One in five people are neurodivergent. Which means right now, roughly 20% of your organization's brains are working differently than the systems around them were designed for. And most of those people are just quietly struggling — wondering what's wrong with them — while the organization wonders what's wrong with them right back.

In this Between the Seasons episode of Why Does It Feel So Wrong to Be Human at Work?, Pinaki Kathiari and Chris Lee sit down with Dr. Matt Zakreski, clinical psychologist at the Neurodiversity Collective and author of The Neurodiversity Playbook, for a conversation about what it actually looks like to build workplaces where different kinds of brains can do their best work.

Dr. Matt brings the research, the analogies, and a lot of really good pizza metaphors. Bree admits she can't send emails without a dopamine boost. Chris shares his ADHD diagnosis. Pinaki wonders, out loud, if he's on a spectrum of something. And everyone agrees: the world was built by neurotypical people, and that's a problem worth fixing.

In this episode, they discuss:

• What neurodivergence actually is — and why it is not a choice

• The pizza dinner party analogy: inclusion isn't about throwing away what works, it's about making sure there's something for everyone at the table

• Steve, the guy who holds the office together but isn't hitting his sales numbers — and what organizations get wrong about him

• Body doubling, expense report happy hour, and free solutions to executive functioning challenges

• Be curious, not furious: why asking why before assuming intent changes everything

• The difference between intention and impact, and why owning that gap matters

• What to do when someone is truly not a fit — and how to do the warmest possible handoff

• Dr. Matt's book, The Neurodiversity Playbook, and why he wrote it as a play-by-play guide, not a cover-to-cover read

If you've ever felt like you were playing the game on hard mode without knowing why, this one's for you.

Check out Dr. Matt and his work:

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/4t4056a
Buy his book, Neurodiversity Playbook: https://amzn.to/4n0sKrp
The Neurodiversity Collective: https://bit.ly/4eS4vd1
https://www.drmattzakreski.com/
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Connect with Us

Pinaki Kathiari – LinkedIn | Local Wisdom

Chris Lee – LinkedIn | Gallagher Communication

Bree Bartos – LinkedIn | Local Wisdom

Special thanks to digital communication agency Local Wisdom (www.localwisdom.com) for really believing in our mission and making this podcast possible.

If this episode made you think differently, laugh, or even yell out loud, we want to hear about it! Connect with us on LinkedIn, and don’t forget to rate, review, and share – maybe with your work bestie… or even your boss if you're feeling bold.

We also bring these important conversations to conferences and private workshops, creating space for real, meaningful change. Take the first step at www.whydoesitfeelsowrong.com.