I'm a manager, how can I best support neurodivergent members of my team?

Be clear in your communication

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Probably the best way of thinking about this is to consider how you create a friendly and supportive environment for everyone rather than focusing solely on the needs of the neurodiverse team members.

By promoting a spirit of openness and constructive feedback allied with educating the team on the varying needs of their colleagues it’s more likely that colleagues will find solutions between themselves and support one another in a collaborative manner.

If you can, offer structured training on neurodiversity so that everyone is aware of the sensory sensitivities, communication style differences and processing challenges that individuals in the team might have.

Flexible working and workspaces might be a good way of helping the team to properly integrate and your neurodiverse team members will be able to make suggestions about how this might look.

Be clear in your communication and, where possible, put expectations in writing so that everyone is aware of what’s required.

Impress upon your people the benefit in working within a team of diverse talent and point out how the creativity and problem solving skills that result can make your group high-performing.

Enabling team members to get mental health support should they need it whilst also having regular check-ins both individually and as a team should ensure you create an environment in which everyone can thrive.

Ask them what they’d find helpful

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By far the best way to ensure that you create a positive and supportive environment in your team for neurodivergent employees is to ask them what they’d find helpful.

No two people will have the same symptoms so finding out what specifically they need help with is the only way to support them effectively.

What’s important is being clear about your expectations, understanding what might be challenging for them, and working with the individual to not only mitigate any difficulties but get the best from them at the same time.

‘Sympathy’ is not something anyone wants or needs. These employees are not sick or broken, they simply process their experience of the world in a way that is different from neuronormative people. It therefore follows that if policies and procedures are created for a neurotypical world (which they largely are) they might need some flexibility and adaptation to enable them to perform at their best.

One final thing. If you are even asking yourself this question, you’re already halfway to a good solution. Awareness and a desire to understand difference in all of its forms is the foundation of effective collaboration and teamwork and is definitely a necessary attribute for all good leaders.

Listen to how they're feeling

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If somebody in your team tells you that they have a cognitive difference, the best thing you can do is listen to how it affects them. Your professional relationship with them also makes a difference to how you might react.

Be as open as you can. Listen to them and ask open questions about how it affects their workday. Try not to ask about how the condition affects their personal life unless they volunteer that information to you. Keeping some professional boundaries as ‘boss’ at this stage can save you both some emotional stress later.

As a manager or colleague, it’s not up to you to diagnose anybody with any other mental health disorder. But you might be able to point them towards professional help, if your workplace offers mental health support or therapy, like Spill. Remember that getting treatment is a very personal choice, and you shouldn’t expect anyone to seek out therapy or medication if they’re not ready for it.