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Business transformation

Authentic leadership and neurodiversity: how to create workplaces where employees thrive

Podcast 20 Mar. 2024

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Episode notes

It is estimated that 15-20% of people worldwide are neurodivergent1. By leveraging a strengths-based approach to learning – focusing on what an individual can do best – leaders can embrace the power of their talent.​

Diverse teams boost creativity and innovation, create greater opportunities for professional growth, and make better decisions over time.1

Companies that believe diversity strengthens their culture and create a flexible, agile and supportive work environment have become more successful at recruiting the right talent, particularly in tough-to-fill skills categories. And company output – including the bottom line – has profited from the lower attrition rates and higher productivity of a diverse workforce. ​

Listen in as our experts discuss how to show up authentically as a leader, best practices for harnessing the unique strengths of neurodiverse talent, and why the best teams are the most diverse.  

Featured experts

  • Sarah Maston, Director of Partner Development and Strategy, Microsoft​
  • Karima Bryant, Chief Inclusion, Diversity & Equity Officer, Kyndryl​

What you will hear

"...don't assume. If someone has come out about whatever it is, it doesn't mean they're the type of person that wants to go join a club. Or bucketing them to say, "Oh, well, we have a club for this. For people like you." And it's like, "Oh, so you found out about me today and then you decided that you had to put me in your box of your club?"– Sarah

“Trust. You have to trust people… Sure, maybe sometimes you don't get the reaction that you hoped for. But that's life, right? If you're pitching an idea or you have an idea, but you don't say anything, there's 100% that you're going to fail. But if you do speak up and pose that idea or say what you want to say, the worst anybody will ever say is no. But if you say nothing, then it's always no."– Sarah

"How often do we cover and we assimilate in environments, because we don't want to be seen as different? And how much of a burden that is for the people who do that? And that goes for people who are neurodiverse, people of different a race, ethnicity, and gender. It's that covering, that need to assimilate - it's exhausting, honestly, because you can't be your authentic self. And I think the journey that we're on around this inclusion, diversity, and equity space is that we continue to work to a place where people can be their authentic selves at work”
– Karima