Leading with DEI, Neurodiversity & Psychological Safety – The Future of Inclusive Leadership
- Brainz Magazine
- Oct 16
- 6 min read
Gillian is the Managing Director of Emerge Development Consultancy, which she founded 28 years ago. She is a Master Executive Coach working with many CEOs and Managing Directors globally. She is also an international speaker and, in 2020, was named by f: Entrepreneur as one of the leading UK Female Entrepreneurs in the I also campaign. In 2023, she was named the Leader of the Year by the Women’s Business Club. In 2024, she was named Businesswoman of the Decade.
October is Mental Health Awareness Month and year, as I read LinkedIn posts, I’m struck by how many leaders pause for reflection, post something thoughtful, and then move quickly back to business as usual. However, to really make the changes we need and have the right conversations, it can’t just be about a day or a month dedicated to a topic. It must be woven into the everyday fabric of leading, managing, and growing people.
After thirty years leading Emerge Development Consultancy, I’ve seen the field of leadership development transform beyond recognition. We used to talk about leadership as a collection of skills, communication, decision-making, and resilience. Leaders were recruited based on IQ, knowledge, and tenure, which unfortunately left a legacy of leaders who were brilliantly clever but not necessarily people managers.
The conversation now (and certainly among enlightened leaders) is about something deeper, emotional intelligence, authenticity, empathy, and the ability to create psychological safety for every individual, regardless of how their brain works, their background, or their lived experience.
As both a leadership coach and someone who is neurodivergent myself (with ADHD and low-grade bipolar, only diagnosed in adulthood), this topic is deeply personal to me. For years, I masked, overcompensated, and exhausted myself striving for perfection in a world that didn’t understand how my mind worked. It wasn’t until I reframed my neurodivergence as a superpower rather than a flaw that everything changed, my leadership, my relationships, my wellbeing, and my work at Emerge.
Why mental health and inclusion must sit at the heart of leadership
To really achieve this, we have to see mental health, neurodiversity, and inclusion as intertwined and as the foundation of a healthy, high-performing workplace. To be a truly inclusive workplace means creating a climate where people feel they don’t need to mask and are free of any form of stigma. This will only happen if the environment not only allows for different ways of thinking and processing but actively welcomes them.
With new generations entering the workplace, it is also important to understand that employees expect more empathy, humanity, and authenticity. However, I still hear many leaders espousing the old paradigm that people should “leave their personal challenges at the door” and that they “treat everyone the same.” Whilst fairness in the workplace is important, that mindset not only damages wellbeing but also stifles innovation and trust.
When we talk about psychological safety, it is important to be clear on its definition in the workplace. It is the sense that we can feel comfortable to speak up, challenge, take risks, and be authentic without fear of judgement. When this happens, it totally supports the creation of high-performing teams. Added to that, if leaders model openness, vulnerability, and curiosity, and demonstrate that it is welcome for others to do the same, the difference is phenomenal, a truly inclusive culture. Statistics show that diverse teams with high psychological safety consistently outperform those without it. Where there is an absence of fear, there is always increased creativity.
Neurodiversity: The missing piece in DEI
In recent years, many organisations have made real progress on gender and ethnic diversity. Yet I still often find that neurodiversity remains forgotten or not widely discussed. However, estimates show that people who are neurodivergent (with ADHD, autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, Tourette’s, and other cognitive differences) make up 15–20% of the population. I say “estimates” as so many people are still not ready to disclose, which makes it hard to count or definitively report.
This is a massive percentage, and yet too few workplaces are designed with neurodivergent minds in mind. Hiring processes still reward conformity and allow bias. Performance reviews often value presentation over potential, and meeting cultures are rarely designed to support people who are neurodivergent. For those who process differently, this can create daily stress, misunderstanding, and burnout.
At Emerge, we’ve been embedding a neuroinclusive lens across our leadership programmes, because inclusive leadership must include neurodiversity. Through our coaching and workshops, we help leaders move from awareness to action, redesigning processes, adapting communication, and creating cultures where cognitive difference is celebrated rather than tolerated.
The benefits are clear, an increase in people with exceptional creativity, hyperfocus, analytical depth, and innovation, which are exactly the qualities we need in a fast-changing world. However, without a psychologically safe environment, they will not be able to bring these skills.
