Ableist article by Forbes
Found this 2012 article by Victor Lipman titled “How to Manage Employees with ADD/ADHD” Folks with ADHD, do you find this article offensive? Here were my main takeaways: 1) Micromanage them more than other employees with “more frequent check-ins from managers or computer based reminders.” 2) Isolate them from everyone else “More privacy and and quiet can be helpful” as opposed to an open office without “walls or dividers”. 3) Reward systems more frequently than normal. I actually agree with this one because people with ADHD tend to have a lower self esteem and this can help boost it but non-ADHD folks can benefit from this too. 4) Don’t promote them “Employees with ADD/ADHD tend to be more effective in individual contributor rather than leadership roles”. Everything about this section makes me want to puke 🤮 5) Closer supervision. Aka more micromanagement. What bothers me the most is that managers will actually follow this advice—written by someone who probably doesn’t have ADHD—which pretty much tells them how to disguise discrimination as an “accommodation”. People with ADHD, what do you think? #ADHD #neurodiversity #disability https://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2012/10/02/how-to-manage-employees-with-addadhd/?sh=2465f8d78c9b TC: 135k
Forbes
Ooh yea this bullshit is why I haven’t told anyone my adhd diagnosis
Neither have I! Some managers pick up on it though including my current one. Luckily, he’s dyslexic and knows these practices are BS. He lets me do whatever I want as long as I get the work done.
Literally don't even need to read the article. Just looking at the thumbnail tells me that the author is a moron and the article views neurodivergance as some sort of managerial nightmare.
It’s so validating to hear that. Not surprised though when I read about the reviews of Forbes as a place to work on Blind. Needless to say, it sounds like they have no diversity in their leadership. This article isn’t going to age well for Mr. Lipman.
What a terrible article 😂 I particularly enjoyed his last-ditch attempt to not entirely shit on people with ADHD: “One closing but by no means unimportant thought: Over the years some of my most chronically disorganized employees were also among my most creative and talented. They were extremely valuable to our organization.” Status updates, sure. Closer supervision? Hell no. I tend to have a different process than others, and being micromanaged into doing my work one specific way is stressful and less efficient. The entire section on “they’re better as IC” is ableist bullshit. ADHDers are 300% more likely to start their own businesses, and people in leadership positions frequently have assistants or are managing teams to whom they can delegate tasks. Anecdotal, but I started performing MUCH better and brought way more value to my company when I moved into a leadership role because I was finally able to enact creative solutions and delegate routine work I’d struggled with in the past. For me, being an IC that’s expected to pump out an assembly line of work was hell.
Ableist is the word I was looking for! He’s ableist AF and so is Forbes for allowing him to publish this nonsense! Also, I agree with you about leadership. People with ADHD make excellent leaders!
Here’s how I look at it: ADHD or not, you are responsible for your output and communication. I don’t care which methods you use to be effective. At the same time, if you’re ineffective, I also expect you to manage that and meet the bar without unreasonable amount of team accommodation to get you there. It’s not my direct responsibility to think about, or even know, that you have adhd.
how very amazonian of you
@bolt I’m actually with Amazon on this. I expect to be treated just the same as everyone else whether or not my ADHD symptoms are obvious to the manager. Amazon has a much better approach to handling ADHD than the author of this article IMO.