This kind of executive coaching is tailored to the learning style of your executive with ADHD.<\/p>\n
It specifically addresses how the brain works, and it\u2019s individualized to the leader\u2019s particular personality and brain profile.<\/p>\n
It leverages their strengths to support their challenges, and it empowers the leader with ADHD to show up more strategically \u2013\u00a0consistently.<\/i><\/p>\n
Recognize ADHD in Your Executives: <\/b>The First Step to Developing Leadership Potential<\/b><\/p>\n
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When the heat is on, ADHD leaders thrive. They mobilize faster and more coherently than others. They have high energy. They\u2019re the ones who come up with the most inspired ideas. And when transparency is needed, their poor verbal filter becomes an asset. They say what\u2019s on their mind! They\u2019re likeable, fun and engaged – and that raises the tone for the whole team.<\/p>\n
When these leaders have not had the benefit of specific coaching to develop their EF skills, you\u2019ll also see:<\/p>\n
- \n
- Inconsistent performance \u2013 the highs are steep and the lows are anxiety provoking;<\/li>\n
- Projects completed late, or not at all;<\/li>\n
- High distractibility \u2013 everything from talking to colleagues at inappropriate moments, ruminating, or doom scrolling;<\/li>\n
- Overwhelm or apparent resistance during periods of sudden change;<\/li>\n
- Tangential responses in meetings \u2013 they just can\u2019t seem to deliver a coherent response in a fast (or slow) conversation;<\/li>\n
- Difficulty implementing your feedback- no matter how many times you deliver it!<\/li>\n
- Difficulty taking great ideas and translating them into actionable steps;<\/li>\n
- Excessive attention to detail \u2013 they lose the main idea;<\/li>\n
- A tendency to take on more than they can deliver;<\/li>\n
- Difficulty staying on track \u2013 managing priorities, emotional dysregulation;<\/li>\n
- Interpersonal challenges \u2013 impulsive emotional outbursts.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Executive Functions and Self-awareness in Adult ADHD<\/b><\/p>\n
Executive Functions are at the root of all these behaviours. Your executive is not lazy or undisciplined.<\/p>\n
They know what to do, they just can\u2019t do it in the way it needs to be done.<\/p>\n
When your executive understands how their EF work, they can alter their behaviour \u2013 with coaching support.<\/p>\n
Executives with ADHD do well when they have a solid knowledge base about EF, in conjunction with well-developed self-awareness. Self-awareness is the skill for recognizing in the moment which strategy they need, and how best to apply it.<\/p>\n
Both of these steps are difficult for executives with untreated ADHD. Without the relevant knowledge and keen self-awareness, they struggle to change what they want to change – even when they know they need to.<\/p>\n
Your executive\u2019s challenges with EF are a function of their lower self-awareness, while their lower self-awareness is a product of their weak EF. One impacts the other.<\/p>\n
When self-awareness goes up, so do the EF skills. When the EF skills go up, so does self-awareness.<\/p>\n
How Executives with ADHD Learn Best:
\nInsights for HR and Leadership Development<\/b><\/p>\nExecutives with ADHD learn best when they\u2019re in charge of their learning. When they\u2019re the ones who decide what\u2019s relevant and how they\u2019ll work with it, they\u2019ll be actively engaged throughout.<\/p>\n
It can be tempting to offer group training for time management or effective communication. But for group training to be effective, participants must already have strong EF in place.<\/p>\n
Neurotypical executives have these skills. They can motivate themselves. They actively use their meta-cognition for self-directed learning, and they need less time to integrate a new skill.<\/p>\n
Folks with ADHD need more time and a different structure to bring out their best.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\n8 Reasons Why Executive Coaching Helps Leaders with ADHD Succeed<\/b><\/h3>\n
Coaching is designed to raise self-awareness. It\u2019s a series of structured conversations that encourage deep reflection, challenges assumptions, and highlights blind spots.<\/p>\n
Coaching provides the mirror your executives need to see their behaviour patterns accurately. Every human is wired to not see their patterns. But individuals with EF difficulties have even more barriers to self-awareness.<\/p>\n
In a coaching relationship, your executives will be active. They\u2019ll identify the goals, topics and measures for success for themselves. They\u2019ll be invested because they created their own learning! They\u2019ll own it.<\/p>\n
Coaching provides the safe space your executives need to be vulnerable and to stretch far beyond what they would do on their own.<\/p>\n
Coaching uses real world situations as learning vehicles. Real life is where executive functions tend to break down. Addressing the crisis of the moment to build awareness and new behaviours makes the work inherently relevant and valuable.<\/p>\n
Coaching focuses on action. The work is about implementing changes in real time, all along the way.<\/p>\n
Expected results can range from higher and more consistent performance to communicating effectively in a variety of settings.<\/p>\n
Coaching goes deeply and comprehensively. It\u2019s holistic and it\u2019s individualized. Together, we change the person, not just the brain. They never forget what they learn!<\/p>\n
Turning Potential into Performance: Real-World Impact<\/b><\/p>\n
Gail was run by fear. She was the director of a multimillion-dollar non-profit organization, but her results were inconsistent and mirrored her erratic performance.<\/p>\n
In our first coaching session, Gail rated her time management at 0\/10. Up until now, she had succeeded based on her stellar personality and the speed with which she could mobilize when she was motivated. But she was exhausted from the near constant scramble to avoid another mistake.<\/p>\n
One year later, she was beaming as she told me that her time management was now at 10\/10. She\u2019d learned to trust herself and she no longer succumbed to autopilot \u2013 dealing only with what was immediately in front of her. She was intentional, planful, reliable and passionate.<\/p>\n
The bottom line for her organization was that the donors they relied on now enjoyed a steady relationship with her. (In the past, she would disappear for a year or more.) Her staff came to trust her.<\/p>\n
And she actively raised the profile of her organization, bringing in much more money and attracting many more donors than ever before.<\/p>\n
As Gail\u2019s story shows us, the real-world impact of executives being coached is as broad as it is deep.<\/p>\n
Here are some of the outcomes you and your executives can look forward to:<\/p>\n
Consistent productivity: getting started and finishing, on time.<\/p>\n
Improved Decision-making: being more deliberate and less impulsive, so all the information is taken into account.<\/p>\n
Strategic Stress Management: rolling with stress more easily and relying on personalized systems to reduce overwhelm. Individualized tools to support their nervous systems in staying calm and open.<\/p>\n
Accurate Self-Concept: Shame and guilt are replaced with self-regard and self-trust. They no longer identify with failures. They\u2019re more neutral and effective in the face of challenges.<\/p>\n
As an HR professional, you\u2019re in the perfect spot to match your executives\u2019 needs with the most relevant support.<\/p>\n
Watch them shine! Watch how their win becomes a win for everyone on the team.<\/p>\n
With love and gratitude,
\nLynda<\/b><\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n