Practical, trauma-informed leadership skills for ADHD, Autism, PTSD, grief, and anxiety—while maintaining standards.

Leading Neurodiverse & High-Sensitivity Teams: Performance Without Harm

By: Dr. Leslie Westbrook, LMFT

TL;DR (60 seconds)

“Invisible” performance issues aren’t usually motivation problems—they’re mismatch problems. You can keep standards high without harm by using small role/environment tweaks, a simple feedback framework, sensory-smart meeting norms, and escalation pathways that de-escalate. Result: better performance, higher retention, fewer misused PIPs.

Why this matters now

As a clinician partnering with companies and teams, I see a recurring pattern: talented people who think deeply, feel intensely, and notice risk early are labeled “difficult,” “checked out,” or “not a culture fit.” Meanwhile, leaders are unsure how to support ADHD, Autism, PTSD, grief, and anxiety without lowering the bar.

Good news: you don’t need to lower the bar. You need clear expectations + smarter support—so people can meet standards consistently.

Why Great People Are Struggling

When one-size-fits-all management meets different brains.

• “Invisible” performance issues: missed deadlines, uneven output, shutdowns under pressure.

• Masking & avoidant communication: agreement in meetings, stalls in execution.

• Misused PIPs: coachable moments escalated into discipline.

• Turnover of high performers: systems thinkers who push quality quietly exit.

Root cause: one-size-fits-all management in roles that demand fit-for-brain design.

1) Role & Environment Tweaks (fit beats force)

Small, reversible adjustments can create big gains.

Try this menu:

• Task size: break large deliverables into milestones with explicit “done” criteria.

• Time blocks: 25–45-minute focus sprints + scheduled decompression windows.

• Context switching: limit back-to-back meetings; cluster similar work.

• Sensory load: quiet zones/headsets; reduce notification noise; camera-optional norms.

• Strength carving: assign system review/QA/root-cause analysis to high-insight employees; pair with a “completer” for documentation follow-through.

Outcome: steadier throughput, fewer flare-ups, clearer quality signals.

2) The 3-Step Feedback Framework (clear, kind, repeatable)

Plain English quick guide

• Anchor = say the standard and why it matters. “Our clients expect replies within 24 hours. When we miss that, projects stack up and customers get frustrated.”

• Ask = find out what’s getting in the way. “What’s making the 24-hour response tough right now—meeting load, task volume, or something else?”

• Align = agree on one change and how you’ll check it. “Let’s try a 2-line same-day update, then a fuller reply by 10 a.m. tomorrow. I’ll check in Friday to see if this solved it.”

The formal steps

1. Anchor (name the standard + impact)

2. Ask (invite the constraint)

3. Align (co-design one change + a check)

Why it works: You protect the standard and address the real barrier (working memory, time blindness, overload) in a way that’s humane, specific, and repeatable.

3) Sensory-Smart Meeting Norms (reduce noise, increase signal)

• Agenda-first with owner/outcome.

• Queue/hand-raise; capture ideas in chat.

• Camera-optional + recording to lower cognitive load and improve recall.

• Decision log (3 lines)—decision, owner, due-by—posted within 15 minutes.

Result: less overwhelm, better decisions, faster follow-through.

4) Escalation That De-escalates (when stakes rise)

Not every issue needs a PIP. Start with a brief stability plan.

Stability Plan (one-pager):

• Scope: which deliverables are slipping?

• Support: choose 1–2 tweaks (time block, pairing, milestone map).

• Signals: green/yellow/red for 2–4 weeks.

• Check-ins: 10 minutes M/W/F.

• Exit criteria: what “back to steady” looks like.

If stability fails → a constructive PIP focused on skills & systems, not character.

What this looks like for engineering, ops, and service teams

• Engineering: low-meeting focus blocks; PR templates with “definition of done.”

• Operations: visual SOPs, checklists, “start-here” runbooks; limit pager/radio noise.

• Client-facing: pre-brief roles; two-line debriefs; regulation phrases for escalation (“Let’s slow this down so we get it right.”)

Metrics that show it’s working

• On-time delivery / cycle time (↑)

• Quality defects / rework (↓)

• Retention of high-insight/ND employees (↑)

• PIP-to-success conversion (↑)

• Manager confidence (↑)

• Team psychological safety / eNPS (↑)