Person-Centered Manager Syllabus
1:1 “Office Hour”
Allyship
Foundations of Effective Allyship
True allyship extends far beyond good intentions or passive support. It requires active, ongoing commitment to understanding, advocacy, and meaningful action. Effective allies educate themselves, amplify marginalized voices, and work to dismantle barriers—recognizing that creating inclusive environments benefits everyone.
Neurodiversity Awareness
Develop deep understanding of how different neurotypes experience the world, including both strengths and challenges
  • Learn about specific neurotypes and their characteristics
  • Recognize unconscious biases and neurotypical assumptions
  • Stay current with evolving language and perspectives
Intersectional Understanding
Acknowledge how neurodivergence intersects with other identities like race, gender, sexuality, and socioeconomic status
  • Recognize that experiences vary across different communities
  • Understand compounding barriers faced by multiply-marginalized individuals
  • Center voices of those with intersecting identities
Active Advocacy
Move beyond awareness to concrete action that creates systemic change and removes barriers
  • Speak up when you witness discrimination or exclusion
  • Advocate for policy changes and inclusive practices
  • Use your privilege and position to amplify neurodivergent voices
Adaptive Communication
Implement flexible communication strategies and supports that work for diverse neurotypes
  • Offer multiple communication formats (written, verbal, visual)
  • Be explicit and clear rather than relying on implicit expectations
  • Create space for different processing speeds and styles
Allyship: Do's and Don'ts
Effective allyship requires intention, humility, and continuous learning. These guidelines help you navigate the difference between performative gestures and meaningful support. True allies prioritize impact over optics, center marginalized voices, and commit to sustained action even when it's uncomfortable.
DO
Amplify marginalized voices by sharing their work, citing their expertise, and creating platforms for them to speak
Focus on impact, not just intent by acknowledging when your actions cause harm, regardless of your intentions
Engage in ongoing self-reflection by regularly examining your biases, assumptions, and areas for growth
Empower and support others by providing resources, removing barriers, and advocating for systemic change
Prioritize meaningful action by implementing concrete changes to policies, practices, and environments
Listen actively and learn by seeking out neurodivergent perspectives and truly hearing their experiences
DO NOT
Speak for marginalized voices by assuming you understand their experience better than they do
Rely only on intent by dismissing concerns because you "meant well" or didn't intend to cause harm
Assume you've "arrived" by treating allyship as a destination rather than an ongoing journey
Adopt a "savior" mentality by positioning yourself as rescuing or fixing neurodivergent individuals
Rely on performative gestures by engaging in surface-level actions that look good but create no real change
Center yourself by making conversations about your feelings, growth journey, or allyship credentials
Remember: Allyship is measured not by your intentions or self-perception, but by the tangible impact of your actions on neurodivergent individuals and communities.
Common Workplace Challenges
Even well-intentioned workplaces can create significant barriers for neurodivergent employees through standard practices that assume neurotypical processing. Recognizing these common challenges is the first step toward designing more inclusive systems. Small shifts in how we structure meetings, communicate expectations, and create feedback loops can dramatically improve experiences for everyone.
Rapid-Fire Meeting Culture
Team meetings that move at breakneck pace, jumping quickly between topics with minimal pause time. Questions are fielded immediately, leaving little room for those who need moments to process information or formulate responses.
Impact: Neurodivergent employees may struggle to keep up, miss important details, or feel unable to contribute meaningfully to discussions. This can lead to them appearing disengaged when they're actually working hard to process the conversation.
Solution: Build in pauses, share agendas in advance, allow written questions, and follow up with comprehensive notes.
Lack of Safe Disclosure Channels
Absence of clear, trusted pathways for employees to discuss their neurodivergence or request accommodations. Fear of stigma, discrimination, or negative career impact prevents people from asking for support they need to succeed.
Impact: Employees struggle silently rather than requesting reasonable adjustments. This leads to unnecessary stress, lower performance, and higher turnover—while organizations miss opportunities to support talented team members.
Solution: Establish clear accommodation processes, train managers on inclusive practices, and normalize discussing diverse needs.
Inconsistent Communication Styles
Managers and team members who rely heavily on indirect language, vague feedback, or implicit expectations. Comments like "We need to do better here" or "You know what I mean" leave too much open to interpretation.
Impact: Neurodivergent employees may struggle to understand what's actually expected, leading to repeated misunderstandings, incomplete work, or anxiety about meeting unclear standards. This isn't a comprehension deficit—it's a communication mismatch.
Solution: Practice direct, specific communication with clear expectations, concrete examples, and actionable feedback.
Shared Responsibilities for All Employees
Creating truly inclusive workplaces requires commitment from everyone—not just leaders or neurodivergent employees. These shared responsibilities form the foundation of cultures where diverse neurotypes can thrive. When everyone contributes to inclusion, the entire organization benefits from broader perspectives, stronger collaboration, and better outcomes.
Communicate Professionally and with Curiosity
  • Use clear, respectful language in all interactions
  • Aim to be understood, not just heard—check for comprehension
  • Ask thoughtful questions to better understand different perspectives and preferences
  • Approach differences with genuine curiosity rather than judgment
  • Remember that miscommunication often stems from different processing styles, not bad intentions
Flex and Adapt Together
  • Be willing to adjust communication styles when possible to meet others' needs
  • Show flexibility with workflows, meeting formats, and timelines
  • Recognize that adaptation goes both ways—everyone contributes to flexibility
  • Understand that collective success depends on mutual accommodation
  • Celebrate creative solutions that work for diverse team members
Give and Receive Feedback Constructively
  • Offer feedback that's timely, specific, and solution-focused
  • Provide context for feedback so recipients understand the impact
  • When receiving feedback, listen with openness before reacting
  • Reflect on feedback privately before responding if you need time to process
  • Assume positive intent while still taking concerns seriously
Foster a Culture of Respect
  • Value different thinking, communication, and working styles equally
  • Treat neurodivergent and neurotypical ways of working as equally valid
  • Challenge jokes, comments, or behaviors that mock or dismiss differences
  • Recognize and celebrate the unique contributions diverse neurotypes bring
  • Model inclusive behavior for colleagues and new team members
Inclusion isn't someone else's job—it's a shared commitment that requires active participation from every member of the team.
Continue Your Journey
01
Foundation concepts, definitions, and understanding neurodiversity as natural human variation
02
Active support strategies, best practices, and ways to champion neurodivergent colleagues
03
How different brains process information and the workplace implications of processing differences
04
Core skills for workplace success and how to support diverse executive function profiles
05
Practical tools, shared responsibilities, and creating sustainable neuroinclusive cultures
06
Recognizing, respecting, and affirming the diverse identities, experiences, and ways of being that people bring into the workplace.