Your superhero boss might have ADHD. How to cope, and maximize strengths

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Are you a leader with ADHD? I’ll be quick. Did you know that people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are more likely to be demigods than people without?

It’s true – you can read all about it in a wonderful series of books written for young people: Percy Jackson and the Olympians.

Know what else is true? The business environment is one that often attracts and rewards those people who, as kids, spent more time in the principal’s office than in the classroom. The very qualities that earned the exasperated ire of teachers – the high energy levels, the tendency to hyper-focus, the zanily divergent thought processes – are the same qualities that can contribute to great entrepreneurial success.

In the late 1990s, the term “neurodivergence” was coined to highlight the strengths (not just the challenges) of people whose brains work differently from people whose brains do not have those differences. With growing frequency, this term has been finding its way into schools, workplaces and family offices. The concept of neurodiversity has led to a commitment to uncovering and harnessing the strengths often associated with brain conditions such as ADHD, autism and other learning differences. These skills may include exceptional memory in certain areas, dogged persistence in problem solving, or specialized knowledge on niche topics.

Neurodivergent individuals are no longer being overlooked or eliminated from contention as employees or leaders in family-owned businesses or family offices; instead, current sensibilities involve a commitment to finding ways of maximizing their particular strengths for the benefit of the enterprise.

Nevertheless, being a business owner or leader with ADHD is often associated with challenges. Among them:

Keeping stuff organized.
Following through on tasks and commitments to the very end.
Figuring out how much time things will take to complete.
Being patient with co-workers who are more linear (okay: plodding, even) in their approach to things.
Staying the course and resisting distractions.
Noticing subtle interpersonal cues, and discerning which ones to act on.
Putting up with repeated digs involving the word “Squirrel!”

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Neuropsychologists call these skills “executive functions.” These abilities don’t reside in the “knowing how to” sections of the brain – the parts responsible for knowing how to walk, or talk, or do math, for example. Instead, these skills lie more within the realm of “knowing when to” and are largely dependent on the workings of the cerebrum’s prefrontal lobes.

In terms of its origin and its impact, therefore, ADHD is a poorly named disorder. It’s not so much a problem of attention as it is a problem of executive functions. (Readers with ADHD, this is where you can demonstrate your superior faculties for divergent thinking: Figure out a better acronym. Try to work in the letters for such things as Time Management, Organizational Skills, and Demigod Powers. All suggestions are welcome!)

Family offices need to be aware that there is a genetic/heritability component to ADHD. Odds are high that, if one or more individuals leading a family enterprise has the condition, so, too, will some of the members of the next generation.

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This has widespread implications for financial planning at both the family and business level. There are non-trivial costs involved in neuropsychological assessments to diagnose the condition, specialized schools or tutors, vocational assessments, and executive coaching. For those rare individuals whose conditions are so severe as to cause significant vocational disability, there will be a need for thoughtful trust and estate planning.

If you are someone who has ADHD, you’d be well-advised to commit to a few things:

HIRING second- and third- and fourth-in-command types who are exceptional with respect to those executive functions you lack.
DELEGATING to them whenever possible.
INVESTIGATING and ADOPTING systems that help with managing the details you are prone to let slip (e.g. financial tracking, online calendars, reminder systems).
TAKING SERIOUSLY the feedback of colleagues and family members when they tell you what they need you to start or stop doing. And …
EMBRACING and INSTITUTING a certain amount of disciplined routine, as chafing as that can feel, at first.

Many of these habits are not exciting in the least, not sexy at all – unless, of course, you are enthralled by the notion of having your brilliant ideas actually come to fruition in the marketplace. Or unless you long to have people think of you with less exasperation and more admiration or appreciation. If so, then you should be embracing those habits with all the fervour of a tomcat on date night.

If you need more ideas for succeeding as a leader with ADHD, or help in persisting with new habits, consider hiring an executive coach with expertise in this area. Together, you will co-create an action plan that includes putting in place all the guardrails you need to stay in your lane. Then all that remains will be for you to … Release the Kraken!

Dr. Moira Somers is a psychologist, family wealth consultant and professor based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is the author of Advice that Sticks: How to Give Financial Advice that People Will Follow. She is a global thought leader in the domains of financial psychology and advice implementation.