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Well-intentioned advice can inadvertently create a barrier for people when it assumes everyone's brain processes information the same way. This week: why focusing on outcomes rather than methods is the single most useful reframe for managers, coaches, and anyone working with neurodivergent people. Plus, why this newsletter was spoken, not written.
Dear Reader,
Sometimes the biggest barrier to neuro-inclusion isn't silence or a lack of willingness. It's well-meaning guidance that assumes everyone's brain works the same way.
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"Just Write it Down"
A coach I know was working with a female founder. Brilliant woman, full of ideas, running a growing business. She was struggling to get her thoughts in order, so the coach gave her the standard advice: write it down. Journal. Do morning pages. Create a to-do list. Get it out of your head and onto paper.
Textbook coaching advice. Well-intentioned. Taught as universal.
For this particular person, writing it down wasn't simple. Her brain doesn't process that way. She tried. She really tried. And when it didn't work, she didn't think "this method doesn't suit me." She thought "what's wrong with me?"
That is the moment where good intentions become disabling. Not because the coach was careless or unkind, but because the advice assumed one method fits everyone. And when the method doesn't work, the person internalises the failure rather than questioning the method.
The Reframe: Outcomes, Not Methods
There's a really simple shift we can make in how we support our teams. Instead of prescribing how someone should do something, focus on what they need to achieve.
The outcome in that coaching example was: process your thoughts. That's it. The method for getting there is entirely personal. For some people, that's a notebook. For others it's a whiteboard, a spreadsheet, a conversation with a colleague, a walk, or a voice note recorded on their phone at 7am while the dog pulls them down the street.
This newsletter, for example, started as a voice note. Unstructured, unpolished, just me talking through my thinking out loud so I could hear what I actually wanted to say. Then it got restructured, reordered, and shaped into what you're reading now. Morning pages never worked for me. Being told they "should" work made things worse. The voice note method works brilliantly. Same outcome, completely different route.
This is the methods vs outcomes principle in action, lived in real time.
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Real World Workplace Example
Think about how many standard workplace practices are built around one assumed method.
- "Take notes in the meeting." What if someone processes better by listening and summarising afterwards?
- "Send me a written update." What if a two-minute voice message would capture the same information more accurately and in half the time?
- "Follow the standard onboarding checklist." What if someone needs the information in a different order, or in smaller chunks, or with a visual overview before the detail?
None of these are unreasonable adjustments. They are simply different routes to the same destination. But when organisations design processes around one default method, and then measure people against their ability to follow that method rather than achieve the outcome, they inadvertently create barriers for anyone whose brain works differently.
And here's the thing: that's not a small number of people. It's 15 to 20% of your workforce. Probably more, given that many people are undiagnosed or haven't disclosed.
What This Looks Like in Practice
For managers, the shift is simpler than you might think. Instead of "here's how I need you to do this," try "here's what I need the outcome to be, how would you prefer to get there?" Instead of assuming everyone benefits from the same meeting format, feedback style, or project management tool, ask.
This isn't about lowering standards. It's about being flexible on the route while being clear on the destination. In my training, I call this "focusing on outcomes rather than methods," and it consistently gets the biggest reaction from managers. Not because it's complicated, but because it's so obvious once someone names it, and yet almost nobody is doing it systematically.
The simplest, most obvious things make the biggest difference. And if nobody told you what those things are, you wouldn't know to do them differently. That's not a failing. That's a gap we can close.
The Bigger Picture
When someone finally hears "your brain just doesn't process that way, and that's fine, you just need a different method," the shift is profound. I've watched it happen in coaching sessions, in training rooms, in one-to-one conversations. Years of shame and self-blame dissolve into self-understanding and possibility.
That's not soft. That's not "nice to have." That's the difference between someone masking, burning out and eventually leaving, and someone thriving, contributing and staying. If you want to talk about productivity, retention and performance, this is where it starts.
Want to Talk About This?
If "focus on outcomes, not methods" is a principle you'd like to embed in your team or organisation, I can help. Whether it's manager training, coaching, or a broader neuro-inclusion strategy, this reframe is at the heart of everything I do.
See you next week.
Tania
P.S. If you're reading this and thinking "oh, so THAT'S why morning pages never worked for me" - you're welcome. Now go record a voice note about it.
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