Leveraging Neurodivergent Traits for Design Strategy

Meghan Logan at UXDX Community: Thriving through Change: Embracing Adversity and Unique Strengths. Video: https://youtu.be/1IKoOo-MiEU

Readable transcript: edited from the recording's captions for readability (fillers and false starts removed, punctuation and section headings added). Wording is the speaker's own. Timestamps are positions in the video. Names marked [?] could not be verified against the audio.

A nontraditional path into design

[00:00:07] Hi, I'm Meghan. I am a staff product designer, and I have about a decade of experience. I currently work at Thrivent, but over the years I've been involved in a couple of cool projects across tech. I've worked on data protection and legal compliance at Lever. I have worked on account security at Twilio. I've created machine learning tools at Amplitude. I've also worked across different service design aspects, like simplifying purchasing a mortgage online at Credible, and more.

[00:00:31] Today I'm going to be talking about harnessing our neurodivergent superpowers with the GRIT framework. If you were here earlier for Gregor's talk, he said it wouldn't be a talk without a framework, and so I'm really grateful that I turned mine into a framework. But I'm going to start with a little bit about myself first.

[00:00:56] My journey into design was very untraditional. It started about 10 years ago, and I got involved in design after I heard a coworker talking about UX/UI. I had always been somebody that enjoyed being a generalist. I did operations, I did marketing, I did tech writing, I even went to school for animation, and nothing really satiated my craving for excitement in the workplace. I've always been the type who loves to explore all these different topics. I've bounced around between new ideas; I just like to keep things really interesting.

[00:01:36] That's not the stereotypical way that you imagine it when people talk about ADHD, because as much as I love being a generalist, I've really been able to hone that in and find my specialty. I really feel like I had found my home with design. It was the perfect mix between psychology, art, psychiatry and problem solving, all rolled into one. So when I stumbled upon UX, it felt like a match made in heaven. But in 2021 I was diagnosed with ADHD, and I almost quit design forever.

How ADHD is usually seen

[00:02:12] But first I would like to encourage a moment of thought. When you hear the term ADHD, what comes to mind? I know I can't interact with you in the chat, but feel free to add your thoughts. More often than not, people picture the hyperactive traits. It's the friend that can't pay attention, the person that gets bored easily and can't sit still. Or maybe you heard ADHD and you only heard one thing: squirrel. The reality is most people's understanding of ADHD tends to focus on the negatives.

[00:02:43] Imagine this. You are about to go under anesthesia for brain surgery, and you're casually chatting with your doctor beforehand. Just before you drift off, your doctor mentions that he has ADHD. How would you feel? Would you worry that he might lose focus or get distracted mid-surgery? Would you wonder if he could forget something important? It's a pretty extreme example, sure, but it highlights a real issue: the fact that ADHD is often seen only through its challenges, and that's the perspective that most people are familiar with.

[00:03:16] In today's fast-evolving tech landscape, innovation and creativity are paramount, but many neurodivergent designers struggle with the stigma and the misunderstanding around ADHD. This prevents them from fully harnessing their strengths. According to Tech Talent Charter's 2024 Diversity in Tech report, only 3% of tech employees are identified as neurodivergent by their employers. I did not believe this number when I first read it. However, the rest of the report goes on to say that a direct survey of employees found that 53% of respondents identify as having a neurodivergent condition, with ADHD being one of the most prevalent conditions. Out of this 53%, 15% was ADHD.

Getting fired, and the diagnosis

[00:04:01] I'd like to share a little bit about my journey with ADHD, which is really the thing that led me to creating this talk and this framework. In 2020 I was interviewing at a company called Amplitude. I didn't really feel hopeful that I would get the job. At the time I had only worked at smaller startups. Some of them were toxic work environments, and I was a designer of one, so there wasn't really a team to learn from. I didn't really feel good enough to work there, and the entire time I was interviewing I had this cloud of self-doubt looming over my head. Even though I had the relevant experience, I really struggled with impostor syndrome at the time.

