Podcast conversation

Andrew Kitley from The Invisible Gift meets Nathan Whitbread

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In the final episode of season 3 of the invisible gift, Andrew meets Nathan Whitbread – The Neurodivergent Coach. The Neurodivergent Coach provides Consultancy, Coaching and Assistive Technology training for dyslexic and neurodivergent individuals and teams. In the episode, we learn what the term neurodiversity really means. Nathan explains the Medici effect and why neurodiversity has finally become sexy. And the boys identify why the best leaders work for their employees. Not the other way round.

Listen here.

Top quotes

“Labels can be helpful but also quite dangerous. It’s always important to remember first that you are a unique human with unique characteristics and traits who happens to have a dyslexia diagnoses.” – Nathan Whitbread

“I always say we should strive to identify as individuals not by groups or labels because you can pigeon hole yourself.” – Andrew Kitley

About the guest

Nathan Whitbread is a motivational speaker and founder of The Neurodivergent Coach. Nathan described his early life in education as ‘constantly avoiding’ essays. He would chose his degree precisely because it wasn’t essay driven. Nathan graduated from the University of Surrey with a degree in Mechanical Engineering with Business and Management in 1998. Nathan would only learn he had dyslexia when he began a career in marketing. In 2015, Nathan founded The Neurodivergent Coach. The Neurodivergent Coach provides Consultancy, Coaching and Assistive Technology training for dyslexic and neurodivergent individuals and teams. The Neurodivergent Coach works with both individuals and organisations to create a more neuro-inclusive workplace. Since 2017 he has been a Workplace Needs Assessor for the British Dyslexia Association. Nathan is also an Associate Assistive Technology Training Consultant and Coach at eVoice.

About the host

The Invisible Gift is hosted by entrepreneur and dyslexic, Andrew Kitley. With twenty years experience, Andrew Kitley has worked his way up the metaphorical and literal ladder to become Managing Director of Kitall: an engineering firm. Under Andrew’s guidance, Kitall is now one of the most sought after names to complete complex engineering projects in the UK. In each episode of The Invisible Gift, Andrew seeks the advice and inspiration of a fellow trailblazer who has defied the odds to achieve the extraordinary – turning the challenge of neurodiversity into a gift.

neurodiverse

Neurodivergent traits – Retaining and empowering them in your organisation

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Based on statistics from the British Dyslexia Association (@BDAdyslexia) it is estimated that at least 15% of the working population have some neurodivergent traits. Neurodivergent traits are those associated with conditions like dyslexia, ADHD, ASC along with medically diagnosed and acquired conditions like PTSD and migraines. These traits are likely to appear in different combinations in each individual.

Read the full article here.

Neurodiversity through the Lens of Intersectionality: lost opportunities and Goldfish

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A considerable number of people are still arriving in adulthood without any diagnosis or understanding of their neurodivergent traits (ASC, DCD, dyslexia, dysgraphia or other neurodivergent traits).

There is often an assumption that people know what they need and know how to access it. The reality is not everyone has access to the support and insight that is needed to help them identify their neurodivergent traits.

Read the full article here.

Podcast conversation

Triage coaching – Nathan Whitbread in conversation with Claire Pendrick

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So what is triage coaching?

Here is the recording of a conversation about Triage Coaching that moved my thinking forward – along with some of the highlights below.

These are some of the things I took away

Quite often when we know something is wrong we don’t always know what we need to fix it. Triage coaching is a single session that allows the thinker to navigate what they need to answer their questions. Spoiler alert — coaching isn’t always the answer.

Triage coaching is a place:

  • where you can say things in the workplace in a confidential space
  • where you can work out what you want to do.
  • that leaves you in control
  • that gives you agency in terms of what you do and don’t disclose
  • that allows you to get to the issue before you work out the best way to deal with it
  • that allows the issue to be dealt with without any detail needing to be shared
  • for meeting that moves things forward
  • place that keeps the power in the middle, and
  • that is safe place that organisations can offer to their people.

What it can help stop happening.

  • Time and money being invested in the wrong things!
  • Confidentiality being broken (subject to safeguarding)!
  • Individuals from saying something that didn’t need to be said in the workplace!
  • Escalating levels of helpfulness creating premature disclosure!

The justification.

  • It’s incredibly cost-effective!
  • It maintains agency!
  • It enables cocreated conversations that change everything!

What to know more?

Please get in contact. It was the most amazing privilege to join Claire Pendrick MMC for a conversation on her podcast the Coaching Inn. For those of you who do not know, she is the author of simplifying coaching, one of the most inspiring and interesting books on the subject.