Author: Bob Bannister

Your interview process is probably screening out some of your best potential hires.

Not because they lack skills or capability, but because your standard interview format—the kind that works reasonably well for neurotypical candidates—actively obscures the talents of neurodiverse applicants.

The autistic candidate who can’t maintain eye contact while thinking deeply. The person with ADHD who rambles when nervous but is brilliant at their actual job. The dyslexic applicant who stumbles over reading your case study aloud but has exceptional strategic vision.

Traditional interviews reward a specific type of social performance that has remarkably little correlation with job performance. And neurodiverse candidates—who may be autistic, have ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, or other neurological differences—often excel at the work but struggle with the performance.

If you want to hire the best talent, you need to interview differently.

Rethink What You’re Actually Assessing

Most interviews inadvertently test:

– Comfort with unstructured social interaction

– Ability to think quickly under pressure in an artificial setting

– Skill at selling yourself verbally

– Reading and responding to subtle social cues

– Presenting confident body language

For some roles, these matter. For most roles, they don’t—or at least not as much as we think they do.

What you actually need to assess is whether someone can do the job brilliantly. That requires understanding their thinking, problem-solving approach, specific capabilities, and how they work best.

The question isn’t “Can they interview well?” It’s “Can they excel in this role?”

Before the Interview: Set People Up for Success

Provide clear information in advance:

Send candidates specific details about the interview format, who they’ll meet, how long it will last, and what to expect. Include the types of questions or topics you’ll cover.

This isn’t giving away the test. It’s removing unnecessary anxiety that prevents you from seeing someone’s actual capabilities.

Many neurodiverse people perform significantly better when they can prepare and aren’t dealing with uncertainty. You want to see their best thinking, not their ability to improvise under social stress.

Offer options where possible:

“Our interview typically includes a technical discussion and a case study. Would you prefer to receive the case study in advance to review, or work through it in real-time during the interview?”

Some people think best with preparation time. Others prefer immediate engagement. Neither approach indicates better job performance—just different processing styles.

Be explicit about accommodations:

Include a simple statement in your interview invitation: “We want you to interview in a way that lets you show your best work. If there are adjustments that would be helpful—whether that’s the interview format, environment, timing, or anything else—please let us know.”

This signals that you understand people work differently and you’re open to flexibility. Many candidates won’t ask, but knowing they could makes a significant difference.

During the Interview: Focus on Substance Over Style

Lead with genuine curiosity:

Instead of “Tell me about yourself” (which many neurodiverse people find agonisingly vague), ask specific questions about their work:

– “Walk me through a project you’re particularly proud of”

– “Tell me about a complex problem you solved recently”

– “What’s the most interesting technical challenge you’ve worked on?”

These questions let people demonstrate expertise rather than perform sociability.

Give thinking time:

After asking a question, pause. Count to five in your head. Many neurodiverse people need processing time before responding, and the silence feels less awkward to you than it does to them.

If someone says “That’s a great question, let me think about that,” don’t rush to fill the silence. Let them think.

Some people might even benefit from you saying: “Take whatever time you need to think about this.”

Notice what people do well, not just what’s awkward:

A candidate might avoid eye contact, fidget, speak in a monotone, or give unexpectedly detailed answers to simple questions. None of these indicate inability to do the job well.

Instead, pay attention to:

– The quality of their thinking when discussing their field

– How they approach problems

– The depth of their expertise

– Their genuine engagement with the work itself

Ask about their working style:

“What environment helps you do your best work?”

“How do you approach learning something completely new?”

“When you’re working on a complex problem, what does your process look like?”

These questions reveal how someone actually works, which is far more relevant than how they present in an artificial interview setting.

Be direct about expectations:

Instead of “Where do you see yourself in five years?” (a question many neurodiverse people find baffling), be specific:

“This role involves [specific responsibilities]. How does that align with what you’re looking for?”

“The team works in [specific way]. How do you feel about that approach?”

Clear, concrete questions get you clear, useful answers.