[00:04:43] But I did get the job. Before this I hadn't had the opportunity to work with a team of designers. I loved the product, I loved the people, I loved the culture. The person that had been interviewing me at the time was somebody I really looked up to, and she had worked in some industries that I was interested in growing my career in. So it really just felt like a gift from somewhere that I got the opportunity to be here and landed the job. I felt like I had made it, and I was working somewhere that gave me more credibility as a designer, being self-taught. Even if it sounds pretty dramatic, there was a lot of blood, sweat and tears to get here. Maybe not as much blood, but definitely a lot of tears and a lot of sweat.

[00:05:20] When COVID hit, everything changed. Being confined for so long stripped away any excuses for things like procrastination, forgetfulness or mental fog. It pushed me to confront what had always felt like internal roadblocks. I often felt a step behind, and I would forget things super easily. Summarizing key takeaways from our customer calls became very difficult. I felt like it was a constant uphill battle just to remember what I had done throughout the workday. It might have seemed like I wasn't paying attention, but the truth is I was listening intently to every word in every meeting. In fact, I was so focused on staying focused that the only thing I would hear in my mind sometimes in meetings was me telling myself to pay attention, so of course I missed all the content happening within.

[00:06:03] By November of 2020 I had been struggling in my role for quite some time. I confided in my interim manager in every weekly that we had. I was very honest about my struggles and what I was going through. I had expressed confusion over my declining cognitive abilities, and at one point I had even joked that maybe I had a brain tumor. In December of 2020 I had my annual performance review. I met expectations, but I had areas that I needed to improve in order to earn back the trust that I had lost. I wasn't thrown off by the review. I knew that there would be areas to work on, and I figured eventually I would have to face the consequences of my struggle.

[00:06:42] The words you're seeing on the screen right now are actually what my new manager said to me as I was being fired. Upon the arrival of our new design manager, I faced a really harsh reality. In our one-on-one meeting, on her first official day as my manager, she fired me. As she was delivering the news, obviously her words cut really deep, and I was crushed. Every ounce of impostor syndrome hit me all at once. It was just like that feeling when your mom tells you to bring a jacket because you're going to be cold, and you insist that you will not be cold and you don't need a jacket, but you do in fact get cold and need that jacket.

[00:07:22] I mourned the excitement and the love that I had for the company, and the relationships I built. I felt as if my original feelings of self-doubt reared their ugly head just to remind me that I was not good enough, and now someone who was supposed to be a leader and a guide to me was telling me that I should give up. I felt like I had failed, and at the same time I couldn't really shake the feeling that it wasn't 100% my fault. For a while I nearly drowned in all that self-doubt. I felt inadequate. I felt haunted by my lack of a formal degree. But I was really determined to understand what was happening to me and how I had gotten here. After an 18-month journey of doctor visits and some self-reflection, I finally received an answer, and that is when I got my ADHD diagnosis.

[00:08:06] All the negatives of my experience molded into one key takeaway, and that was: if I didn't understand myself, I couldn't help myself. When I look back on that experience, I didn't understand what was happening to my brain, to my body, to my emotions, to my reactions. Getting a later-in-life diagnosis led to a mountain of grief. I grieved my past self. I grieved the potential that I hadn't reached, all the things maybe I could have accomplished by now if I hadn't spent years thinking I was just lazy or stupid or didn't have enough self-control.

[00:08:41] Being here today, with what I now know and what this journey has taught me, is that embracing my neurodivergence has actually empowered me to gain clarity about my needs, my strengths and my approach to design. I believe we can harness the power of neurodiverse traits, transforming the parts of ourselves that we were made to feel ashamed of and turning those into our own unique superpowers. That is what this is all about. This talk aims to empower neurodivergent designers, build safety around communicating their needs in the workplace, and help teams and organizations recognize the value of diverse thinking in the creative process. So let's dive into how we can turn our differences into powerful drivers of innovation and resilience in design.

