ADHD at work: A challenge, a superpower—or both?

In 2010, clinical psychiatrist Dale Archer published the New York Times best seller Better Than Normal, a book that highlighted the often-underappreciated benefits of various psychiatric diagnoses.

The book looked at strengths associated with conditions like bipolar disorder, OCD and schizophrenia. But there was one chapter that hit a little too close to home. 

After publishing it, Archer asked a colleague to conduct a psychiatric diagnostic on him.

“She said, ‘you’re off the charts for ADHD,’ and I go, ‘Yeah, I know, I just wanted validation’,” he says.

In 2015, Archer published a follow-up book, The ADHD Advantage, focusing on some of the more positive attributes of his condition. In it, he profiled high achievers with ADHD, including the most successful athlete in Olympics history, Michael Phelps, comedian, actor and television host Howie Mandel, and Jet Blue founder David Neeleman.

Archer’s research ultimately led him to a hypothesis that has yet to be proven in a clinical study: That ADHD—and all psychiatric diagnoses, for that matter—exists on a continuum, which he plots on a 10-point scale. Those who score four and below might not even know they have the condition, those who score nine or higher are likely to struggle in everyday life and may require medication. 

Those who were featured in his book fell between five and eight. Those in that range often report struggling in certain domains, while enjoying advantages in others. 

According to Archer, though, that range is a sweet spot: one associated with above-average resilience and creativity. These folks also enjoy multitasking, remain calm in crisis, are more outgoing and can hyperfocus on things they’re passionate about.

ADHD Remains a Mystery and a Paradox 

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, better known as ADHD, is a developmental disorder characterized by inattention, hyperactivity and/or impulsivity, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. It is also legally classified as a disability under The Americans with Disabilities Act. 

While our understanding of the disorder has come a long way in recent years, there is still a lot we don’t yet know. To make matters more confusing, much of what we do know seems paradoxical.

On the one hand, many with ADHD feel almost paralyzed by mundane tasks, struggle in traditional academic and workplace settings and suffer other mental health challenges—including anxiety, depression, substance abuse and eating disorders—at higher rates. They are also more likely to have unplanned pregnancies, get into car accidents and even have shorter average lifespans.

On the other, many are also more creative, entrepreneurial and intuitive. In fact, some of the world’s highest achievers—including Simone Biles, Paris Hilton, Michael Jordan, Greta Gerwig, Richard Branson and Jamie Oliver—credit ADHD for their success.

“One person might experience it as a disability, and that’s really critical, because ADHD does cause functional impairment,” explains Sarah Greenberg, a licensed psychotherapist for neurodivergence nonprofit Understood.org. “ADHD also comes with a certain set of strengths, particularly when the environment is a right fit for that brain.”

A Mixed Bag of Strengths and Struggles 

Rather than viewing the condition on a continuum, Greenberg sees neurodiversity as creating “jagged profiles,” meaning many with neurological differences overperform in some areas and underperform in others.

“I’ll be interviewing someone who is an incredible leader, incredible manager, very good at relationships, but can’t really keep friendships, because they’re very bad at texting back or remembering birthdays,” she explains. 

That’s why Greenberg encourages those who work with, live with, love or have other close ties to someone with ADHD not take certain characteristics of the condition personally.

For example, many with ADHD struggle to sense how much time has passed—often referred to as “time blindness”—making lateness a chronic challenge.

“If I’m in a relationship with someone and they’re always 10 minutes late, I’m naturally going to take that personally, like they don’t respect my time,” Greenberg says. “That assumed intention is really going to impact the relationship, and we see it all the time in the workplace.”

Cognitive ‘Wheelchairs and Ramps’ 

There are a lot of everyday activities that present obstacles for those with ADHD, and access to support can make a real difference. 

“Take someone who is unable to walk: If they have access to a wheelchair and a ramp, they can access the building, so they’re less disabled in that experience,” explains Megan Anna Neff, an author, clinical psychologist and founder of Neurodivergent Insights, an online neurodiversity education and resource platform. 

“How disabled we are happens at the intersection between our impairment and our environment. Most schools and most workplaces are not built for ADHD brains, so that is why it’s a disability.”

Neff explains that the medical model of disability tends to be binary—you either have a disability, or you don’t—while the “social model” takes into account environmental factors. 

“A lot of older strategies are about trying to make the ADHD brain less ADHD,” she says. “[The social model] is more about: ‘How do we understand the ADHD brain so we can actually work with it?’”

Neff believes ADHD should be classified as a disability so that those who need the support, resources and legal protections can continue to access them. However, it’s also important to acknowledge that many with ADHD do not consider themselves disabled, and shouldn’t be labelled as such.

“When we have structures and environments where they can support that divergent thinking—when we can channel our interest into our career or creativity or out of the box thinking—there absolutely are powerful things that can come of that,” she says. 

Having control over her work environment has allowed Neff to thrive as a medical professional with ADHD and autism.

Greenberg of Understood.org says she joined the organization as a psychotherapist with ADHD to study learning differences and apply those strategies to organizations of all shapes and sizes.

Dale Archer jokes he was only able to make it through medical school by accepting that he did his best work by procrastinating until a creeping deadline triggered his hyperfocus as a crisis response.

Like them, I too struggled in traditional academic and workplace settings, but have gone on to have a successful career as a freelance journalist and author not despite my ADHD—but because of it.

As our collective understanding of neurodiversity expands, those with ADHD are finding ways to better leverage many natural strengths and overcome our natural challenges. 

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