Unlocking your institution’s collective genius
Cognitive inclusion improves wellness and maximizes your societal impact
Welcome.
I’m delighted that my Scholarly Kitchen article encouraged you to learn more about what building a cognitively inclusive culture would mean for the wellness of your team members and your institution’s impact.
The key takeaways of my Scholarly Kitchen article are:
The cognitive diversity – mix of thinking styles - you have invested in is only half of the recipe that makes teams great at solving complex problems. The other half is a cognitively inclusive culture, which unlocks their collective genius.
A cognitively inclusive culture is one in which the good of the team is prioritized over the good of the individual. Everyone contributes their particular skills to the shared outcomes without feeling the pressure of needing to be good at everything. The beauty is that this culture automatically enables people of all ages, backgrounds, (dis)abilities, ethnicities, genders, and sexualities to contribute their best and have equal opportunities to thrive.
Building a cognitively inclusive culture mimics the solution that evolution found to make humans perfectly adapted to thrive in changing environments. Individuals specialize in distinct cognitive skillsets, such as originality or objective evaluation, and we are social so that all skills are available to the group.
A cognitively inclusive culture is a competitive advantage
Cross-disciplinary research teams: accelerate and amplify their societal impact.
Attract talent: broaden the talent pool from which you can draw researchers and students by including the 30% people with neurodivergences.
Innovation offices: improve the identification of your most promising disclosures by ensuring focus only on their merit, and managing the pressure of social expectations.
Funders: improve your return-on-investment by recognizing efforts to improve the cognitive inclusivity of institutional cultures.
Meet Lisa
I’ve developed a unique perspective from 30 years of working initially as a researcher; and then in a complex, global, political and demanding high-performance corporate culture,
I love making sense of complex situations, including as a founder of Elsevier’s information analytics venture where I was accountable for transforming large data sets into the research metrics visualized in SciVal. I worked in close partnership with university administrators to ensure that insights would be both actionable and used responsibly.
More recently, I transitioned to the people-oriented role of Chief-of-Staff. I honed my change management skills by focusing on transforming a disengaged environment into one that was supportive, empowering and trusting. At one organization, over a 3-year period that even encompassed covid lockdowns and a major reorganization, was that employee NPS rating (a metric showing the gap between people who would recommend working at an organization, and those who wouldn’t) increased from -33 to +30.
When you work with me, you have a partner with a good understanding of academia, who is equipped to get things done. My project management skills are second to none, and I can always find a way to progress. I work by lifting people up, and by uncovering and scaling your institution’s ‘positive deviants’ or existing strengths. I am skilled at creating a safe and trusting environment, and will transform your complex, emotive, ambiguous aspirations into an actionable, measurable plan that everyone engages with.
Cogitate > Activate community
You aspire to have a high-performance culture that thrives on change and engages your employees.
The recipe for success is to train people with diverse styles and skills to reinforce each other’s strengths to release their collective genius and deliver non-stop value to your customers.
A cognitively inclusive culture like this is not just a nice-to-have—it's a competitive edge. Employees in inclusive environments are over five times more likely to stay, and 56% find inclusion more fulfilling than salary. For 70% of the candidates you want to employ, inclusion is a key factor when choosing where to work.
The best part? Not only do business outcomes improve, but so does employee mental health and well-being. Engaged employees are nearly ten times more likely to enjoy their work.
The solution is to transform your culture into a high-performing asset. By embracing best practices inspired by the inclusion of the 30% neurodivergent talent, your organization can become a talent magnet that consistently delivers outstanding results.
Join my free Cogitate > Activate community of growth-minded forward-thinking leaders.
We don’t just talk about cognitive inclusivity - we practise it. Sign up now to receive insights every two weeks, and start to take actionable steps towards your more inclusive and innovative workplace.
Contact me
I’m eager to learn more about the challenges your institution is facing, and explore how my services can address them.
Please schedule a virtual meeting at your convenience by using the form below, or email me directly at lisa@lisacolledgeconsulting.com.
