Episode 42

Feb 2

What it’s really like to be a neurodivergent CEO

We chat with Tree Hall, CEO of Charity IT Leaders

It’s estimated that 1 in 7 people in the UK are neurodiverse. So what is it like to be a neurodiverse leader?

Tree Hall, CEO of Charity IT Leaders, was diagnosed as autistic at the age of 47. In this very personal episode she shares her story, exploring what autism means to her, and how it has shaped her life. Tree has become a staunch advocate of how everyone needs to understand autism and other neurodivergence. She is on a mission to make the workplace more inclusive and supportive of neurodivergent individuals.

We’re very grateful to Tree for sharing such an open, honest account of the experience of being a neurodiverse leader. We discuss how leaders can better understand what being neurodiverse means, and how improving the workplace with this in mind will help improve it for everyone.

Zoe and Paul discuss the latest leadership and tech news including the director general of the CBI’s comments about working from home and Jeremy Hunt’s call for more over 50s to rejoin the workplace.

LISTEN HERE

Notes:

Tree recommended the following resources:
Ambitious about Autism’s resources for employers https://www.ambitiousaboutautism.org.uk/what-we-do/employment/employers

National Autistic Society https://www.autism.org.uk/

The PDA Society https://www.pdasociety.org.uk/

We also discussed:

BBC story about over 50s in the workplace

Twitter thread about the CBI’s comments on remote work (original story on the BBC is here).

Email us with your questions and ideas for future episodes startsatthetop@gmail.com

And please leave us a review if you enjoy what you hear!

Editing and production from Syren Studios and Paul Thomas

Music by Joseph McDade https://josephmcdade.com/music

Full transcript of this episode (srt file)