My Favorite Free Tools for Greater Self Understanding
We all have narratives about who we are and how we work and what kind of a person we are. A lot of those narratives might be tied to our identities - maybe our gender, or our culture, or even that we have a particular diagnosis or type of brain, or the kinds of experiences we’ve gone through. We’re social animals, and our brains love to categorize, and those kinds of narratives can not only help us feel connected to each other, but they can also give us ideas about how to move through the world - if something seems like it works for someone like me, maybe it will work for me too. If these seem to be the norms for my group, comparing myself to them will help me know if I’m on the right track for belonging. In 1:1 coaching relationships, we get to spend the time deep diving into each idiosyncratic individual to hopefully better understand how these kinds of narratives and habits and experiences and strategies and assumptions manifest and intersect uniquely in each person, but there’s also something to be said for making use of the more general tools that give us mental frameworks for our identities or tendencies on larger scales - and especially if those tools are widely available, or come with fewer barriers to entry. Let’s take some time to explore some of the tools and assessments that I’ve found useful.
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Let's Make Our Workplaces Inclusive for Neurodiversity
During ADHD awareness month, there can be a tension between our desire to raise awareness and help fight stigma in the wider world and our knowledge that disclosing our own diagnosis isn’t always safe when so many preconceptions and limiting beliefs can still exist in the organizations and people with whom we work. Many of my clients struggle with decisions like whether to disclose their ADHD diagnosis in the workplace, and whether and how to navigate seeking out workplace accommodations that could improve their experience or productivity. It can be a high stakes decision if it feels like your livelihood might be at stake. But the good news is that lots of the steps our workplaces could take to welcome neurodiversity benefit not just those with disclosed ADHD but people with many types of brains. Even if we’re not ready to shout ADHD from the rooftops, we can still take steps this month to advocate for inclusive practices in our workplaces that will benefit all - whether we’re in leadership positions and can make direct changes or whether we’re an individual contributor and our influence might look different.
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