How my ADHD made me a better Project Manager
Let's start. I have ADHD. It has been quite a journey. It has definitely not been a smooth journey. It's been one that has caused personal relationships to suffer as a result of my lack of understanding, but a journey non the less for the better.
So what is ADHD? ADHD is attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In short, the core symptom of ADHD for me is inattention, or the inability to keep focus, attention or concentration. Now focus refers to the act of getting down to completing a task, while concentration is the act of maintaining that focus.
It requires a lot more effort to control and filter attention and emotions that come naturally to others. It’s kind of like every new task or idea that pops into your head(which happens often) is added to your mental to-do list. Sounds simple enough right? Now try recalling that to do list after each new idea or thought or conversation you have. A little bit more difficult right but not impossible to do. Now imagine that you don’t have the option, your brain just automatically does this, or attempts to. If that sounds exhausting to you, it is. An excellent book called Fast Minds refers to this type of effect as popcorn thoughts.
So what does this all have to do with Project Management? Each new project undertaken involves discovery and understanding, first of the business case and requirements before being able to move in the intended direction. My understanding of how and when my cognitive brain performs well and when it does not was the first step in the Analysis and Design phase of the project that is my life. A life broken down into its individual work packages(days/hours) each as important as the one that came before it moving me one step closer to my ultimate goal.
One of the most important attributes of an effective project manager is the ability to be a good communicator. In order to communicate with all types of stakeholders, a level of understanding and situational awareness is required. Self discovery of my own limitations has taught me empathic active listening to better understand my project team members and what they are trying to tell me or others. Not all of us are good communicators. It is a skill that can be learned. As a project manager you are the conduit for your team to raise issues and blockers for you to resolve and enable them.
Although the mundane tasks may struggle to hold my attention, tasks that I am passionate about I am able to get lost in for hours. The reason for starting the Expresslain blog is to express my passion about building tech and delivering software applications. You may think that having ADHD means you can’t focus on anything and you are not a high performing individual. Not true!
Tasks I am passionate about, I am able to hyperfocus on, which is an intense form of concentration spanning hours. IT Project Management and software delivery is what gets me up in the morning and drives me to constantly improve. It is a challenging path but mastering its numerous dynamics is a worthy journey and enabling your project team to grow and perform at their best is the most rewarding of endeavours.
No matter the size of the challenge(or project) you can always overcome it by breaking it down into individual steps, one day at a time. Everyone you meet is fighting their own internal battle, and sometimes all it takes is a moment of understanding to adjust your approach to get your team to where they need to be. We have just had mental health awareness week, and I’ll gladly adopt the quote from the 1988 film, ‘They Live’:
'I have come here to chew bubble-gum and kick ass…and I’m all out of bubble-gum.'😎
