Neurodiversity in the workplace has emerged as one of the hottest topics of 2023. A Google News search for the phrase itself generates results that, on the first several pages, mostly originate from content published in 2023. Social media is reducing the stigma associated with discussing mental health and neurodiversity. On TikTok, #neurodiverse had received more than 463 million views as of 1 May 2023; #Adhd and #autism each had more than 22 billion. #Ocd had approximately 5.7 billion views.
This is not terribly surprising. Between 2007 and 2016, the rate at which adults were diagnosed with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) doubled.1 Anecdotally, the COVID-19 pandemic has increased the diagnosis rate. Informal surveys indicate that adults sought diagnoses once working from home blurred the boundaries between personal and professional time 2 and routines were disrupted.
The most common challenges neurodiverse individuals face in the workplace are associated with executive function. Or, as the Harvard University Center on the Developing Child summarizes, the “mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, remember instructions, and juggle multiple tasks successfully.”3 If those sound familiar, good. They comprise an unspoken skill set that an effective IT auditor should have.
Professionally, challenges with executive function can take the form of an IT auditor who struggles with time management, appropriately prioritizing work, completing assignments and/or reengaging with work after a disruption (planned or unplanned). This sounds difficult, right? Without proper education, one may wonder how neurodiverse individuals can be contributing members of an audit team without the need for micromanagement. The answer is relatively simple: Borrow concepts from Agile.
Embrace Sprints
Lean into the concept of sprints. Establish short, recurrent work periods that have defined objectives and deliverables. IT auditors especially may benefit from this, because audit programs involve discrete procedures and outcomes that are best achieved via sprint-style work. Neurodivergent individuals, particularly those with ADHD, are able to sustain interest longer when something is new, challenging or personally interesting (or all 3).4 The nature of sprints can help neurodivergent team members tap into their abilities to hyperfocus by changing the direction and nature of work on a consistent schedule. For example, in the context of IT audit, neurodiverse auditors can target 1 or 2 specific audit programs or deliverables per sprint. The short time frame and clearly defined objectives work to keep the auditor engaged and working close to their optimal output level. At the same time, the IT audit itself progresses with tangible results. By consistently meeting or exceeding stakeholders’ expectations, the IT audit team can build its reputation internally.
The nature of sprints can help [neurodiverse individuals] tap into their ability to hyperfocus by changing the direction and nature of work on a consistent schedule.Meet More Often
It is often productive to meet frequently. This helps address 2 common issues that often plague individuals diagnosed with ADHD or autism: Time blindness and challenges with task initiation. Time blindness can manifest in many ways, including the inability to accurately gauge how long a task (or series of tasks) may take.5 For example, an audit program may have 5 procedures remaining. The IT auditor assigned to the work, who also happens to be neurodiverse, thinks that the work will probably only take half a day and has allocated only that much time for it. However, after starting, the IT auditor realizes that a certain procedure has 4 sub-steps that require deep thinking without distraction. The IT auditor did not plan accordingly and may or may not finish their work on time. This situation could have been avoided had a daily meeting taken place and drawn attention to the fact that the procedure in question has more complicated steps and would therefore require additional time. Each audit is different, but the delayed completion could impact other project milestones or the overall project’s status.
For some people, meeting frequently could take the form of attending a daily stand-up meeting. The meeting is short, addresses the day’s tasks and potential roadblocks, and concludes quickly. For others, it could be weekly one-on-one meetings with a supervisor that recaps completed work and outlines upcoming assignments. How this is implemented varies by individual, but the goal is the same: to proactively discuss progress, roadblocks and short-term planning before a problem arises.
