After 22 years at Elsevier, where Lisa Colledge transitioned from a Junior Publishing Editor to a Vice President, she is excited to embark on a new journey as the founder and CEO of her own company. This venture will focus on enhancing innovation and business performance by fostering a culture that attracts and empowers both neurodivergent and neurotypical talent. Reflecting on her career, Colledge has learned the value of collective expertise, understanding customer perspectives, and integrating human input into evidence-based decisions.

Autistic thinkers excel at resisting cognitive bias making clearer, more rational decisions that drive better outcomes in data-rich, high-stakes environments. Dr Lisa Colledge explores how autistic strengths improve decision quality across teams, and why inclusive cultures that enable neurodivergent talent are essential for modern tech and AI-driven organizations.

In crafting my new website, my top priority was ensuring it's accessible and engaging for both neurodivergent and neurotypical users, drawing from neuro-inclusion principles. With a calming color palette, easy-to-read fonts, and static content, the design minimizes distractions while enhancing usability and visual appeal. Striking a balance between diversity and consistency, the site aims to offer an inclusive experience that welcomes all visitors.

Investing in a neuro-inclusive culture can boost innovation and profitability, with diverse leadership teams generating up to 19% more innovation revenue and 9% higher operating profit. Instead of fragmented diversity programs, a neuro-inclusive approach unites different diversity dimensions, creating a more inclusive and supportive environment where all employees can thrive and contribute value.

Employee disengagement is a pressing issue impacting organizations, with 77% of employees being disengaged. This results in substantial financial losses due to decreased productivity, absenteeism, and high replacement costs. For roles like technical specialists and C-suite executives, replacement expenses can reach 100-200% of their annual salary. To address disengagement effectively, proactive cultural design and targeted engagement strategies are essential to optimize organizational performance and minimize financial impacts.

A neuro-inclusive culture fosters a work environment that embraces cognitive diversity, benefiting both neurodivergent and neurotypical employees by valuing diverse ways of thinking and problem-solving. By focusing on skills and outcomes rather than conforming to standard processes, this approach enhances inclusion across all diversity dimensions, such as age, gender, ethnicity, and ability. It promotes collaboration, shared accountability, and long-term adaptability, creating a resilient and supportive organizational culture where everyone can contribute their best, ultimately driving innovation and success.

Introducing neurodiversity-inclusion through employee resource groups often burdens neurodivergent individuals with repeated accommodation requests, leading to fatigue and burnout. A top-down, leadership-driven cultural change is essential for true inclusion. By fostering a supportive and adaptive culture, organizations can reduce the need for individual accommodations, ensuring all employees thrive and enhancing overall performance and innovation.

Measuring neuro-inclusion in organizations by focusing solely on the proportion of neurodivergent employees overlooks the essence of true inclusion. Rather than fixating on headcounts, organizations should define outcomes driven by neuro-inclusive practices, such as enhancing innovation culture. By identifying metrics that measure improvements in innovation and collaboration, organizations can effectively gauge the impact of their neuro-inclusive initiatives. These metrics, complemented by qualitative insights, provide a holistic view of organizational change, ensuring that neuro-inclusion leads to meaningful transformation rather than mere tokenism.

People often make poor decisions due to inherent biases, but autistic individuals are exceptional at objective decision-making, as they focus solely on relevant data without distractions. To benefit from this cognitive strength, organizations should cultivate a culture that attracts and supports autistic team members, ensuring an environment that maximizes their unique abilities. This proactive approach not only enhances decision-making but also creates a more inclusive and effective workplace for everyone.

In an insightful interview with Sabine van Ditzhuijzen, part of the What the DEI? film project, the focus is on the strengths neurodivergent individuals—such as those with ADHD, autism, or dyslexia—bring to organizations. Sabine highlights how ADHD fosters innovation, autism enhances pattern recognition, and dyslexia drives visionary thinking. She also shares thought leader Lisa Colledge's belief that neurodivergence may impact up to 30% of the population, much higher than the WHO's 15% estimate. The interview emphasizes the need to reframe conversations about inclusion to unlock the untapped potential of neurodivergent talent.

Traditional diversity programs often focus on single identities, limiting inclusion. Cognitive inclusion, which embraces diverse thinking styles, offers a universal approach to DEI that benefits everyone without relying on labels or disclosures. Learning from neurodivergence, such as using precise language, fosters positive traits, flexible thinking, and healthier workplaces, unlocking better outcomes for all.

Employee engagement is crucial for organizational productivity, with disengagement and attrition costing companies with 500 employees up to $8.9 million annually. Contrary to assumptions, monetary incentives are less effective than fostering a strong connection to the organization's mission. Wells Fargo's neurodiversity program illustrates this by tapping into untapped talent pools and enhancing overall innovation and employee satisfaction through a focused cultural approach. This underscores the importance for all organizations to prioritize engagement strategies that align employees with the mission to optimize performance and reduce turnover costs.

Launching a neurodiversity-inclusive website with Creative Consultant Merina Burda received positive feedback. Burda emphasizes simplicity, clean design, and continuous iteration to enhance usability for all users. This approach not only improves accessibility for neurodivergent and neurotypical visitors but also boosts user experience and conversion rates. Neurodiversity-inclusive practices benefit everyone.

Cognitive diversity, or the range of different thinking styles within a team, is essential for effective problem-solving, surpassing the importance of visible demographic diversity. While ethnic, gender, or age diversity doesn't impact problem-solving outcomes, a mix of cognitive styles enhances creativity and innovation. Cultivating a culture that supports various thinking approaches and encourages open communication and trust can significantly boost team performance and organizational success.

The article discusses two types of people in organizations: Sparklers, who excel at generating new ideas, and Trailblazers, who are skilled at executing them. Both are essential for innovation and adapting to change. Success requires fostering collaboration between these complementary styles within a supportive culture, ensuring both types thrive for optimal organizational performance.

Lisa Colledge recounts her transition from corporate life to entrepreneurship following redundancy. Viewing this change as an opportunity, she built a supportive community and shifted from a corporate to an entrepreneurial mindset. Despite initial doubts, working with a coach proved transformative, and networking opened valuable opportunities. She emphasizes learning from both successes and setbacks and encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to seize opportunities and pursue their dreams at any stage.

Lisa Colledge appears as a special guest on the podcast, That's Business, and talks about how she helps businesses thrive by harnessing cognitive diversity and transforming organizational cultures.

Drawing inspiration from Frances Maynard’s The Seven Imperfect Rules of Elvira Carr, Lisa highlights how organizations can create cognitively inclusive cultures. It shows how simple strategies, such as clear communication, structured routines, and focusing on individual strengths, can empower neurodivergent employees. By making small adjustments—like aligning roles with passions and providing constructive feedback—organizations can unlock the full potential of all team members, fostering a culture of innovation, resilience, and inclusion.