Practical Skills Assessment: Show, Don’t Tell

Wherever possible, assess actual capability rather than someone’s ability to describe their capability.

Work samples and portfolios:

“Show me something you’ve built/written/designed” reveals far more than “Tell me about your skills.”

Let candidates walk you through their work. Listen to how they explain their decisions, handle constraints, and solve problems. This demonstrates thinking quality in a way that hypothetical questions never can.

Practical exercises:

If you use case studies or technical tests, consider offering them in advance. “We’d like to discuss this scenario with you. Would you prefer to receive it now and have time to prepare your thoughts, or work through it together during the interview?”

For technical roles, pair programming or working through a problem together often reveals more than whiteboard interviews. You see how someone thinks, asks questions, and collaborates.

Multiple formats:

Some people articulate their thinking better in writing than verbally. Consider including a written component—perhaps a follow-up question via email, or a brief written exercise.

This isn’t about making the process longer. It’s about creating multiple ways for talent to emerge.

Reading Differently in Interviews

Strong analytical thinking might look like:

– Very detailed, specific answers

– Asking clarifying questions before answering

– Pausing to think carefully before responding

– Identifying edge cases or potential problems

– Connecting concepts in unexpected ways

Don’t mistake thoroughness for inability to prioritise, or clarifying questions for confusion.

Genuine expertise might look like:

– Enthusiasm that overrides social polish

– Going deep into technical detail unprompted

– Using precise terminology without simplifying

– Excitement about specific aspects of the work

– Honest acknowledgment of what they don’t know

Don’t mistake passion for inability to communicate with non-experts, or precision for pedantry.

Strong problem-solving might look like:

– Unconventional approaches to standard questions

– Thinking aloud in a non-linear way

– Asking unexpected questions

– Challenging premises of the problem

– Taking time to fully understand before answering

Don’t mistake different processing styles for slow thinking, or questioning assumptions for being difficult.

What About Team Fit?

This is where managers often get tripped up. Someone seems technically capable but “wouldn’t fit the team culture.”

Examine what you actually mean by that.

If you mean “doesn’t make small talk easily” or “seems a bit awkward”—that’s about social style, not collaboration ability.

If you mean “doesn’t communicate clearly” or “seems resistant to feedback”—dig deeper. How did you assess this in a single interview? Are you sure?

Ask better questions about collaboration:

“Tell me about a time you worked on a team project. What was your role?”

“How do you prefer to receive feedback on your work?”

“When you disagree with a team decision, how do you typically handle that?”

These questions assess actual collaboration skills rather than social performance.

Consider what your team actually needs:

Sometimes “culture fit” means “people who work like we already do.” But perhaps your team would benefit from someone who thinks differently, spots patterns others miss, or brings a completely fresh perspective.

The person who asks direct questions that seem blunt might be exactly who you need to identify problems everyone else is too polite to mention.

Red Flags Versus Different Flags

Actual red flags:

– Inability to explain their work or thinking

– Lack of genuine interest in the role

– Dishonesty about experience or skills

– Disrespect toward you or others

– Unwillingness to answer reasonable questions

Different flags (not red):

– Unusual communication style

– Unexpected interview behaviour

– Asking many clarifying questions

– Needing time to process before answering

– Not making eye contact

– Appearing nervous or uncomfortable

– Giving very detailed or tangential answers

The second list describes someone who might interview differently but work brilliantly.

After the Interview: Evaluate Fairly

When comparing candidates, separate social performance from job capability.

Create a structured rubric based on actual job requirements:

– Technical skills demonstrated

– Problem-solving approach

– Depth of expertise

– Quality of thinking

– Relevant experience

– Ability to learn and adapt

Notice if your gut feeling is based on “seemed confident and personable” rather than “demonstrated strong capability.” Likability and polish predict interview success, not job success.

Discuss with your hiring team:

“What specific evidence did we see that this person can do the job well?”

Not “Did I like them?” or “Would I want to get a drink with them?” but “What concrete capabilities did they demonstrate?”