Be Present
Working together helps team members become more present. In a perfect world, enterprise owners and developers work together daily on Agile projects. It improves the quality and timing of communication. For neurodiverse individuals, working together (either physically or virtually with cameras on) is a strategy known as body doubling.6 Being in the presence of someone else certainly improves communication, but for neurodiverse individuals, body doubling has the added benefit of improving productivity through social pressure. Body doubles do not need to work on the same task and, ideally, have minimal interaction with the neurodiverse individual. Their presence can be enough to kickstart task initiation and planning.7
Given that many IT audit tasks are often performed remotely, being present is most likely to be achieved through virtual collaboration platforms such as Microsoft Teams, WebEx or GoToMeeting. Establishing a team culture that encourages individuals to start a meeting with another team member, turn on the camera, mute the microphone, and work independently of each other could be the difference between a neurodivergent IT auditor deciding to begin a dreaded task or avoiding it and doing something that may not be relevant to the audit work assigned.
Start With the Individual
Finally, to the greatest extent possible, build projects around individuals. Support them where they need it, but trust that they can and will do the work. This can be a challenge, especially in IT audit and assurance. Risk-based work, compliance requirements and/or regulatory reviews likely do not ignite passion in most people. However, within these types of projects, there are specific areas that indeed relate to an individual’s interests. Where possible, align those. This is beneficial for everyone, but especially neurodiverse individuals. While they may struggle with executive function, they also tend to be highly creative and think outside of the box. Feeding their interests and creating a connection between their interests and work is an exceptional way to overcome challenges associated with task initiation and engaging with work.
Conclusion
Adopting Agile-inspired techniques to address executive function challenges requires time and effort from the individual, their management and the team(s) of which the individual is part. But, for audit managers, the payoff can be substantial. Pragmatically, sprint-style work periods and regular meetings accelerate the feedback loop— the audit manager and the auditor obtain a mutual understanding of where an assignment stands and what obstacles are in the way. The IT audit is more likely to conclude on time and with fewer last-minute changes.
Being present and working “together, but alone” not only leads to completed work (and thus, completed projects), but can also be an unintentional, low-effort team building mechanism. Casual comments made or questions posed while working together can lead to identifying shared interests or special projects. Instead of merely knowing who the IT auditor is on paper, an audit manager (or team) gains a better awareness of their team members’ individual strengths and weaknesses.
Engaging and retaining neurodivergent individuals means having someone on the team who is resilient, creative and courageous.8 Often, neurodiverse individuals have spent their entire lives working harder than their peers in similar situations. That means that they are well versed in a try, try again mindset and that failure is acceptable. They have taught themselves to think around a problem and may come up with solutions that are not obvious to anyone else. With the right environment and a handful of changes, neurodivergent individuals can be assets to any audit team. These changes benefit the entire audit team, not merely the auditor.
Endnotes
1 Chung, W.; S. Jiang; D. Paksarian, et al.; “Trends in the Prevalence and Incidence of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Among Adults and Children of Different Racial and Ethnic Groups,” JAMA Network Open, vol. 2, iss. 11, 2019
2 Staff, “ADHD Symptoms Unmasked by the Pandemic: Diagnoses Spike Among Adults, Children,” ADDitude Magazine, 25 July 2022
3 Center on the Developing Child, “Executive Function & Self-Regulation,” Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
4 Cleveland Clinic, “Understanding Hyperfocus and ADHD,” USA, 9 December 2022
5 Brown, J.; “Time Blindness and ADHD,” Focus on Adult ADHD Magazine
6 ADHD Newsstand, “Could a Body Double Help You Increase Your Productivity?”
7 Stanborough, R. J.; “What Is Body Doubling for ADHD?” Healthline, 26 August 2022
8 Sherrell, Z.; “6 Strengths and Benefits of ADHD,” Medical News Today, 21 July 2021
Amanda Tucker, CISA, CDPSE
Is an IT audit professional with more than 10 years of experience. After a brief stint in the consulting world, she worked in US state government before moving on to health insurance. Tucker is passionate about humanizing IT audit and educating non-IT professionals about the work of IT auditors. Her ADHD is a blessing and a curse. She is brutally honest about both.