Show Notes
What if the problem isn't your brain — but the environment it's asked to work in?
In this episode of Leaders in Business, Marlene Lowe is joined by Sam Pringle: executive coach, founder of social enterprise Presence in Action, and author of Neuro Inclusion: A Guide for Managers and Leaders. Sam's path here was anything but linear — from a disrupted childhood across nine schools, to studying marine biology in Newcastle (and raising money from fellow students to study coral in Bermuda), to a chance conversation with a hotel guest that launched a high-flying pharmaceutical career, before a single coaching question — "this is all about your career; what about you?" — changed everything.
Sam shares how becoming one of Scotland's first maternity coaches grew out of a workplace that wouldn't let senior leaders work anything less than full time, and how her own journey of neurodivergent discovery in mid-life reframed decades of experience. Together, she and Marlene dig into why labels like ADHD and dyslexia can be a barrier to the conversation that actually matters — what do you need to be at your best? — and why Sam prefers the metaphor of a forest: all the trees are different, some prefer particular conditions, and the forest needs every one of them.
There's plenty here to challenge any leader: performance management that treats people as machines, offices with no space to move, think or rest ("where's the nap room?"), the learnt behaviours we mistake for strengths because we've been rewarded for them, and why so many neurodivergent people end up in self-employment — a genuine loss to organisations. Sam's mission is refreshingly simple: slow down, notice, trust yourself, and build workplaces where working well for neurodivergent people means working well for everyone.
Needs, not labels Diagnostic labels mean different things to different people, and the science of the brain is still young. The more useful conversation is: what are my needs, and what helps me be at my best? Neurodiversity is the whole forest; neurodivergent people are trees that prefer certain conditions. The forest needs all the trees. The environment is the problem, not the person Workplaces are built on linear, mechanistic paradigms of the "ideal worker" — our bodies and minds are fine; the conditions often aren't. Accommodations framed as "adaptations around you" send the message that you're the problem. Flexibility such as home working isn't a perk for some people — it's a need, and it makes them more productive, not less. Work with strengths, not learnt behaviours Know your natural talents — and be honest about the things you've merely learnt to be good at because others rewarded you for them. Notice your energy: depleted after a task is a signal. Don't waste money training weaknesses that will never become strengths; build teams where different talents complement each other, as Sam did with her co-author. People are not machines Productivity isn't a flat line — good days and quieter days are human, and boom-and-bust cycles end in burnout if ignored. Judge quality of output, not hours looking busy. Two people can produce the same value in very different ways. Movement, rest and noticing are part of the work Creativity can't be forced — walks, cooking, rest and "taking a thought for a walk" are where insight arrives. Thinking burns energy; where's the nap room? Neurodivergent people are often exceptional noticers. Slowing down, attending to your body, and sharing what you notice — "I'm not the only one this happens to" — is where the power lies. Trust yourself — and listen to every generation Sam's advice to her younger self: have the courage to be more you. Advocate for what you need, and don't stop asking. Multi-generational workplaces are richer when every generation's noticing is heard — young people on boards included.
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