Making the Offer: Continue the Conversation

Once you’ve decided to hire someone, don’t stop thinking about how to set them up for success.

In your offer conversation, make space for practical discussion:

“We want to make sure you can do your best work here. Are there things about how you work best that would be helpful for us to know as you’re starting?”

This continues the message that you’re hiring the person, not expecting them to conform to a standard template.

The Business Case

This isn’t just about fairness—though that matters. It’s about accessing exceptional talent.

Neurodiverse people are overrepresented in fields requiring systematic thinking, pattern recognition, attention to detail, creative problem-solving, and deep focus. These are exactly the capabilities many roles require.

When companies like SAP, Microsoft, and JP Morgan have created neurodiversity hiring programs, they report that neurodiverse employees often outperform their peers in productivity, quality, and innovation.

But they only get that talent because they interview differently.

Start Simple

You don’t need to overhaul your entire hiring process immediately. Start with small changes:

– Provide interview details in advance

– Ask more specific, job-relevant questions

– Give people time to think before answering

– Assess actual work rather than just talking about work

– Evaluate based on capability, not interview polish

These adjustments help you hire better candidates generally—not just neurodiverse ones. They simply make the biggest difference for people whose talents don’t show up in traditional interview formats.

The goal isn’t to lower the bar. It’s to make sure you’re actually measuring what matters.

Because somewhere out there is the person who would be extraordinary in your role—if only you interviewed them in a way that let their strengths emerge.

You’ve had the initial conversation. Your team member has shared that they’re autistic, have ADHD, or are dyslexic. Or perhaps you’ve simply noticed they work differently and want to understand them better. Now what?

The difference between managers who unlock exceptional performance and those who inadvertently suppress it often comes down to one thing: they know how to have ongoing, practical conversations about strengths and working styles.

This isn’t about one awkward chat and then never mentioning it again. It’s about building a working relationship based on genuine understanding of how someone’s brain works—and then leveraging that knowledge to help them excel.

Moving Beyond the Diagnosis

Here’s a mistake many well-meaning managers make: someone discloses they’re dyslexic, and the manager immediately thinks “spelling difficulties, needs extra time reading.” Or they hear ADHD and think “easily distracted, needs reminders about deadlines.”

These stereotypes aren’t completely wrong, but they’re dangerously incomplete.

That dyslexic team member might struggle with dense text but have extraordinary spatial reasoning that makes them brilliant at understanding complex system architectures. The person with ADHD might lose focus in boring meetings but achieve remarkable hyperfocus on genuinely engaging problems, producing in two hours what takes others two days.

Your first job is to get curious about the actual person, not the textbook definition of their neurology.

The Strengths Discovery Conversation

Schedule a relaxed conversation—maybe over coffee, maybe during a walk, wherever they feel comfortable—and approach it as genuine discovery.

Start here:

“I’d love to understand more about how you work best. What are you naturally good at that maybe doesn’t always show up in your job description?”

This question bypasses the deficit framing entirely. You’re not asking about struggles or accommodations. You’re asking about excellence.

Listen for specifics:

– “I can hold complex systems in my head and see how all the pieces interact”

– “I notice inconsistencies in data that others miss”

– “I can generate twenty creative solutions to a problem quickly”

– “I remember conversations and details from months ago”

– “I can work on repetitive tasks without getting bored”

These aren’t vague soft skills. These are valuable, specific capabilities that you can actively deploy.

Understanding Energy and Depletion

Neurodiverse people often have spiky performance profiles. They’re exceptional in certain conditions, but can be significantly challenged in others. Understanding this isn’t about lowering expectations—it’s about strategic deployment.

Ask about energy:

“What activities or situations leave you energised versus completely drained?”

You might discover that your team member can facilitate a three-hour workshop on a technical topic without breaking stride, but a thirty-minute networking event leaves them unable to work for the rest of the day. Or that they can hyper-focus on coding for six hours straight but find fifteen-minute check-in meetings utterly exhausting.

This information is gold. It tells you how to structure their work for maximum output.

Follow up with:

“When you’re drained, what helps you recover?”

