Leading when attention is deficient, and activity is hyper…!
(Apologies, I’m conscious this is a very personal and therefore slightly ‘self indulgent’ post)
Even if you’re not a Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Albert Einstein or Walt Disney, everyone has their superpower. One of my colleagues can remember the birthdays (and start dates) of everyone in the team. Another can look at a spreadsheet and spot the rogue formula. Finding mine was complex.
“How can you run a multi-million dollar business and you can’t remember to close the curtains when it gets dark? How can you coach senior executives on their time management and you forget to show up to your own birthday event?!”
Some days I can’t find my keys, work boots or phone. Until a few years ago that was most days. They’ve turned up next morning in the door (keys), laundry basket (boots) and fridge (phone). This was my normal. Now I know it’s not consistently usual for others.
A few years ago, at the behest of my long-suffering partner, I spoke to a psychologist. A short while later I was diagnosed with ADHD and my world changed a lot (or at least my understanding of it did). Some reading, YouTube (‘How to ADHD’ is compelling viewing), CBT and medication certainly all helped, though it took a while to fully accept that I wasn’t broken, mentally ill, lazy or ‘making it up’ (as I’d been told by various people).
In my early career I found myself attracted to very complex, fast-paced and difficult roles - change programs, business turnarounds, cross-border roles. The more complex the issue or issues, the more exciting and challenging the role - and the more I enjoyed it… for a while.
Unfortunately after a couple of years (well, maybe just one year if I’m honest) I would get very, very bored. Those complex challenges became a series of singular, repetitive issues. I would seek out the next dopamine hit – the next difficult job. Sometimes this involved an internal move or taking on a new project, but often I moved to a new company, city or country.
With a little awareness I’m now able to understand my drive and reactions better and can more actively manage my strong need for stimulation, excitement and complexity.
Which brings me back – ADHD is my superpower. It has driven me to take career risks, tough assignments and constantly learn. Even when I want an easy life, I can’t.
The positive traits that have influenced my career are:
Problem solving & Creativity – not being neurotypical has been a benefit. Much is said about diversity and I find that my non-linear and intuitive thought process has contributed to fast and innovative decision making. I need to see things from ‘above’ and make them simple – this often helps to highlight the solution to the issue.
Hyper focus – at peak times in projects or on tight deadlines with work I can often find myself extremely focussed. I can go for days at a time with little sleep, forgetting to eat, and get the task across the line.
High Energy – the high energy, slightly frantic, excited approach can be an attractive quality for teams. Though I’m also aware this is a strong driver at the start of a program. As the work becomes more routine and mundane it’s critical I work hard to keep the energy visible for the team.
Risk Taking – that dopamine craving does drive risk taking behaviour. In a structured, thoughtful and appropriate way. Because of this I’ve taken
However, everyone has their gaps or development areas and often these are downsides of our strengths. For me these often play out as:
Inconsistency - I used to accept that I had a terrible attention to detail. That’s not quite true. I can be very, very attentive to detail when I’m in a state of focus. The challenge is that I can’t always control when that focus comes and can be highly inconsistent. Consistently inconsistent as they say!
Memory - I recently blanked on the name one of my direct team. I was advocating for them with the Group CEO and clean forgot their name. This is all too common and a particular issue when you work in HR roles – for some reason colleagues expect you to be across a whole company of names!!.
Boredom - I’m now very aware of my need for excitement and stress. I’m also aware that good work includes a lot of routine, mundane activity and good health requires alleviation from constant stress. Boredom is never far away and burnout is a real risk.
Risk Taking – For all the upside of taking risks in careers, poorly judged risk (taken for the adrenaline hit, and not for a thoughtful return) is a potential outcome. I know I need to understand my reasons for risk-taking decisions, is it a considered risk or am I seeking a short term fix for my neurotransmitters?!
Enjoy and leverage your ‘spikes’ and talents and find ways to mitigate their overuse or the gaps that result. In my career I’ve been lucky enough to build teams and hire direct reports who can mitigate my weaknesses. They fill the gap that my ‘dark side’ leaves – whether it’s bringing consistency and attention to detail, logical and linear thinking or more structure.
Those us with ADHD don’t succeed despite our condition, we succeed by leveraging the unique characteristics ADHD brings and mitigating the gaps it leaves.
The superpower of Bill Gates, Richard Branson, Albert Einstein and Walt Disney? In part, ADHD.