Ask HN: Resources for managers to better manage nuerodivergent employees?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44077036

by giantg2 • 1 year ago

3 5 1 year ago

news.ycombinator.com

Pretty much just the title. Anyone care to share trainings and resources that can help managers get the most from their nuerodivergent team members?

TheMongoose2• 1 year ago

I feel like you may be one of those managers that wants to schedule more meetings for me and have 1:1's and "coach" and all that. When all I really want is to be left alone to do my work in my sweet home office.

giantg22• 1 year ago

I'm actually an employee trying to find ways to help my manager help me.

TheMongoose2• 1 year ago

..... What?

Manage yourself.

hbartab• 1 year ago

You could ask: What can I do to better support you?

But it is possible they won't say anything because you are in a position of power and therefore they may not trust you with very personal details. It also put the onus on them to "educate" you on their condition, which makes people even more self-conscious.

An alternative is to offer options ahead of time. But make sure they can think about it before answering. Not everyone enjoys being put on the spot.

Read up on various types of neurodivergence and learn how to use each person's strengths best. Figure out what might trigger them and try to avoid such situations by providing your support. You can even use an LLM to role play.

Be careful: everyone is different, so don't overgeneralize from what an AI blurts out or what one person on your team does or prefers.

The most important thing is to be empathetic.

P.S. Managers with knowledge of (organizational) psychology are surprisingly rare. Most haven't a clue, and it shows.

giantg22• 1 year ago

I was hoping there were courses managers could take. I'm an employee trying to find ways to help my manager help me.

Ask HN: Resources for managers to better manage nuerodivergent employees?

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