“How much recovery time do you typically need?”

Some people need twenty minutes of complete silence. Others need to move physically. Some need to work on a completely different type of task. Build this understanding into how you manage workload and schedule.

Identifying Environmental Needs

The physical and social environment has an outsized impact on neurodiverse performance. What seems like minor background annoyance to you might be completely overwhelming to them—or vice versa.

Explore sensory preferences:

“What physical environment helps you do your best thinking?”

Don’t just ask about noise. Ask about lighting, temperature, visual clutter, proximity to others, whether they prefer enclosed or open space. Ask about whether they need to move while thinking or need to be completely still.

One team member might need multiple monitors in a quiet corner with warm lighting. Another might think best in a busy coffee shop with headphones on. Another might need to pace while on calls. None of these preferences is more valid than another—they’re just different.

Ask about interruptions:

“How do you prefer to handle interruptions during focused work?”

Some people can context-switch easily. Others need uninterrupted blocks to build deep focus, and a single interruption can cost them thirty minutes of productivity. Structure their work accordingly—maybe they have focus blocks with Slack notifications off, or specific hours when they’re available for questions.

Mapping Communication Preferences

Neurodiverse people often have strong preferences about how they receive and process information. Honouring these preferences dramatically improves both comprehension and performance.

Dig into detail:

“When I need to explain something complex to you, how can I do that most effectively?”

Some people need visual diagrams. Others need written documentation they can review multiple times. Some need to talk it through verbally. Many need time to process before responding.

Ask about feedback:

“How do you prefer to receive feedback—immediate or scheduled? In writing or conversation? With specific examples or general themes?”

Many neurodiverse people strongly prefer direct, specific feedback. They find hints and implications confusing or anxiety-inducing. Others need time to process feedback privately before discussing it. Understanding this prevents miscommunication that masquerades as performance issues.

Explore meeting dynamics:

“In team meetings, what would help you contribute your best thinking?”

You might learn that someone needs questions sent in advance to prepare thoughtful responses. Or that they process better when they can contribute in writing during the meeting. Or that they need explicit permission to interrupt, because they won’t jump into fast-moving conversation naturally.

Understanding Task Initiation and Completion

Many neurodiverse people have challenges with task initiation (getting started) or task completion (finishing the last 10%) that have nothing to do with capability or motivation.

Ask exploratively:

“Are there types of tasks you find particularly hard to start, even when you know you can do them well?”

Someone might struggle to begin open-ended tasks without clear parameters but excel once they have specific boundaries. Another might find it hard to start tasks that seem boring but can engage deeply once they find an interesting angle.

Regarding completion:

“Do you find some tasks difficult to finish even when they’re nearly done?”

The person who’s brilliant at generating ideas might struggle with documentation. The detail-oriented person who produces meticulous work might get stuck perfecting when “good enough” would suffice.

Once you understand these patterns, you can structure work differently—pairing people on projects so each handles the phases they’re strongest in, or building in specific checkpoints and accountability.

Talking About Challenges Constructively

You’ll eventually need to address difficulties. But the conversation should still be collaborative and curious, not corrective.

Frame it as problem-solving:

“I’ve noticed [specific observation]. Help me understand what’s happening from your perspective.”

Maybe deadlines are being missed. Instead of assuming carelessness, explore whether the person struggles with time perception, gets paralysed by perfectionism, or didn’t understand the priority level. Then you can address the actual issue.

Maybe written communication is unclear. Before sending them to a business writing course, find out if they’re thinking faster than they type, if they’re providing context they assume others have, or if they’re trying to be polite in ways that obscure their meaning.

Ask:

“What would make this easier for you?”

“What support would help you succeed with this?”

Often, simple adjustments—clearer deadlines with milestone check-ins, templates for common communication types, permission to ask clarifying questions—resolve issues completely.

Leveraging Distinctive Strengths

Once you understand someone’s specific capabilities, actively create opportunities for them to use these strengths.