The GRIT framework

[00:09:23] This is the framework I mentioned earlier. The highs and lows in my personal journey inspired what I call the GRIT framework. It's a structured approach I put together that empowers neurodivergent designers and their teams. I really wanted a way for others to navigate the challenges that come with our diagnosis and, more importantly, to uncover the unique strengths within it. GRIT is about recognizing, celebrating and harnessing our abilities rather than being defined by our differences. And yes, I used ChatGPT to help me form a cool acronym for it.

[00:09:54] By applying these principles in my work, I've been able to empower both myself and others to embrace, understand and harness their neurodivergent traits, reshaping their perspective from something negative to something that can drive innovation and equity in design. When we understand ourselves and help others understand our needs, we create a foundation for more equitable design practices and embrace diversity in thinking and problem solving. And most importantly, we remove the shame and the stigma that may come alongside our struggles.

[00:10:23] Each letter represents a different building block for professional and personal growth. G is for gaining clarity on your needs. This is really about understanding your unique working style and removing the shame associated with neurodivergence: understanding your expectations and limitations, looking within. R is for relaying your needs to others: learning how to communicate effectively with teams and leaders to advocate for the environment and the resources that you need to thrive. I is for identifying your superpowers, reframing neurodivergent traits as strengths that can contribute to creative problem solving, faster iteration and innovative design thinking. And lastly, T is for tune and grow: continuously refining your processes and communication skills, using the feedback you get to improve your design approach over time.

[00:11:09] GRIT has helped me identify, build and reframe. I've identified my needs, I've set boundaries, and I've created a work environment where I could thrive. I've built stronger work relationships; I avoid misunderstandings and foster trust. And lastly, I've been able to reframe my thought patterns, refocus my energy and refine my skills.

G: gaining clarity on your needs

[00:11:32] Digging into the framework, G, for gaining clarity, is really about knowing what makes you tick, or what ticks you off. The first step towards thriving at work is understanding ourselves. Without self-awareness, it's too easy to feel lost or frustrated or like you're constantly falling short. Gaining clarity helps you set the stage for success by identifying your unique needs and setting boundaries that keep you feeling in control.

[00:11:59] The first step is meeting yourself where you are, by understanding your current limitations and expectations. Identify any challenges or limitations you currently have, whether that's in your personal life or within your role. When you understand what holds you back, you can develop strategies to work around or overcome those obstacles, whether they're challenges within your role, personal limitations, or feedback that you've consistently received but struggled to apply effectively. Make sure you understand the expectations tied to your role as well. It's important to understand what's expected of you at work so you can show up as your best self within that role. Additionally, you can use your limitations to help you pinpoint where there might be gaps in meeting the expectations of your role.

[00:12:43] The second step is understanding and documenting three key areas through reflection: your absolute requirements, your communication preferences and shortcomings, and then your strengths.

[00:12:53] Absolute requirements are the things that I think of as what you absolutely need to get your best work done, and the things that would hinder you or get in the way. Additionally, it's important for you to identify and understand the things that might demotivate you. Once you become distracted by environmental or cultural roadblocks within the workplace, they continue to buzz in our minds until they're resolved. It takes up a lot of the space that we need to be efficient and focused. Especially if you have ADHD, demotivators will be the quickest path to dopamine death, making it even more difficult for you to focus on, start and complete tasks as you are seeking that dopamine.

[00:13:37] This can also go deeper than distractions. It's also the things that you feel can create or foster toxic work environments, like micromanagers or distrustful teammates. I personally need trust and autonomy within my workplace, and it's a non-negotiable for me, if I pick up on a potential manager that is maybe disrespectful or micromanagey. Sorry, I don't even know if that's a real word.

[00:14:02] The second is communication preferences. Ask yourself what type of communication works versus what does not work for you. Be aware of your communication shortcomings as well. It's important to be honest with ourselves about where we struggle when we communicate. I'm somebody that speaks very straightforwardly, so oftentimes it can seem like I'm really certain of an answer when in reality I'm actually open to and actively seeking feedback and discussion. It's not as simple as reading books or attending a webinar on communication either. I think that some neurodivergent traits are part of us, and I found that that's something that leaders don't always accept. I've been denied promotions in the past on more than one occasion due to my communication style. I think that communication and leadership is something that can be pigeonholed into one specific fit.

