Refining Leadership for Professionals with ADHD

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Welcome to Refined Leadership ADHD Lens with Kathy Rashidian.

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Discover how to refine your leadership through the lens of ADHD.

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Whether you're advancing toward a promotion or redefining your professional

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approach, you're in the right place.

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Join our community for tailored insights that elevate your leadership. Let's dive in.

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Welcome to another episode with Coach Kathy.

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Today, we're going to unpack how neurodivergent leaders, those with unique cognitive wiring like ADHD,

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autism, dyslexia, and more are driving innovation, building resilient teams,

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and creating lasting impact.

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Yes, people, some of us, we are doing big things, making big impact.

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And some of the clients that I work with, the community that I host.

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I see this on a day in and day out.

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The zest for moving projects forward, the strength in their ability to see big

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picture, thinking outside the box, all of that. It is so inspiring.

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So today I want to just kind of put it all in a bit of a package for you and kind of give you a bit of,

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this is what it looks like when even with cognitive differences,

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we can really have a voice and an impact in society, in the workplace.

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So let's get started. So what's the big idea about neurodiversity and leadership, you ask?

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Well, imagine a leader who sees opportunities where others see roadblocks.

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Who dives into challenges with laser focus attention, actually,

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or who brings tenacity that keeps the teams steady when the going gets tough.

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That's the power that someone with a neurodivergent brain, especially a leader, brings to a table.

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Today, we're breaking this down into five takeaways that I'll show you how these

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unique strengths can transform organizations and how you can harness them,

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whether you're a neurodivergent yourself or leading a team of diverse minds.

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With the first big idea being innovative thinking and strategic vision.

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So what does that mean? A neurodivergent leader often approaches problems from

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angles that others don't see.

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Their brains are wired to spot hidden opportunities, challenge the status quo,

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and calculate risks in a way that breaks the mold.

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Think of it like this. while everyone else is playing checkers,

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this type of leader is playing 3D chess.

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They're the ones saying, hey, what if we tried this totally wild idea and then it works?

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That's the kind of breakthrough thinking that drives real change in organizations.

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Next up is hyperfocus and pursuit of mastery.

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When a neurodivergent leader locks onto something they're passionate about,

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it's like they've got a superpower.

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They'll dig into the details with an intensity that's almost unmatched,

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staying engaged with complex problems long after others have tapped out.

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It's not just about getting the job done, it's about doing it exceptionally

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and inspiring the teams to aim higher.

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Picture a leader who's so dialed in during a critical project that everyone

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else can't help but to catch up to that energy.

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That is contagious energy, that zest for let's do this. It's pretty damn inspiring.

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And then there's the resilience and tenacity. These leaders don't just bounce back from setbacks.

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They push through them with a stubborn determination that's honestly.

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Again, inspires others.

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Whether it's adapting under pressure or keeping the team grounded,

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during uncertainty, their emotional strength becomes a rock for everyone around them.

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It's like having a captain who doesn't flinch when the storm hits.

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After all, if you know and have heard in the ADHD community,

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one of the things that those with ADHD are good at is in times of crisis, we can be awesome. them.

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We're tuned in, tapped in, ready to go. So no wonder we go after jobs that are

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high stress, fast paced, and gets us, you know, our adrenaline going.

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Now, let me also be clear here.

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By no means am I glamorizing the hard work.

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And also the dark side of ADHD.

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And for those of us in leadership roles, the pressure that it can be.

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Each of these things that we just talked about, hyper-focus,

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resilience, innovative thinking, I personally think there's also a dark side to that.

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If our innovative thinking is not received from the other side,

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it can really affect our confidence, our

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execution our focus our hyper

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focus the if we're in it for

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so long the exhaustion the burnout

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I call it the hyper focus hangover where there's

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days where you've been in hyper focus in a project for so long that on the other

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side of it is burnout you get really exhausted you haven't been yourself and

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also the resiliency that that I talk about as much as it can be a strength The

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other side of it is the toxic resiliency that I talk about,

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that we sometimes forget that sometimes fighting the good fight is not the right approach.

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And there's times where we should

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really actually throw in the towel and move on and let go of things.

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So I want to make sure that I am seeing both sides of this, of the conversation

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as well. So how do you turn these strengths into sustainable leadership then?

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It's mastering your internal state, your emotions, just the way you're being.

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Neurodivergent leaders who thrive have figured out how to regulate their emotions.

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Manage overwhelm, and balance their energy.

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And this is not to perfection, but they're aware of it. We call it metacognition.

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It's this sense of self-awareness.

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And I like to say self-awareness that is actionable, that you're just not aware

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that it's happening to you, but you're actually doing something about it.

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One trick that I like to talk about is the power of the pause.

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And for us with this fast brain or the brain that's constantly processing or

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slower processing, that divergent brain, let's say,

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is that the taking the simple step to pause for us doesn't come naturally.

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And so it's really being aware of it to say that when we take a pause,

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take a breath, wonders can happen. Amazing things happen.