If someone has exceptional pattern recognition, involve them early in data analysis or quality assurance. If someone thinks systematically, have them design processes or document workflows. If someone generates creative solutions quickly, bring them into brainstorming sessions—but let them contribute in whatever way works for them.

Ask directly:

“Given what you’re naturally good at, where do you think you could add the most value to the team?”

People often have excellent insight into where they could contribute more effectively if given the chance. They might identify opportunities you haven’t considered.

Then make it happen:

“Let’s try that. What would you need from me to make that successful?”

This isn’t about creating special projects to keep someone busy. It’s about strategically deploying talent where it will have the most impact.

Building Psychological Safety

The most important outcome of these conversations is trust. Your team member needs to know they can be honest about what’s working and what isn’t without being seen as difficult or incapable.

Make it explicit:

“I want you to be able to tell me when something isn’t working for you, even if it seems like it should be fine. I can’t help adjust things if I don’t know.”

Then prove you mean it. When someone says “these daily stand-ups are really hard for me,” don’t dismiss it. Explore alternatives. When someone asks for something unusual, approach it with curiosity rather than skepticism.

Check in regularly:

“Is what we put in place still working for you?”

Needs change. Projects change. What worked brilliantly three months ago might not work now. Make these conversations routine, not exceptional.

The Manager’s Role

You’re not a therapist or a coach. You’re a manager whose job is to create conditions for excellent work.

For neurodiverse team members, this means understanding how their particular brain works, removing unnecessary barriers, and actively leveraging their distinctive strengths.

The conversations that enable this aren’t complicated. They’re just direct, curious, and focused on the practical reality of how work gets done.

Have them regularly. Act on what you learn. Adjust as you go.

That’s not special treatment. That’s management done well.

When you make space for people to work in ways that align with how they actually think, you don’t just help them survive—you help them become the exceptional performers they’re capable of being.

And that benefits everyone.

You’ve probably noticed that your team member thinks differently. Maybe they’re brilliant with systems but struggle in open-plan offices. Perhaps they ask surprisingly direct questions in meetings or need written follow-ups after verbal discussions. They might have disclosed a diagnosis—autism, ADHD, dyslexia—or you’re simply aware that traditional management approaches aren’t quite landing.

Here’s the thing: that difference isn’t a problem to solve. It’s information you can use to help someone do their best work.

The most effective managers of neurodiverse talent don’t focus on “fixing” challenges. They have genuine conversations about strengths, working styles, and environmental needs. Then they make targeted adjustments that benefit everyone.

Before the Conversation: Check Your Assumptions

Most managers approach these conversations with good intentions but unhelpful frameworks. You’re not conducting an intervention. You’re not accommodating a deficit. You’re learning how a talented person’s brain works so you can create conditions for them to excel.

Neurodiversity includes autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia, and other neurological differences. These aren’t disorders to manage around—they’re different operating systems. Each comes with distinctive strengths: pattern recognition, creative problem-solving, hyperfocus, detail orientation, innovative thinking.

Your job is to understand the specific person in front of you, not to apply generic assumptions about their diagnosis.

Setting Up the Conversation

Pick the right moment. Don’t wait for a performance issue. Make this part of how you understand all your team members. Frame it as a routine check-in about working preferences.

Choose the right environment. Ask where they’d be most comfortable talking. Some people think better while walking. Others prefer a quiet room with an agenda sent in advance. Many neurodiverse people appreciate knowing the conversation’s purpose beforehand—no surprises.

Start with strengths. Open with genuine observations about what they do well. “I’ve noticed you’re exceptional at catching edge cases in our testing process” or “Your documentation is consistently the clearest on the team.” This isn’t flattery—it’s establishing that you see their value.

Questions That Actually Help

The best conversations are collaborative, not diagnostic. Here are questions that tend to unlock useful information:

About their strengths:
– “What kind of work gives you energy rather than draining it?”
– “When do you feel like you’re working at your best?”
– “What problems do you find easiest to solve that others seem to struggle with?”

About their environment:
– “What physical environment helps you focus?” (lighting, noise levels, space configuration).
– “Do you work better with background activity or quiet?”
– “Are there times of day when you’re more productive?”

