Leading Neurodiversity in the Workplace - CMI Level 7
This Neurodiversity Leadership Programme offers professionals an opportunity to unlock their potential as neuro-inclusive leaders and improve team performance by empowering neurodivergent team members to recognise & utilise their creativity, knowledge and diverse skills. It is estimated that 1 in 5 people within the workforce are neurodivergent. Without training, leading neurodivergent employees effectively can be challenging. Neurodivergent people may process information and solve problems in ways that neuro-majority people wouldn’t consider. When given the opportunity and understanding, their unique perspectives can contribute hugely to a business’s success.
The programme is designed to equip you with the knowledge, skills, and practical strategies needed to embrace and leverage the unique strengths of neurodivergent individuals. This transformative program is your key to unlocking new levels of leadership excellence with insightful models, comprehensive exploration and practical steps to apply neuro-inclusive leadership to benefit you, your diverse individuals, your team and your organisation.
Course Summary
CMI Level 7 Award in Strategic Management and Leadership - Optional
Duration:
3 Day
Location:
Virtual Manchester London
Delivery Method and Price:
Virtual Classroom:
£2,650
Face to Face Classroom:
£2,750
Course Information Video
About the Programme
This programme has been designed for Directors, Managers and Senior Stakeholders who want to improve performance through cohesive and motivated teams, by inclusively maximising the potential of neurodivergent colleagues.
This course is for you if you want to:
- Discover techniques for building high-performing teams that embrace neurodiversity
- Foster collaboration, promote empathy, and leverage everybody’s strengths
- Develop understanding of neurodiversity and neurodivergence, including autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia and more.
- Inspire others to tailor communication and management approaches that empower neurodivergent individuals to excel
- Learn tools and strategies to create an environment where all team members thrive.
*Please note that some of the materials and objectives may be subject to change depending on discussions, activities and needs of the cohort upon reflection of delegate responses to the pre-programme questionnaires.*
Session 1
Defining Neurodiversity and Neuro-diverse Leadership
Key themes include
- Define neurodiversity and explain its significance in the workplace
- Explore expressions of neurodivergence, i.e. autism, ADHD, dyslexia, dyspraxia etc
- Understand characteristics often associated with different neurotypes, and potential challenges experienced in workplace & societal contexts
- Highlight the strengths, talents, and unique perspectives that neurodivergent individuals can bring to a team
- Provide an overview of various neurodivergent profiles and how they may manifest in the workplace
- Explore the challenges and strengths associated with each profile
- Understand how each individual’s diversity is unique
Session 2
Communication Strategies & Creating an Inclusive Work Environment
Key themes include:
- ‘Double empathy’ and the importance of effective communication techniques to foster understanding and reduce misinterpretation from all parties
- The importance of clarity, explicitness, appropriate language modification and avoiding ambiguous language
- Strategies for accommodating different communication styles, such as visual aids, written instructions, or alternative communication methods
- Understanding regulation to support effective working and decision-making in your neurodivergent employees.
- Explore the concept of an inclusive workplace culture its benefits
- Identify potential barriers that neurodivergent individuals may face in the workplace and strategies to overcome them
- Evaluate strategies for creating an inclusive environment, including promoting diversity, adapting workspaces for different sensory processing profiles, understanding burnout and implementing reasonable accommodations
Session 3
Building Empathy and Sensitivity
Key themes include:
- Cultivate empathy and understanding among team members
- Experiential exercise – understanding exclusion from a new perspective
- Identify strategies to overcome: misconceptions, stereotypes, and biases surrounding disability and neurodivergence (including current controversy surrounding ADHD)
Session 4
Recognising Strengths and Addressing Challenges to Provide Support
Key themes include:
- Highlighting the unique strengths and talents that neurodivergent individuals often possess
- Overcoming presentations that challenge and identifying the positive motivations and applications
- Explore how diverse perspectives can contribute to creative problem-solving and innovation
- Identify common challenges that neurodivergent individuals may encounter at work
- Promote a proactive approach to addressing challenges, including open communication
- Evaluate strategies for providing appropriate support, such as mentoring and coaching
- How Coaching is very different for Neurodivergent individuals
Session 5
Coaching and Mentoring Neurodivergent individuals
Key themes include:
- Harnessing the power of neurodivergent thinking
- Coaching by numbers – when an analytical approach works best, and how to do this
- Using psychometric tools to create better self-awareness
Session 6
Legal and Ethical Considerations and Creating an Organisational Strategy
Key themes include:
- Understanding legal frameworks and regulations related to neurodiversity, such as The Equality Act, The Autism Act and other discrimination laws
- Addressing ethical considerations around privacy, disclosure, and confidentiality
- Ensuring compliance and promote a fair and inclusive work environment.
