubation and to strike when the mind is relaxed.” Her research suggests that incubation — a fundamental stage of creativity and a relaxed mind both correspond to a state of unfocus which is a defining feature of ADHD.

In this one quote she includes what is generally accepted as the first three stages of creativity:

1. Preparation

2. Incubation

3. Inspiration

The last two stages are Evaluation and Implementation.

Incubation maps onto the inattentive symptoms of ADHD. Inspiration maps onto the impulsive and hyperactive symptoms of ADHD.

There is solid replicated research in experiments, brain scan research and neuropsychology that suggest that ADHD is correlated with creativity. Unfocus has many important functions including contemplation, making meaning, thinking about the past and future and in social connections.

Neuropsychologists have discovered a brain circuit — the default mode network — that is defined by unfocus. Previously most attention had been paid to the direct attention network associated with the prefrontal cortex. Historically it was believed that the brain was most active in direct attention. Dr. Andreason discovered that the brain consumes the most glucose in rest states of unfocus. This means for the manager at work that you are always trading one set of problems for another. What you gain in following direction, you lose in innovation.

Innovation is by definition not following directions. It is zigging when everyone is zagging. It brings new customers or brings attention to your brand. Creativity can be defined as novelty plus usefulness.

The signature symptom of ADHD is “not following directions.” Creativity and leadership both require the ability to create structure rather than to follow rules. The two sides of a coin can be seen in Han Solo — he was both a pirate and a commander.

To make a statement about the value of the direct attention network vs. the unfocus network requires an understanding of purpose. If I was talking to a group of surgeons I would be scared to tout the values of unfocus to a group of people who save lives through direct attention and a lapse of focus could mean life or death.

However in the digital and global world we now live in, innovation is the coin of the realm.

How can we support and unleash both of these brain circuits without punishing the default mode network that is fundamentally connected to leadership and innovation?

In making accommodations in the workplace we have to ask “What is our purpose?”

If the purpose is to lead and to innovate a person who has ADHD might be superior to a person who always wants the right answer at the back of the book. The very symptom of not following directions can also mean people who prefer to create their own structures.

Innovation is about breaking rules and creating something that did not previously exist.

One way of understanding the relationship between unfocus and incubation and inspiration is through the legendary stories of Edison who some argue is a model of the ADHD brain which of course is unprovable but useful as an emblem.

The iconic image of Edison is that he worked on dozens of projects at the same time and work on one until he got bored than switch to another project and then to another. To switch from one project to another is consistent with the idea of incubation as a stage of creativity. To incubate means to turn your attention AWAY from the problem you are trying to solve. Like the duck that sits on an egg waiting for it to hatch, so our creative inspiration requires this unfocused patience until the eureka moment when an answer seemingly magically presents itself.

The other image from Edison is his nap-taking. Neuroscience supports the benefits of 10 minute power naps and longer 90 minute naps for increased productivity and motivation.

What ADHD means at work depends on the purpose of an organization.

The needs will depend on whether you are in a surgical arena saving lives or in the center of Silicon Valley where innovation is the coin of the realm.

The irony here is that Silicon valley is where the technologies are being created that will automate many of the functions of direct attention. Many AI functions and online schedulers can replace administrative assistants, or services that transcribe 25 minute audios in 2 minutes, can take over direct attention functions.

Many corporations play by the old rules, which is that employees should have rules, which is becoming outdated as companies like Netflix have created a culture defined by avoiding rules. Many are predicting that it is the creative, people-focused jobs that will survive the longest and cannot be replaced by technology.

Employees with ADHD often request and thrive in jobs where they are evaluated on outcomes not following procedures. They do best if given goals and evaluated on whether or not they achieved those goals rather than on being micromanaged step by step. Research shows that for everybody, autonomy leads to higher productivity, less burnout greater well being.

The best ways to increase productivity of someone with ADHD is to invest in their skill development, personal development and to help them find the right job for the promise and pitfalls of their brain.

More provocatively many have argued that technology companies are creating the hyper-frequent distraction of smart phones, social media and apps that diminish the capacity for direct attention.