THOUGHT LEADERSHIP | 49
in the way the education system expected. It wasn’t until college that I accidentally discovered my learning style. With independent study replacing constant classroom structure, continual failure was suddenly a real possibility (especially as I literally failed my first year). Therefore, I experimented, tested and adapted. What finally worked was the type of rhythm that reflected circuit training in a gym. 20 minutes of focussed study, 20 minutes of movement and 20 minutes of rest was my winning formula, and I could repeat that all day long for weeks. At 17 / 18, I’d unknowingly hacked my own brain’s function. I could revise all day using this pattern, something which would’ve been impossible if I’d tried to ‘sit still and focus’
brain simply didn’t work that way. Fast-forward to leadership, and
I am. Rather than trying to suppress how my brain works, I’ve learned to design my life and leadership around it. I’ve built a management team that balances me. They ground my ideas, bring structure where I bring momentum and, most importantly, catch the plates I start spinning and then wander away from! ADHD, for me, is both a superpower and my kryptonite. Hyperfocus, creativity and energy sit alongside challenges with organisation, emotional regulation, consistency and time. The key has been awareness and communicating my differences to foster stronger collaboration. Not pretending I’m perfect but being clear about where and why I’m not. I’m also conscious of my children. I see some of my behaviours in them, mixed beautifully with their amazing mother’s. Whether or not they ever receive a diagnosis, they’ll grow up equipped to understand themselves and the tools available to help them thrive in a world that often only caters to a generally accepted way of thinking. My ongoing challenge is simply to be proactive, not reactive, enabling me to climb mental mountains one step at a time. To stop racing deadlines and continually design better systems for myself and others. This article is a reflective piece with the intention of helping someone feel seen, understood and encouraged, hopefully giving you what I wished someone would have given me to truly see myself earlier. Let it be known that being wired differently doesn’t mean being broken. In the right context, it can mean you being extraordinary.
particularly to Director-level roles, and suddenly that same behaviour became an asset. The ability to hyperfocus, to see patterns across teams, to challenge, provoke, connect and improve multiple areas at once is now praised. Same brain, different context! What was once labelled distraction is now recognised as strategic curiosity. For a long time, I resisted the idea of ADHD. It was my wife (who’s neurotypical) that gently challenged me. She noticed that my way of thinking, processing and reacting wasn’t typical and wanted to understand why. She did the research and subtly introduced the word ADHD into our conversations. Nonetheless, I ignored it for years. Eventually, curiosity got the better of me. Around four years ago, I began exploring the area seriously. I completed countless assessments, short and long, and spoke through my behaviours in a
few consultations. Every time, the outcome was the same. Very high alignment with ADHD traits and very high confidence scores (90%+). I’m still not formally
for long periods, like everyone else. Looking back, this was one of the clearest early signs of ADHD, even though I didn’t know it at the time. Early in my career, my curiosity often got me into trouble. I asked too many questions. I wandered mentally into areas outside my remit. I wanted to understand how everything connected. Managers didn’t always see this as a strength. I was told to ‘stay in my lane’, ‘focus only on my responsibilities’ and ‘stop looking sideways’. Even when my ideas were constructive, they were often perceived as interference. My
diagnosed, partly because I’m not ready to make that label permanent, but mostly because I’ve already accepted the reality. I’m unashamedly not neurotypical! My mind is in perpetual rush hour.
My creativity is limitless, my curiosity’s an asset and my focus is powerful but selective. My time management can be optimistic (understatement), but that’s part of who
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