[00:14:53] For anybody that has watched Love Is Blind, I would say I'm also a direct speaker, but not in the same way that Hannah means when she says she is a direct speaker. I can just be flat and straightforward when I'm talking to people. If companies don't naturally create that space for us to be seen or understood, we sometimes have to create that space for ourselves in order to create equitable team dynamics.

[00:15:17] Communication's probably the most important piece here. I do find that this causes the most misunderstanding at work. Some other common communication struggles for neurodivergent folks can look like honesty: for many autistic people the highest priority in a conversation is communicating facts, which at times can be a little off-putting to coworkers. And then conversation efficiency: small talk is a preference, and many people might enjoy participating in small talk to avoid awkward silences, but neurodivergent individuals might prefer to skip past that.

[00:15:48] Three is strengths and weaknesses. Identify what you love doing most and where you add the most value. This is the area that you're the most confident in. Own your strengths and understand your weaknesses. Our strengths are what can be translated into more tangible design superpowers that our product partners recognize.

[00:16:06] Everything I just mentioned makes up a work preference. For some reason work culture has made us believe or feel that we can't have our own preferences regarding work style. But when you understand how you work, and what environments you will and will not succeed in, you can communicate that back to your colleagues to set those expectations. Some examples of work preferences: I prefer to take meetings after 9:30 a.m.; I need quiet work environments to focus; or please don't book over my lunch or focus time hours unless absolutely necessary.

[00:16:37] I used to push myself to say yes to early morning meetings, think pre-9:00 a.m., in order to accommodate everyone's schedule. I thought that saying yes would make a better impression than asking for a different time. But unfortunately it's really difficult for me to fall asleep. I can't just shut my brain off when it's time for bed. This led to me often being late for meetings, or asking for last-minute reschedules, and it really damaged my reputation and team trust. So I had to be honest with myself, and in turn honest with my colleagues. I ended up sharing my meeting time preferences moving forward, and I found that my colleagues were actually incredibly understanding and accommodating. I was honest about my struggle, and they luckily met me in the middle.

R: relaying your needs with a manual of me

[00:17:18] R is for relaying your needs comfortably and constructively to others. No one's a mind reader. Sharing your needs with your team or boss helps them understand how to best support you. If you keep things bottled up, you're going to risk misunderstandings, burnout and missed opportunities. Revealing your needs builds trust. It fosters better working environments and relationships, and it creates a safer environment for you where you feel like you can really shine and be yourself.

[00:17:43] I use something called the manual of me. The manual of me is an ideal tool or guide that helps you communicate more with your colleagues and managers. It provides specific needs-based statements, such as preferred work hours, direct and honest feedback, or the need for a quiet environment, maybe even your favorite foods. Using this removed a lot of the pressure I personally felt when communicating needs to managers or colleagues. Before I implemented something like this at work, I was never really sure when to bring things up. I think I felt a lot of shame around my needs. I was scared that admitting my preferences would be interpreted as something that I wasn't good at, and in turn it would make them see me as less competent or less capable. Having the structure within the manual really helped me communicate the parts of myself that felt very scary and vulnerable in a way that felt safe for me.

[00:18:32] This is an example of a manual of me. There are a lot of templates available online and a lot of different ways to format these, but the one that I use is from manualof.me, and it's by Matthew Knight; he's the creator of the manual of me platform. This helps you tailor your needs to your work style, create the best chance of success with your team and your role, and allows you to take control over your narrative and perception through that visibility and communication.

[00:19:01] Some examples of things you can include in your manual of me I have on the screen here: "You'll convince me to get on board by...", "The environment in which I thrive is...", or "My communication preferences are...", and many more. It's a great way to get ahead of any potential misunderstandings, so that if they occur in the future, your colleagues can understand your behavior and your intention.

