The best leaders are those who help us unlock our full potential and embrace our biggest passions. Compassionate leadership is about empowering people to be the fullest versions of themselves, rather than trying to change individuals to “fit in” with a company culture.

Understanding the evolution of what is considered great leadership – as well as the pressures that neurodivergent leaders can find ourselves under – helps us understand and accept that everyone has different leadership styles, and forgive ourselves when we make mistakes.

The idea of a ‘Boss’ – an assertive personality who focuses on business outcomes rather than relationships is outdated and no longer considered an aspirational way to lead. Instead, the most successful leaders are those who focus on positively changing business practices and communications to enrich their teams – not dictate how their teams ‘should’ behave. Coaching is slowly but surely replacing commanding.

As neurodivergent people, so many of us have experienced combative relationships with managers and business leaders, ordering us to do this and that without giving us the bigger picture, having unrealistic expectations about our work and productivity, or being overcritical about our way of being in the workplace. Workplace trauma is very real, it can destroy our confidence and leave a fear in us that stops us from shining our light in the world.

And for those of us who have climbed the corporate ladder and become leaders ourselves, we’ve usually experienced little to no support around how to conduct ourselves as leaders, how to cope with additional demands placed on us, and most often been left to manage teams of neurotypical people who simply don’t speak our language.

In October’s roundtable, Mark Blake, Co-Founder of Joyfully Different was joined by Solène Anglaret, founder of Be Beyond Borders, to explore how we can add heart, compassion, and authenticity to leadership, connect genuinely with our teams and collaborators, and unlock the light of the people around us.

Mark and Solène share their own experiences and insights to help answer these crucial questions, acting as critical friends and facilitators to support us all in our exploration and discussion of:

• What makes neurodivergent people good leaders?
• What unique challenges do neurodivergent leaders face?
• How do we show our authenticity as leaders AND empower the people we lead to be their authentic selves?
• How do we manage upwards effectively as neurodivergent leaders?
• How do we handle challenges and conflicts with neurotypical managers?
• How can we be compassionate to others AND ourselves as neurodivergent leaders?