The 15%: How Neurodiversity is Shaping the Future of Work
How can we change our workplaces and societies to be more inclusive and understanding of neurodiverse individuals?
In this deeply insightful episode, our host Denise Cooper sits down with Say Gabriel, the founder of Growing Mighty Leaders, to discuss a topic we often overlook but significantly impacts 15% of our population: neurodiversity. Say, who got her start as an unemployed graduate before forming a digital content agency and eventually pivoting into her current venture, has a unique background that combines business acumen with empathy and spirituality.
Together they dive into how research shows that a significant portion of the neurodiverse population is walking around undiagnosed, with women being particularly underdiagnosed. Denise and Say explore the often ignored responsibilities that neuro-normative individuals have in fostering an inclusive environment. They touch on the delicate balance of logical thinking with deep spirituality, and how these can actually be complementary qualities, especially when leading projects that require a deep level of empathy and understanding.
Say also discusses her journey from digital content creation to becoming a "neurodivergent teacher extraordinaire," sharing that her experiences working across 20 different industries and over 100 projects have informed her current leadership practices. If you've been wanting to understand how to make your environments more inclusive or even become a better leader in your respective field, this episode is a must-listen.
THE FINER DETAILS OF THIS SHOW
- If you're neurodiverse and afraid to explore it, what can next steps look like? [14:48]
- How can leaders shape their communication to meet the needs of neurodiverse team members? [22:58]
- For neurodiverse individuals who are ready to open up about their experience in the workplace - how do we start these conversations?[30:10]
KEEP UP WITH SAY:
https://www.growmightyleaders.com/
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SAYATA GABRIEL'S BIO
Before I started my digital content agency in 2005, I was one of only a handful of university graduates from my band’s post-sec support program—and yet underemployed, working at a rural grocery store.
A little bit of support in the form of a community entrepreneur training program changed that. They provided basic skills training and basic living expenses, and I used their support to grow Anansi from laptop in a travel trailer to:
From less than $30K annual in 2005 to $270K+ annual in 2021
From just myself to 7-10 part and full time team members across Canada and beyond
Projects across industries all over North America and beyond, from local small biz to regional construction to international nonprofits
Even through COVID’s challenges, we’ve managed to grow year over year. But the pandemic has increased unexpected staff absence and turnover, especially among the diverse populations we hire from and work with. This and other capacity limitations have caused us to lose momentum several times while ramping up sales and profitability.
Whether it’s cooking or construction, data shows that the impact of similar challenges is widespread across many industries, and serious. This problem is current and creating an unmet need—one that we have the power to fill.
That’s why we have begun pivoting our work from content strategy and leadership authority training alone, to include proven simple systems to nurture team wellness. As a result, we recently launched the Grow Mighty Leaders Projects
Simply put, the Grow Mighty Leaders Movement empowers high-performing but exhausted leaders to bring the human element back to the workplace. We simplify confusing topics like content marketing, team building, and wellness into proven & flexible science-based systems.
