Approach Projects with a Neurodiversity Lens

I recently had the pleasure of catching a training that really impacted me at the Project Management Institute (PMI) Virtual Experience Series. The session was facilitated by Shawn Cheng with DAHLIA+Agency and titled, "There's No One 'Right' Way - Embracing Differences." Shawn spoke about neurodiversity including many variations of the human brain and how we all function differently, and really emphasizing that there is not good or bad but different.

When thinking about diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging, the training did a great job of bringing attention to the difference between tolerance or acceptance and embracing our differences. They also spoke about shifting our mindset to approaching work or projects with the lens of neurodiversity and matching skills and interests to tasks and roles while also considering under what conditions are needed for the individual to be successful.

This very much made me think of my experience in work and in studying sport psychology and working with different teams. You coach the team you have. People do not just want to be tolerated or accepted, in the way the training referenced, "acknowledging differences" and/or "accepting differences when it benefits them." Rather, we all want to feel welcomed, understood, and fully embraced for the unique skills and abilities that we bring to the table and feeling like that is valuable.

In sports teams, it reminds me of how you need all of your players to bring their unique perspectives, skills, and strengths to collectively work together as a team. In hockey for example, the goalie stops the puck, and maybe you have a solid two-way forward who can play both ends of the ice and win you face-offs, and maybe you have an offensive defenseman that you can trust in any situation, and maybe you have a fourth-liner that is your go-to penalty killer, etc. As a coach, you find success with your team when you learn your players' strengths, styles, how to communicate with them, and what is their motivational and value system. There really is not a "one size fits all" in life.

Whether in work or on a team, consider the following:

• Under what environment you are able to work your best?

• When do you feel like you belong?

• Are you often "tolerated" or "accepted"? Or rather do you truly feel "embraced"?

• Do you feel like you are able to use your skills and interests to the best of your ability?

They often say if a plant or flower does not grow, you change the environment. This may be true when you think of a changing a team, switching leaders or coaches. However, I believe collectively we can all work to better change our mindset. We are learning and growing every day, and we can all benefit by doing a better job thinking of belonging and approaching our teams, work, projects through a lens of neurodiversity.

What skills and interests do our teams bring to the table, and under what conditions do they need to thrive?