About communication:
– “How do you prefer to receive new information—written, verbal, visual?”
– “When you’re working through a complex problem, is it helpful to talk it through or think independently first?”
– “After meetings, is there anything that would help you process what was discussed?”

About workload and expectations:
– “When you’re juggling multiple priorities, what helps you stay organised?”
– “How much heads-up time do you need before context-switching to something new?”
– “Would it be helpful to know the purpose behind tasks, or do you prefer just getting clear instructions?”

About collaboration:
– “In team settings, what helps you contribute your best thinking?”
– “Are there types of meetings or interactions that are particularly draining?”
– “How can I make it easier for you to ask for what you need?”

What You’re Listening For

Pay attention to patterns, not just individual answers. You’re building a picture of how this person works optimally.

Someone might reveal that they produce their best work between 10 PM and 2 AM, but your rigid 9-to-5 culture is forcing them into their least productive hours. Another might be spending enormous energy on open-plan office distractions, leaving less capacity for actual work. Someone else might be missing crucial context because your team communicates important decisions verbally in hallway conversations.

These aren’t accommodations you’re grudgingly making. These are barriers you’re removing so talent can emerge.

From Conversation to Action

Once you understand someone’s working style, make specific adjustments:

Environmental changes: Noise-cancelling headphones, alternative workspace options, flexible hours, modified lighting. These cost little and can transform productivity.

Communication adjustments: Written meeting agendas in advance, follow-up emails after verbal discussions, clear deadlines with purpose explained, direct feedback rather than hints.

Project alignment: Match people to work that uses their strengths. The person who thinks in systems should be designing processes. The detail-oriented person should be doing quality assurance. The creative tangential thinker should be in innovation sessions.

Team norms: Many adjustments you make for one person—clearer communication, better documentation, thoughtful meeting structures—improve things for everyone.

What About Challenges?

Of course there will be difficulties. But address them as you would with anyone: clearly, specifically, and collaboratively.

“I’ve noticed deadlines are sometimes missed. Help me understand what’s happening” is better than assuming someone doesn’t care. You might discover they’re overwhelmed by ambiguous priorities or paralysed by perfectionism. Then you can problem-solve together.

The key is separating true performance issues from stylistic differences. Someone who asks “why are we doing this?” in meetings isn’t being difficult—they’re seeking the context they need to work effectively. Someone who doesn’t make small talk isn’t rude—they might be conserving energy for actual work.

Building on Strengths

The most successful neurodiverse team members often aren’t succeeding despite their neurodiversity—they’re excelling because of it. The autistic engineer who notices the pattern no one else saw. The ADHD creative who makes unexpected connections. The dyslexic designer who thinks spatially in ways that transform user experience.

Your role is to create conditions where these strengths can flourish while removing unnecessary friction.

This might mean protecting someone’s hyperfocus time from interruptions, letting someone write reports instead of presenting them, or allowing someone to contribute to brainstorms via a shared document rather than speaking up in the room.

The Broader Shift

Here’s what’s interesting: once you start managing this way—having direct conversations about working styles, making environment adjustments, playing to strengths—you’ll probably find it improves your management of everyone.

Neurotypical team members also have preferences, optimal environments, and distinctive strengths. They’re just often better at masking discomfort and adapting to suboptimal conditions. That doesn’t mean they’re thriving.

The conversation techniques that work for neurodiverse team members—direct, curious, focused on strengths, collaborative about solutions—are simply good management. You’re just being more intentional about it.

Moving Forward

Start with curiosity. Schedule time with team members specifically to understand how they work best. Make it normal to talk about these things. Create a team culture where people can say “I need quiet to focus on this” or “Can you send that in writing?” without apology.

Then watch what happens when talented people get to work in ways that match how their brains actually function.

The goal isn’t to help neurodiverse employees fit into your existing structure. It’s to build a team environment flexible enough that everyone can contribute their best work.

That’s not accommodation. That’s just smart management.