Daring To Imagine a Workplace With Neurodivergent Leaders
A few months ago, completely out of the blue, I received an email asking me to present at a women’s leadership conference.
I might have thought it was a scam only it was grammatical and seemed to hit the right tone. The explanation I landed on was mistaken identity. They had obviously confused me with someone else.
It turned out that they had read one of my articles about being a neurodivergent person in the workplace and wanted to include my perspective. Okay, fair enough but am I really the best person for the job?
They reassured me that even high-profile presenters had exhibited signs of imposter syndrome. I was quite touched by their unwavering faith in me, but I required some convincing.
Although I agreed to do it, the process of convincing myself continues. A few weeks out from the conference, I’m seriously turning my mind to what I will say.
One question has been percolating in my brain since that email landed in my inbox: can I consider myself a leader?
I’ve been giving a lot of thought to what actually makes a leader. One thing that is clear to me is that manager and leader are not the same thing.
