Nerd-Wrangling 101 (SHA2017)
Channel: MCH2022
Date: 13/08/2017

Managing Neurodiversity with Cognitive Empathy

Neurodiversity is the concept that neurological conditions are variations in the human genome. Therefore Autism, ADHD, and mood- and personality disorders are considered social categories intersecting with other social categories. 
While "Nerd" is very broadly defined, the number of neurodiverse people within our social group is much higher than in the general population. Our social circles, our hackerspaces, our coworkers are assembled from this group. And due to these differences our groups behave differently and encounter different problems that cannot be solved with standard management 101.
Working together with a team of amazing people, nearly all of whom have distinctive cognitive needs, we found that classical management and strict structures are impediments rather than support. So we hacked around them. Like you do.
In this talk we introduce the concept of cognitive empathy: Being able to think into the brain of your peers even though you might lack affective ("classical") empathy. We will share how we came to new solutions in managing our team by figuring out each others' needs. This talk will be about superpowers and super weaknesses: how to manage them, utilize them, and create an interdependent band of superheroes for which the sum is greater than the parts. 

#Society #Community



mlp Julian Finn