Early-career leaders: The next generation of change
At Emerge, we are passionate about working with early-career leaders, the emerging generation who are entering the workforce with different expectations and values. They crave purpose, flexibility, and authenticity, and thankfully, many are already questioning old leadership norms.
If we can help emerging leaders learn to manage inclusively, they create ripple effects across entire organisations and change their future. They model active listening, self-awareness, and adaptability. And when they also understand neurodiversity and mental health, they develop the kind of inclusive leadership that is both compassionate and commercially smart.
Rise to the board: Redefining leadership for women
Another dimension of inclusion that remains close to my heart is gender equity, particularly in senior leadership and supporting women through our RISE development programme. Next year, we will launch Rise to the Board: A Leadership Programme for Women, as we recognise the need to support women preparing for board-level roles to lead authentically and confidently. There is significant evidence around the late diagnosis of ADHD in women, and it is important that this does not prevent them from progressing in their careers.
Many of these women have spent years navigating environments that weren’t built for them. Some are also neurodivergent or have faced mental health challenges linked to chronic pressure, self-doubt, or imposter syndrome. By helping them understand their strengths, boundaries, and authentic style, we empower them to show up as their full selves, not as the version of a leader they were told to be.
Practical ways to lead with DEI, neurodiversity, & psychological safety
Whether you’re leading a team of five or an organisation of five thousand, these principles apply:
Start with self-awareness: Know your own triggers, biases, and neurotype. Reflect on how your energy, attention, and communication style affect others. Self-awareness is the gateway to inclusion.
Model vulnerability: Talk openly, and appropriately, about challenges, mistakes, or times when you’ve needed support. It signals to your team that it’s safe to be human.
Create options, not exceptions: Build flexibility into how work gets done, written or verbal input, meetings, structured or flexible timelines, and ways of working. When you design for difference, everyone benefits.
Normalise conversations about mental health: Don’t wait for a crisis to ask, “How are you really?” Make check-ins a cultural habit, not a one-off campaign during Mental Health Week.
Reward curiosity over certainty: Encourage questions, dissent, and experimentation. Replace blame with learning. Inclusion is a dynamic process, not a static state.
Check your environment: Walk through your environment and think about how it might impact people who are neurodivergent. Consider noise, lighting, stimulation, and other potential barriers. Are there quiet or collaborative spaces?
Hold yourself accountable: Measure inclusion and safety, not just diversity numbers. Use pulse surveys, 360 feedback, and open dialogue to track whether people feel included and safe.
Using Mental Health Day as a catalyst
World Mental Health Day is more than a date on the calendar, it’s an invitation to leaders everywhere to ask, Is my organisation truly safe for difference?
It’s easy to post supportive messages, it’s harder to look honestly at your culture. Do your people feel they can speak up without fear? Do they feel seen, supported, and accepted as they are? Are your systems flexible enough for all brains, not just the neurotypical?
If we truly want to build workplaces that are mentally healthy, diverse, and future-ready, we need leaders who lead with empathy, courage, and openness.
This month, I challenge every leader to take one concrete action:
Run a team conversation about psychological safety.
Review your policies for neuroinclusion.
Offer coaching or training that helps managers lead with empathy and adaptability.
Share your own story, because vulnerability builds connection.
If you’re not sure where to start, that’s exactly what we help organisations with at Emerge Development Consultancy. From neuroinclusive leadership training to coaching-based culture transformation and women’s leadership acceleration, our programmes are designed to embed inclusion and wellbeing at every level, not as a tick-box exercise but as a way of being.
Read more from Gillian Jones-Williams
Gillian Jones-Williams, Emerge Development Consultancy
Gillian Managing Director of Emerge Development Consultancy which she founded 25 years ago. She is a Master Executive Coach working with many CEOs and managing Directors globally. She is also an international speaker and in 2020 was named by f: Entrepreneur as one of the leading UK Female Entrepreneurs in the Ialso campaign. In 2024 she was awarded Businesswoman of the Decade by the women’s Business Club.
Gillian founded the RISE Women’s Development Programme which is delivered both in the UK and the Middle East, and Saudi and is her absolute passion.
If you want to know more about our Conduct Reflection Sessions or Diversity and Inclusion solutions please get in touch. We are working with many organisations on their Diversity and Inclusion interventions, strategies, policies and programmes. For more information contact us on 01329 820580 or via info@emergeuk.com
