Inside View
Inside View explores the transformative impact of cognitive inclusion in the workplace. By focusing on neurodivergence-inspired practices, this blog shows how embracing cognitive diversity strengthens well-being, drives innovation, and builds resilience. Each post offers perspectives on creating environments where everyone can thrive and contribute, making inclusion truly universal.
Reading list - beyond bonuses: transforming employee experience this festive season
This festive season, give your employees something they’ll truly value: a sense of engagement, belonging, and purpose. This curated reading list inspires leaders to rethink employee appreciation and create a culture that enables everyone to thrive. Discover how to boost engagement, align your team with your mission, and future-proof your business through inclusion.
Let’s get engaged — right now!
Key insight: disengagement is a global issue affecting profitability, wellbeing, and productivity. Boldly commit to a strategic engagement program and turn your culture into a competitive advantage.
Action step: establish engagement as a priority and listen to employee feedback to drive meaningful change.
What’s the best way to appreciate your employees?
Key insight: employee appreciation goes beyond transactional rewards. Employees seek a sense of belonging and purpose, which drives deeper engagement and success.
Action step: commit to evolving your organization into one that employees genuinely love, creating lasting value.
What CEOs need to know: how to build the culture that enables all employees to thrive and contribute their best (podcast and article)
Key insight: cognitive diversity and inclusion are crucial for sustaining success. A culture that values diverse thinking styles fosters trust, fairness, and superior outcomes.
Action step: consider setting up cognitive inclusion as a strategic priority to drive innovation, retention, and profitability. Want to learn more? Listen to my current DEI is dead, isn’t it? theme on my podcast Culture by Neurodesign.
Creativity is a natural dyslexic trait, and a critical part of your organization’s collective genius
Dyslexics exhibit superior holistic visual-spatial processing and memory for contextual information, which enhances their creativity and ability to generate novel ideas. They excel in original thinking, accuracy in predictions, and problem-solving flexibility, thanks to distinct brain structures and connections. While dyslexics might struggle with precise details, their cognitive strengths complement those of others, highlighting the evolutionary advantage of diverse cognitive styles and the importance of fostering an inclusive organizational culture to leverage these varied abilities.
Autism traits and high-performing teams: lessons from Silicon Valley
Inspired by Steve Silberman's "The Geek Syndrome," this article emphasizes the benefits of neurodiversity for organizational success. Silicon Valley’s tech-centric culture attracted autistic individuals, highlighting the value of cognitive diversity. By fostering diverse thinking styles and supportive cultures, organizations can enhance innovation and performance. Key points include leveraging diverse cognitive strengths and creating inclusive environments to unlock collective genius.
Need to adapt? Secrets of the best team problem solving
Promoting cultural fit can stifle innovation by encouraging conformity. Effective problem-solving relies on cognitive diversity—different thinking styles—not just demographic diversity. Research shows cognitive diversity enhances team performance. To harness this, organizations must foster a supportive culture of curiosity and psychological safety, alongside demographic inclusion, ensuring diverse cognitive styles can thrive and drive business success.
Bad decision? You’re not alone, but let’s try to avoid making the same mistake again…
People often make poor decisions due to inherent biases, but autistic individuals are exceptional at objective decision-making, as they focus solely on relevant data without distractions. To benefit from this cognitive strength, organizations should cultivate a culture that attracts and supports autistic team members, ensuring an environment that maximizes their unique abilities. This proactive approach not only enhances decision-making but also creates a more inclusive and effective workplace for everyone.
What’s the blueprint for innovation? ADHD traits and a lesson from evolution (with video)
Advocating for enhancing innovation culture by embracing diverse cognitive styles crucial for thriving in dynamic environments. It highlights traits associated with ADHD that align with effective exploration behaviors, crucial for innovation. By fostering an inclusive environment that accommodates neurodiverse individuals alongside neurotypicals, organizations can tap into a spectrum of specialized skills, ensuring adaptability and competitiveness.
My neuro-inclusive website bridges accessibility and aesthetics
In crafting my new website, my top priority was ensuring it's accessible and engaging for both neurodivergent and neurotypical users, drawing from neuro-inclusion principles. With a calming color palette, easy-to-read fonts, and static content, the design minimizes distractions while enhancing usability and visual appeal. Striking a balance between diversity and consistency, the site aims to offer an inclusive experience that welcomes all visitors.
Maximizing creativity in brainstorming: idea generation inspired by neuro-inclusion best practices
Inclusive brainstorming taps into the collective genius of diverse teams by accommodating different communication and thinking styles, particularly those of neurodivergent and introverted individuals. Humans have evolved to excel at problem-solving through specialized sub-groups, and to capture their full potential, brainstorming processes need to be more inclusive. Best practices include sharing materials beforehand, offering a mix of verbal and written contributions, and allowing time for post-session input. By fostering an environment that supports diverse approaches to ideation, teams can unlock a wider range of creative solutions and ensure that all ideas are heard.
Actionable communication: inspiration from autism best practices
Improve business communication by adopting autism-inspired practices to create clearer, more actionable messages. Miscommunication can lead to frustration, unengaged culture, and reduced performance. By slowing down, reducing noise, and clarifying idioms, you make communication more inclusive, benefiting not only autistic employees but also non-native speakers and your entire organization. Effective communication requires effort from both parties: the sender should aim for clarity, and the recipient should seek understanding. Implementing these strategies can enhance engagement, satisfaction, and productivity across your organization.