Different, Not Difficult: Growth Mindset for Inclusion

Growth Mindset Cartoon, Flowers Grow from Human Heads

Source: macrovector / Freepik

Research shows that hiring agents and managers are often reluctant to hire autistic people, and "they are going to be difficult to manage" is a common assumption that underlies this reluctance. This means that solving the problem I described as the "autism employment paradox"¹—a high unemployment rate despite the high level of competence and productivity—will require not just unlearning negative assumptions about neurodivergence but unlinking the idea of "different" from "difficult." The same applies to addressing all forms of exclusion.

Upon examination, "I don't have the time for difficult people" can mean "I find it hard to work with people different from me."

When learning about workplace neurodiversity inclusion from the perspective of my intersectionally focused framework², managers are sometimes tempted to stick to what they know—the familiar ways to organize work and the familiar patterns of relating to people. That temptation is understandable. After all, most people arrive where they are using existing knowledge, and that knowledge "feels right." Plus, they are busy. Often, they are torn between many conflicting pressures and demands.

But let's face it—what got us where we are will not necessarily get us further. Learning is nonnegotiable in the modern world of work, and learning about people is nonnegotiable for inclusive leaders. There is always more to understand about human differences and the unique ways in which humans think, feel, sense the world, and achieve goals.

Learning is not always easy or comfortable. But in the long run, what is more beneficial for leadership effectiveness than developing mental flexibility? My analysis of cognitive biases underlying failed organizational interventions ³ highlights the crucial need to understand and integrate diverse cultural and individual perspectives. On the individual level, one of the first biases to overcome is the familiarity bias.

Facing the Familiarity Bias

We've all been in situations where a different approach or a contrarian solution to a workplace problem made us feel uneasy. Where a person who did things differently seemed suspect. That unsettling feeling is a natural human reaction to the unknown. It also reflects the familiarity bias, a preference for what we are used to.

While understandable, if not controlled, this bias results in shutting neurodivergent talent out of jobs, promotions, and fulfilling career and life opportunities. The results of neuroexclusion drastically impact lives, as illustrated by the dramatic unemployment rates of highly qualified autistic talent, which are largely due to hiring agents’ biases and other forms of neuroexclusion.

Discomfort with the unfamiliar is understandable. But it does not justify discrimination.

Discrimination and exclusion can be maladaptive responses to our own discomfort with the different and the unknown. The adaptive answer to the discomfort with the unfamiliar is learning.

Developing a Growth Mindset

One perspective on learning can be particularly helpful in overcoming misgivings and the discomfort with the unknown: Most successful learning, at any age or position, is underlined by a growth mindset. A growth mindset liberates us from the pressure of having ready answers and allows us to embrace the journey of learning and improving.

Carol Dweck, the researcher who developed and empirically demonstrated the importance of the learning mindset for persistence and overcoming difficulties, suggests adopting the “not yet” mindset. This mindset can be applied to not knowing how to work with a specific type of technology—yet—or with people from different backgrounds—yet.

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The "not yet" thinking can help in developing neuroinclusive leadership. When you feel like sticking with the familiar and hiring or promoting yet another person who is similar to you because you do not know how to work with people who think and see the world differently, add the word “yet.” You may not know how to work with neurodivergent (or disabled, or culturally and otherwise different) people yet.

A growth mindset helps us frame not knowing something as a golden opportunity to learn. Investing time in understanding different types of minds expands our leadership skills while contributing to a more inclusive, talent-rich, and productive work environment. In the context of the 21st century, true leadership celebrates and unlocks diverse human strengths. My research on pioneering organizations and leaders successfully creating flexible environments and supporting those who are different from them demonstrates the power of expanding the leadership mindset.

Of course, learning can also be tailored to specific leaders’ strengths, from mentorship to microlearning, from reading comprehensive books to topical articles. One approach to learning is essential, however, learning about the unique human characteristics of individuals by directly asking them to share how they work best and truly listening. This is why participation is the first principle of my model for intersectional neuroinclusion described in my book, The Canary Code: A Guide to Neurodiversity, Dignity, and Intersectional Belonging at Work. No expert can fully explain how a specific individual, formed by their neurobiology, upbringing, culture, and other intersecting factors, thinks, feels, and functions best.

We have a choice of what to do about not knowing something. We can let it be a roadblock to justice and to someone’s inclusion and well-being. Or we can turn it into a starting point for our own growth and for creating a richer and more inclusive world.

A version of this post also appears in the Best Work for Your Brain newsletter.