[00:19:21] My manual of me includes details about my personality profile, my needs, communication styles, how to motivate me, and how to give me feedback. I've always felt a little bit misunderstood at the majority of my jobs. I was never underperforming, and I wasn't really doing anything wrong, but I was getting consistent feedback on my communication style, which at the time I thought was pretty good.

[00:19:44] Here's an example from mine, where I let my colleagues know: "If I ask a lot of questions about a decision you made or something you built, that usually means I am not fully understanding it. It's important to understand everyone's processes and perspective so that I can understand them in a way that works with my way of thinking, and it is not to challenge anybody." I've received feedback in the past that colleagues took my curiosity as questioning their decisions, and it created a lot of unnecessary tension. Instead of approaching me to understand my intentions, colleagues assigned intention based on my unintentional impact.

[00:20:16] I found the more transparent I was, the more empowered I felt within my role. Shortly after I implemented it, I started to see more success with my approaches and my methods. Additionally, my transparency created space for my coworkers to feel comfortable asking questions once they were able to understand and trust my intentions.

I: identifying your superpowers

[00:20:36] The I is all about superpowers. This is where you take a look at the unique strengths that come with being neurodivergent, which are your superpowers, and you figure out how to make the most of them. It's not just about knowing what you're good at; it's about refining and using those skills to shine even brighter in your work. I know superpowers can sound corny, but they're true, and as designers we're already equipped with some pretty incredible traits that our peers don't have. And no, it is not about being better. It's about highlighting how we are different. Celebrating our differences is critical when we have found ourselves in a world of competition.

[00:21:09] If you think about it, when you log into social media you watch endless stories through the lens of somebody else's life: vacations, bars, parties, events. It's easy to feel like you're somehow behind. When you log into LinkedIn, I don't have to explain that one. At work we compete, mostly not by our own choice, but we're graded: performance reviews, promotions, raises, et cetera. When applying for jobs we compete with the talent pool, and when dating we compete with every other human being in the world. It's an exaggeration, but it definitely feels like that.

[00:21:36] Tapping into your superpower not only helps you bring your best self to work, but it allows you to create the conditions for people around you to thrive. "Knowing yourself and how you relate to others is key to building strong relationships, great teams and thriving organizations," as said by IDEO.

[00:21:50] Here are two examples of what I would call neurodivergent superpowers: race car thoughts and hyperfocus. Race car thinking describes the speed of one's ability to think and process information. The upsides of race car brain in ADHD folks can sometimes be described as accelerated processing of information, understanding concepts incredibly quickly, being great at problem solving, and excelling at systems thinking and simplifying complex concepts. But of course, with all the good things comes bad. The power of speed translated to design can be incredible when workshopping ideas and outcomes, generating solutions, suggesting features or product ideas, hypothesizing outcomes and more. If race car thinking is your superpower, consider implementing workshop techniques like Crazy 8s, How Might We and other ideation templates into your workflows. There are plenty of free assets available on Miro and FigJam that offer Crazy 8s and the other templates.

[00:22:47] The second is hyperfocus. This is one of the superpowers that I find myself using most. Because of my natural love for design, my dopamine is already pumping when I'm working my nine to five, so this makes it really easy for me to hyperfocus on my tasks and produce high quality work in a short amount of time. For some, there's a range of focus when trying to get work done. It can jump between splintered, where you may be distracted and fighting yourself on the work that you need to do, and hyperfocused, where you can zero in intensely on an exciting project for hours. Some benefits in design workflows can be things like increased productivity, enhanced memory retention, higher motivation and engagement, enhanced learning and a lot more.

[00:23:28] Keep in mind, though, that pitching the idea of 10 different paths to solve a problem will not give you credibility. The secret to harnessing the superpower is boiling the problem down to its core goal and desired outcome, so you can directly connect your out-of-the-box proposals to how you see them impacting the overall business outcome. Powers only become super when you understand how to use them.

