Editorial
What if your company’s next big idea is trapped inside the mind of someone who doesn’t feel safe speaking up?
Neurodivergent professionals — those who think, process and create differently — are often among the most innovative people on your team. But if your culture rewards conformity and punishes differences, their brilliance stays hidden. This is a missed opportunity — and a costly mistake. If you want to win the talent war and future-proof your business, it’s time to build a workplace where every mind can thrive.
Analytical thinking, creativity and problem-solving: We need these skills to solve today’s business challenges and reimagine the workplace of the future. Yet people with those capabilities are often overlooked and underappreciated, never reaching their full potential. Because of their different thinking styles, neurodivergent individuals often make connections that others overlook, take alternative paths and discover innovative solutions. Organizations with neurodiverse teams have a competitive advantage, but only if leaders create psychologically safe workplaces.
Compliance-minded companies might have accommodations policies that include neurodiversity, but those aren’t enough to foster true inclusion. If employees don't feel safe talking about their diagnosis, they won't ask for the support they need to succeed in their role. When employees feel pressured to hide their differences rather than express them, innovation and creativity will suffer.
The solution is to create safe and inclusive workplaces where neurodiversity isn't thought of as a disability, merely a different way of thinking.
Why I Started Talking About My Neurodiversity
Among the most common forms of neurodiversity are autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and dyslexia. An estimated 20% of the global population has some form of neurodiversity, and that figure is growing as diagnoses and awareness increases. In addition, up to 25% of chief executives believe themselves to be dyslexic, yet few disclose this publicly.
Like those chief executives, I didn’t talk about my dyslexia for a long time.
Dyslexia can make reading and writing a challenge, but I’ve never let it hold me back. Throughout my early career, I worked hard and kept my diagnosis to myself. I didn’t want people to make assumptions about what I could and couldn’t do.
Everything changed when I began researching the Diversity Beyond the Checkbox Essentials course, which The Diversity Movement launched in 2020. In learning more about dyslexia, I discovered role models like Sir Richard Branson and Whoopi Goldberg — leaders who turned their cognitive differences into creative superpowers. Their stories helped me reframe dyslexia not as a deficit, but as a different way of processing information — often tied to high creativity, problem-solving and communication skills.
“Dyslexics use their curiosity and passion to explore the world, understand complex situations or facts, and explain them to others in a way that’s simple and easy to understand,” said Kate Griggs, CEO of Made by Dyslexia, a global charity that helps the world recognize the value of dyslexic thinking.
I began sharing my story because I wanted to dispel bias against people with dyslexia and other differences, but I was also at an organization where I felt psychologically safe.
Psychological Safety Must Come First
Psychological safety is the belief that you can be your authentic self without fear of rejection or retribution. It’s essential for every employee, but especially for neurodivergent professionals — many of whom have experienced stigma, bias or exclusion in previous roles.
In one survey of neurodivergent adults, roughly 59% of workers with dyslexia, ADHD or other cognitive differences worried that revealing their diagnosis would harm their career. Of those employees who requested an accommodation, nearly a third had their request denied, and one in five were either demoted or fired.
When organizations build psychological safety, they also dismantle outdated narratives that frame neurodivergence as abnormal. Instead of approaching neurodiversity through a deficit lens, inclusive leaders recognize it as a strength. And when teams feel empowered to share their diagnoses or ask for support, something powerful happens: the anxiety and effort spent hiding or “masking” disappears. Instead, employees can direct that energy toward doing their best work.
Practical Ways to Foster Inclusion
Creating a psychologically safe workplace is an ongoing process that requires intentional leadership. However, not every change needs to be revolutionary. These small adjustments can have significant and lasting impact:
- Reframe neurodiversity as a business advantage. Neurodivergent individuals are often creative, out-of-the box thinkers. Their different thinking styles can make them more likely to make insightful connections, take alternative paths and discover innovative solutions. Train managers to understand different cognitive styles, the challenges employees might face and what support they need to succeed.
- Promote clear, unambiguous communication. When people absorb information in different ways, it’s crucial that all communication is clear, concise, complete, correct and courteous. Expectations should be clearly articulated, and office policies should be explicit rather than unwritten. One way to facilitate good communication is to ask all new hires to complete a “user guide,” a document that explains how they prefer to communicate and receive feedback. Share your team’s user guides with all new hires.
- Audit your work environment. Most people find harsh overhead lighting and noisy open offices annoying, but they can be obstacles for neurodiverse professionals. Adjustable light settings and task lighting can improve concentration and focus for employees with sensory sensitivities or sensory processing disorder. Designated quiet areas help employees who need to focus or decompress between meetings. Can seldom-used offices be turned into flex spaces that can be reserved?
- Talk openly about your inclusion efforts. Organize awareness activities for Disability Pride Month, Autism Acceptance Month or Neurodiversity Celebration Week. If your company has an employee resource group for people with neurodiversity, promoting the group publicly demonstrates your commitment to inclusion. Invite employees to share their personal stories through internal channels or partner with community groups. Authentic storytelling breaks stigma.
Creating a workplace where neurodiverse teams thrive helps everyone succeed. When leaders prioritize psychological safety, they unlock hidden talent, fuel innovation and strengthen team performance across the board. The future of work belongs to organizations that embrace all forms of thinking and empower every individual to contribute fully. If you want to attract and retain top talent, don’t just make space for neurodivergent employees — build systems that help them soar.
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Editor's Note: Read more about building more inclusive workplaces:
- These Organizations Are Striving to Make Neurodivergent-Inclusive Workplaces — The unemployment rate for neurodivergent adults is estimated to be 30%-40%. These organizations are working to change that.
- How Companies Are Changing Hiring Practices to Embrace Neurodiversity in the Workplace — Neurodiverse employees bring a lot to the table. Experts share tips for recruiting and retaining these employees in today’s digital workplace.
- Digital Workplace Accessibility Hasn't Improved Enough — Businesses and vendors have made progress in the last few years to improve digital workplace accessibility for disabled people. But work remains.
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