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So this example I have that I worked with a client was a leader who started

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taking a quick beat before answering tough questions in a meeting.

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And that quick beat was a couple of seconds or a one breath in,

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one breath out, one breath in, one breath out, and then this person would speak.

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That tiny pause let him check their emotional state, respond strategically,

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and set a calm tone for the team.

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It's simple, but it's a game changer. And it's really allowing your nervous

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system to also reset so you go from a fight or flight to actually tapping into

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the thinking part of your brain.

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So do not underestimate the power of the pause and a breath that can do wonders.

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When it comes to practicality, building trust through authentic leadership is

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another method, and what do I mean by this?

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Confidence doesn't come from pretending you've got it all together.

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It comes from owning your strengths and advocating for what you need.

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And imagine modeling that with your team and with others and showing,

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you know what? I don't have it all together.

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There's times that I may not have all the answers, but together we'll figure it out.

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Just being that open to conversation, to collaboration, creates that safety

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for the team so that they want to take risks and they want to collaborate.

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You're creating a space that's vulnerable, but also you're getting stuff done.

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And it's such a powerful technique. And it reminds me of that creating a space

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where everybody feels psychologically safe.

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And we use this term a lot in coaching. And by psychologically safe.

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What we mean in this context is creating dialogue and containers of conversation

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where everybody disarms.

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And it's not about upping one another. It's not about I have all the answers.

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It's about disarming and acknowledging and validating the different minds and

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different contributions of the team.

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And then collectively coming up with solutions, ideas, and working with each

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other in a way that is supportive versus you don't listen to me,

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you like that finger pointing that could happen.

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So how do we put this all together? And for me, the way I look at this,

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it's about creating a sustainable system.

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Some of the other ways that you can incorporate this to become part of your

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ecosystem, if you will, is to

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really pay attention to what activates your brain, what drains your brain.

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Do you need to create microbe breaks in between meetings?

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Really honoring your brain activation from processing from, wow,

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I was just really in an intense meeting and that took a lot of energy and I

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need five minutes to just be with myself and I and process what happened.

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It's about being mindful that single tasking or mindful tasking,

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it's better and more productive than multitasking.

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So if you're sitting in a meeting where you're in the listening mode and the

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temptation that comes from, let me check Slack, let me check my email.

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And instead, you know, be with

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a pen and paper and write down what you're hearing, what's inspiring you.

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These are some of the ways that you can really intentionally pause throughout

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the day to make sure that you're honoring how your brain processes information.

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I think it's really important.

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Remember, you're in this for the long haul. And building systems and rhythms

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that make sense for you is so important. Here's the bottom line.

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The future of leadership is truly about self-awareness, but about actionable self-awareness.

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It's about knowing how your brain works. It's about reading the room to understand

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how does everybody else's brain work and how do we complement each other?

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It's not about having all the answers, but it's about a collective of answers

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that come together and everybody has a piece of this pie.

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And organizations that embrace this perspective of every mind brings in a perspective that matters.

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You can adapt smarter, you can grow stronger, and you can really sit on the leading edge.

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And if you're a neurodivergent leader, start by recognizing your unique strengths

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first and foremost. Lean into them.

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Build in those intentional pauses that we talked about.

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Advocate for what you need unapologetically, but strategically and with compassion.

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You've got the tools to create extraordinary value and the world needs what you bring.

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It's just about refining your leadership skills in a way that serves you first

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and foremost and then can influence and inspire others.

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So I hope you enjoyed this episode and picked up some clues and nuggets.

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And I also wanna give you my invitation that if you're ready to take the next

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level in refining your leadership skills, I have two exciting opportunities for you.

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One is that my application is open for private executive coaching,

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where we talk about integration of your ADHD into your leadership skills and so forth.

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And the other, which is super, super exciting for me, is that our doors are

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now open to welcome new members to our quantum thinkers ADHD community.

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This is a community that we're building up, we're ramping up,

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we're accepting new members that are ready to take their career to the next level.

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We're being very specific on new members that are coming in.

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If you are in your career, five years plus,

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and you're looking to grow into different roles, leading roles,

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if you're currently a manager,

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a senior manager, a director, and leading teams,

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this spaces for you where we not only talk about leadership development,

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but also that missing key of how does the ADHD side of your brain work within

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those skills and how do we adapt and adjust your skills in a way that serve you and others.

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And so my invitation to you is that Quantum Thinkers is now open for applications.

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We kick off the new members as of April 1st. We have our first group coaching session on April 4th.

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So if this is you, if this resonates, you want to know more about it,

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go to qtcommunity.com, qt, like Tom, community.com.

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And if you want to know more about my private coaching, readysetchoose.com and

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where you find all my services.

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So that's it for today. If this resonated with you, share it with a friend or drop us a review.

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I would love to hear your thoughts on this episode.

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And until next time, keep leading with strengths and keep on shining.

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See you on the other side.

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Thanks for tuning in to Refined Leadership ADHD Lens. If today's episode resonated

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Keep leading with strength and we'll catch you in the next episode.