[00:23:47] Before I learned how to tune my superpowers, I often found myself deeply absorbed in projects that just weren't my priority. I would pick whatever felt best, whatever I was most excited about, whatever seemed the coolest, and I wasn't actually prioritizing based on the needs of the team and what needed to be delivered first. Over time, when stakeholders would see what I was working on and saw that I wasn't prioritizing what I should be prioritizing, it did have a negative impact on my working relationships, and it unintentionally pushed me further away from career advancement.

[00:24:18] With great power comes great responsibility, which I always thought was some famous philosopher that said that, and correct me if I'm wrong, but I guess it's from Spider-Man. Firing off tons of ideas without follow-up won't return results. Hyperfocusing on work that's not a priority will get you in trouble, so be sure to prioritize based on deadlines and project needs. And thinking outside the box without awareness of what's too far out of the box will come across as more unhelpful than productive. While all of these things can be translated into superpowers, they have their pitfalls, which is why spending a lot of time on the G and the R is essential. You need to understand yourself, your limitations and your expectations so you can shape that superpower.

T: tune and grow

[00:24:59] And then last is the T, which is all about tuning and growing your superpowers, shaping your growth and enhancing your outputs. As you really start to understand your neurodivergent superpowers, you will see how they set you apart in the best way possible. Whether it's your unique way of solving problems or how you see connections others might miss, these strengths are what make your work stand out. Over time, as you refine your processes and sharpen your communication skills, you'll notice that feedback helps shape those superpowers even further.

[00:25:26] Tuning is an ongoing process of adapting, learning and refining your approach. Tuning encourages self-reflection and growth through feedback. Tuning includes translating to product and design, mapping your superpowers to design skills, and creating your superpower statements. Growth is all about the feedback you receive over time and what you do to continually shape and refine your superpowers. The result: your design and product output will only get stronger, more thoughtful, creative and impactful, because you're learning how to harness what makes you you in the best way possible.

Creating inclusive design spaces

[00:25:59] As we near the end of the presentation, I wanted to include a note on creating inclusive design spaces. Diverse thinking leads to richer, more equitable and innovative design outcomes. The path to creating those spaces includes opening ourselves up to new ways of working. I find that it can feel scary to some people, because we've become so comfortable with the way it's always been. Influencing the behavior change needed to adopt new practices may be a challenge, but I truly believe our industry will be better for it.

[00:26:24] I've included a few actionable tips for leaders and teams on creating an environment where neurodivergent designers can thrive, and I can provide the full list of tips upon request if you'd like them. Two suggestions. One I've already mentioned: implementing the manual of me. When you encourage your team members to create a doc or a manual of me, it normalizes open conversations around individual needs, and it helps leaders better support team members in a tailored way.

[00:26:48] The second is integrating neurodiverse perspectives into design reviews and brainstorms. Encourage new ways of working within brainstorms or design crits, like allowing time for quiet reflection and solo ideation before group sharing, or async options for feedback. Allow designers who prefer written communication time to reflect and contribute their thoughts. In addition, using structured formats like mind mapping or round robin idea sharing ensures every voice is heard, especially those who may not be comfortable speaking up spontaneously. These methods foster a culture of diverse thinking and can lead to more innovative and inclusive design solutions.

[00:27:22] In summary, embrace your self-awareness. Gain clarity on your strengths, needs and triggers; it's the foundation for growth and success. Self-awareness enables you to set boundaries and plan strategies around your unique needs. Be sure to communicate your needs effectively in order to foster trust, strengthen relationships and help your team support you in the ways that maximize your potential. Understand, harness and refine neurodivergent strengths to use as a powerful asset that helps you drive innovation, creativity and resilience in design. Turn your challenges into superpowers, and reframe what might feel like obstacles as unique strengths that fuel your creativity and problem-solving abilities.

[00:27:59] Use the GRIT framework as a road map to unlock personal and professional potential. It can help you move through challenges with a structured approach to success. Embracing diverse perspectives, including neurodivergent ones, leads to stronger, more inclusive design outcomes. And with that, I will leave you with this: be sure to embrace your own unique strengths, and if you are leading others, make sure to create space for neurodivergent team members to shine. Thank you.