I wear multiple hats professionally and wouldn’t have it any other way. Four days a week, I work closely with companies to hire, develop and motivate their talent. I love the leadership development and organizational consulting work I do and nothing fascinates me more than helping those already trained take their professional game to the next level. So what do I do with that remaining day of the week? Every Wednesday I work at the Riley Behavioral and Educational Center, a private school and clinic for children on the autism spectrum. It may seem like the corporate world has very little in common with the world of autism, but I think the C-suite has a lot to learn from people on the autism spectrum. For example:
Creative thinking:
One of the biggest problems facing corporate teams today is the homogeneity of thought. A voluminous body of research shows that we tend to hire like-minded people, which means corporate ranks are often filled with a cadre of “yes (women) men” chosen specifically because they “get it” ( read, think in the same way as us). This paucity of divergent thinking, coupled with the all-too-human tendency to acquiesce, leads organizations to make decisions with the full buy-in of everyone around the table without real research or analysis of a decision. When companies are uniform in thought and action, innovation stalls, threats are ignored, and a team makes decisions with no more insight than any individual member.
Compare the corporate norm of homogeneity with the mind of an individual on the autism spectrum. Animal behaviorist and autism advocate Dr. Temple Grandin likened her thought process to Google Images. When asked to visualize a church steeple, most neurotypical individuals envision some kind of generic steeple that is an amalgamation of all steeples we have encountered historically. Dr. Grandin, who did not speak until age 4 and is herself on the autism spectrum, describes her thought process as qualitatively different. Instead of imagining a generalized obstacle course, she “thinks in pictures.” That is, her mind generates a very specific group of real church steeples that she has found, but she doesn’t combine them into a single, more generalizable steeple. Her thought process is neither better nor worse than the process undertaken by her neurotypical peers, it’s just different. And as we see, different is something that all organizations need at the boardroom table.
Unfiltered dialog:
Being different in and of itself is not a virtue when it comes to what makes high-performing teams tick. Research and development labs, brainstorming sessions, and team meetings are full of seed ideas dying on the vine. So, why do we settle for leaving our most original ideas without seeing the light? Because “typical” people are conformist creatures and could learn a lot about openness from our friends on the autism spectrum. Imagine a team that has successfully navigated the intellectual and cultural homogeneity discussed above. Your ultimate success lies not in your ability to assemble a diverse team of thought leaders, but also in ensuring that these diverse perspectives are brought to the table, debated, and examined. Noted business consultant Patrick Lencioni describes this process as “unfiltered dialogue” and lists it as one of the five skills necessary for a high-performing team.
In general, people on the autism spectrum who are able to communicate verbally have little trouble with unfiltered dialogue. An autistic client of mine recently (and correctly) noted that he was overweight by mentioning, “His tummy is getting bigger, Dr. Crosby.” This type of comment is unlikely to come up in “typical” conversation and is considered socially inappropriate. However, when we interact with people who are inexperienced in the art of subterfuge, politicking, and insincerity, we often learn truths about ourselves that can spur positive action (it should be noted that I’m currently on a diet). I am not promoting a lack of civility, rudeness or directness that is harmful. What I am advocating is a more direct and honest dialogue between professionals around ideas. Once again, entrepreneurs of all stripes can take a lesson from my clients. While I wasn’t pleased with coming to a deeper understanding of how out of shape he was, I certainly wasn’t upset with my client for calling me out. He shared this feedback with sincerity and seriousness, expressed, I believe, out of compassion for me. Similarly, we must be able to dispute and debate the concepts put forward by our colleagues, not to hurt or defame, but to ensure that the best decision wins the day. When these difficult conversations are backed by a sense of mutual respect and caring, even seemingly harsh comments lack the sting they might otherwise have.
My learning from having an unusual career path has been this; there are leaders all around us. In recent years, the titans of the industry have largely proven to be corrupt, vapid and unimaginative. Perhaps all this is a wake-up call for us; a reminder that exemplary behavior is just as likely to come from a classroom as it is from the halls of power.