- Examine an approach to developing organisational strategy
- In peer groups, develop a real-world organisational strategy to create a Neurodiverse culture in your organisation
The CMI Level 7 Award in Strategic Leadership and Management
Assessment
The CMI Level 7 - Award in Strategic Management and Leadership is designed for directors and senior managers who have the authority and personal inspiration to translate organisational strategy into effective performance.
This qualification requires senior and aspiring senior leaders to build on their skills in strategic management and leadership and to focus on the requirements of inter-organisational strategy. You will be required to take the theory, thought leadership and research discussed on the course, and implement it in your professional life by focusing on your own leadership development, and positively challenging organisational strategy.
You will be required to complete one 3,500 – 4,000-word written assignments that require taught theory to be applied to the organisational context:
Unit 702: Leading and Developing People to Optimise Performance
Support
As part of your course fee, you are given unlimited access to post-classroom tutorials. These are organised monthly and run by CMI-qualified tutors to help guide learners through the assignment writing phase.
Alex Firmin
Tutor
Alex is an experienced and dedicated education consultant and trainer. His core skillset is the design and delivery of engaging personal and professional development programmes. He is adaptable and comfortable working at any level in the organisation, from front line leaders to the Board.
Prior to working in consultancy Alex was an army officer (making it to Major). A natural diplomat, Alex studied Pashto (the language of Southern Afghanistan) and held a leadership role in supporting reconstruction and development, primarily in Helmand Province, Afghanistan. Alex supported the development and delivery of the army’s global Security, Leadership and Strategy programme, and later worked to establish the curriculum for Afghanistan’s Officer Training Academy, in Kabul.
Alex has built a consultancy business and delivered a diverse portfolio of organisational development projects. He works across all sectors and his clients include the NHS, NATO, Barnardo’s, Home Bargains, a variety of Academy Trusts and schools, and many smaller businesses and charities. Alex has worked closely with the Chartered Management Institute, and routinely lectures on MBA and Director Development programmes for the Universities of York, Chester, and East London. Alex maintains a high level of currency and is currently developing programmes focussing on Distributed Leadership, and Managing Neurodivergent Colleagues.
Alex holds three Master’s degrees: Educational Innovation, Psychology, and Occupational Psychology. He is married to Katherine and has two children and two Labradors.
Zara Sloane
Tutor
Zara is a certified Executive Coach and has worked globally with a range of businesses and senior leaders, as well as emerging and young leaders. Her energetic, professional, and results-oriented approach – paired with her passion for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – has been critical to her diverse portfolio of roles and projects on which she has worked. Her 20 years corporate experience prior to consulting, includes having operated and led in global commercial roles as well as functional specialist roles in Talent, leadership, Diversity & Inclusion, Organisational Development and Organisational Effectiveness.
Zara has worked across both the public and private sector and has supported organisations in their development of more inclusive cultures through discovery, strategy, education, and coaching. One of her defining approaches is to work with managers and leaders as key levers of change with a view to creating the systemic conditions for success.
She is passionate about the extraordinary benefits that DEI bring to business and society. Zara seeks to provide leaders with a deeper understanding of inclusion with respect to the personal and business benefits, and to help them develop strategies on how to avoid potential pitfalls, ultimately incentivising action.
Alongside her client work Zara volunteers as a coach and mentor for young people from disadvantaged backgrounds, supporting them with the knowledge, network, skills, and confidence to support their success and happiness.
Her areas of expertise include Organisational Development, Talent Management, Equity Diversity & Inclusion, Leadership Development, Coaching, Performance Enablement, Early Careers and Mentoring.
Qualifications and tools:
- Certified Executive Coach 2008 AoEC
- Neuro Linguistic Practitioner 2009 Pegasus NLP
- Be Talent Strengths Insights and decision Styles Accreditation, Zircon
- Motivational Map Practitioner
- Hogan Certified
- Gateway to Team Coaching 2020 – Clutterbuck & Hawkins
Our dedicated In-House Training team can work with you to create a tailored training course that creates an optimal learning experience. Our bespoke built training programmes are designed around your needs and allow you to meet the specific requirements of your business.
Click here to view our In-House Training services.
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