Newsletter Archive

FEBRUARY 2010

Executive Function at Work, Part Six:
Flexibility

This is the sixth in a series of articles about managing executive function challenges at work. Executive function relates to a person's ability to plan, prioritize, manage time, comprehend the big picture, change course and make good decisions.  

Even if not explicitly stated in a job description, flexibility is a basic workplace requirement. Like it or not, things change: company policies are revised; new managers arrive; and technological, regulatory or economic events alter job duties and processes.

For most people with Asperger's Syndrome and Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NLD), flexible thinking is an executive function that doesn't come naturally. However there are ways to become more adaptable on the job or in your job search.

For starters, get in the habit of looking at options instead of acting on your first impulse. One of my clients was fired for impulsively using his supervisor's computer without permission. Later on, he easily identified other ways to have retrieved the information he needed.

Options can be difficult to see when you are agitated, as Lynn was at the start of one of our coaching sessions. "I don't have any options," she exclaimed, "we're understaffed at work, there is a hiring freeze, and I just can't get everything done."

After a few minutes of brainstorming, Lynn relaxed and came up with 5 options to deal with her heavy workload:

• Option 1: Do nothing

• Option 2: Quit

• Option 3: Ask co-worker for ideas on managing work load

• Option 4: Create several hours of uninterrupted work time per week (e.g. use laptop in a conference room; work at home; put Do Not Disturb sign on cubicle)

• Option 5: Begin looking for another job
  

Next we looked at the likely outcomes of each option. The likely outcome of doing nothing was continued stress and 55 hour work weeks. Option 2, quitting, would mean loss of income, pressure to find another job quickly, and an unusual situation to explain at interviews. Options 3 and 4 had the potential to increase Lynn's efficiency. She decided to try them both, and re-evaluate option 5 after 3 months.

A flexible mindset is also helpful when you are considering careers or looking for a job. One of my clients loved teaching but couldn't manage a classroom of small children. We came up with the following career possibilities: academia, corporate trainer, wellness instructor, and how-to author. If you have had difficulty holding on to jobs in one area, think about where you can transfer your skills for a better match. For instance, administrative work in a small, local business will probably involve less pressure than supporting a team of attorneys at a major metropolitan law firm.

Another way to be more flexible is to think in gray scale instead of black and white. Black and white thinking is when you perceive something in absolute terms: right or wrong; good or bad; yes or no. Gray scale thinking considers context and extenuating circumstances: "both/and," "if/then."

David's black and white thinking had him convinced that a full time job would allow no time for his favorite hobbies. To help him shift to the gray scale I asked, "How can you do both?" After analyzing how he actually spent his time, David saw that he could work full time and have plenty of time for hobbies on weekends.

Finally, practice arguing an opposing point of view. No matter how strongly you disagree, challenge yourself to find the merit in the opposite position. Larry was appalled to learn that his programming had to be finsihed by a certain date, even if the code wasn't perfect. He took the opposite position and understood that from a revenue perspective, it was important that the product ship in the current quarter. Although Larry still believed that "quality should come first," he also acknowledged that revenue was the company's top priority.

© 2010 by Barbara Bissonnette, Forward Motion Coaching