In this episode of THE TALENT DEVELOPMENT HOT SEAT, Andy’s guest is Jessica Michaels. She spent 20 years of her career hearing, “You’re meeting your goals, but you’re still failing.” At 39, she got the diagnosis that explained everything. She is now a neurodiversity coach, consultant, and educator offering support for neurodiverse adults with workplace and career challenges. She also helps employers create neurodiversity programs within their organizations.

Jessica Michaels is currently serving as the Talent Development Partner at Adobe. She is an expert in the neurodiversity space.

In this interview, you’ll hear:

1. How Jessica Michaels made the transition from a sales career to becoming a neurodiversity coach and talent development partner.
2. What led her to pursue an autism and ADHD diagnosis and why it explained so much about her career difficulties.
3. The definition of neurodiversity, how it affects 30% of the world’s population, and how it can affect your communication abilities.
4. How she took her own career experience and learning differences to change how she conducted her own workplace training.
5. Why changing the way you train people in your organization in a neurodiversity-friendly way can also assist in training the introverts in your company.
6. How neurodiverse learners can drive innovation and see unique solutions others in your organization may not recognize.
7. The reason Jessica Michaels says we need to change the interview process and job listings to include neurodiverse people and how it can positively affect your workplace.
8. The effect autism has on operating in society and in the workplace and what it can look like to others.
9. Why changing your interview process and job descriptions can attract neurodiverse candidates who perform well.
10. How you can successfully implement changes to support and recruit neurodiverse employees in your organization.
11. What you can do to better account for people with ADHD in your company.

Connect with Andy Storch here:

andystorch.com

linkedin.com/in/andystorch

tdtt.us/

Connect with Jessica Michaels:

linkedin.com/in/jessica-michaels-6a647153/

ndworkcoach.com

ndworkcoach@gmail.com

Mentioned in this episode:

Think Tank conference

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