Refined Leadership - ADHD Lens

ADHD and Social Skills: How to Improve Your Ability to Read Social Cues and Build Connections

In this episode, Caroline Maguire, Author of “Why will no one play with me”? talks to us about how to read the room, how to really understand what's going on in social settings.
Those of us with ADHD brain, that fast brain that can think of bazillion thoughts in seconds can get in trouble in social settings and feel awkward, or out of place or even worse it can cause us to lose a job or a business deal.
We might come across as rude because we tend to interrupt too much. Or we can make people feel uncomfortable because we share too much and not to mention if we are in a middle of a story we can exhaust the listener because we have the urge to tell them all the little details of the story and not to mention we may even digress a few times because we thought of other related things to add to the story.
So you get the picture! and I am sure you can relate.
So how the heck do you “work a room”, “Manage a conversation?” and “win friends and influence people?” with an ADHD brain. Well, this episode will address a lot of these topics.
Be sure to listen to the section where Caroline talks about friendships and the stages of friendship at the 24:00 minute mark and further goes into how to be an effective listener “be a social spy”.
Get your pen and paper ready to take notes, the entire episode is full of insight and strategies
About Caroline Maguire, ACCG, PCC, M.Ed.
Caroline founded and facilitates a comprehensive SEL training methodology (#ConnectionMatters) for adults, parents, clinicians and academic professionals on how to develop critical social, emotional and communication skills, in themselves and in others. Caroline’s book Why Will No One Play With Me? is a playbook that includes foolproof scripts on how to communicate – with anyone, in any situation – and how to ensure the message registers with the recipient – no small task! Through her private practice, publications, lectures and workshops, her mission is to vanquish the devastating effects of feeling different and misunderstood.
Caroline has been a resource for many journalists as well as leading ADHD organizations and can be seen in publications such as U.S. News & World Report, Huffington Post, ADDitude, Attention Magazine and WebMD.
Please join her on Facebook, Instagram, Linked In, Twitter, Medium, Pinterest and download her free video “How to Tell a Tighter Story"
Be sure to leave a review of this podcast, your feedback means so much to me.

ADHD and Entrepreneurship: Effective Management Strategies for Running Your Business

In this episode, I talk to JP Holecka, CEO & founder of a Digital Agency in Vancouver Canada.
He shares his story of late in life diagnosed with ADHD while running a successful Digital Agency. Prior to his ADHD diagnosis, he felt so alone and “deficient”, after his diagnosis he felt a huge relief that he is not alone and there are ways to manage his brain. For a while, he took no action about his ADHD diagnosis until he reached a tipping point in his business. He chose to take control of his brain and decided to take action. He reached out to me for coaching and today he shares his transformation.
JP talks about how he tackled his Dyslexia diagnosis in his 20s and saw the benefits of choosing to manage it and decided to choose to learn tools and strategies to manage his ADHD. He shares his experience before and after coaching and the change of his perception around his approach to task, leadership, goals, and focuses on how to make the most of his strengths.
JP is now thriving with his ADHD and is a more inspiring leader to his team.
As you listen to this episode it is important to note that the tools and strategies that JP talks about are his very unique way of managing ADHD. We got there by working together and helping him see his true strengths and how he can use them to make the most of his day.
Through ADHD Coaching, you can come up with your own unique solutions to manage your brain, understand how to use your strengths to achieve your goals, and remove the negative self-talk that holds you back from getting the results you have been striving towards.
More about JP Holecka, Founder and CEO of POWERSHiFTER
JP heads the vision and strategic direction of POWERSHiFTER. For over 30 years, he has been solving design, communications, and digital product challenges for clients such as Energizer, Deloitte, Mattel, TELUS, FitBit, and Western Union.

ADHD Diagnosis for adults and Treatment | Guest: Dr. Rannie Tao

In this episode, I speak with my family physician Dr. R. Tao. We discuss ADHD diagnosis/assessment, especially in adults. I felt it was important that I bring her on my show to give a perspective from a Physician who has gone above and beyond to understand ADHD and be able to recognize the signs in her patients and empower them to manage their mental health.
we covered the following areas:
Stressors and symptoms
How anxiety or other mood disorders go hand in hand with ADHD and it is important to assess for ADHD
Dr. Tao mentions the ASRS - adult ADHD self-report scale. The ASRS touches on symptoms of hyperactivity and symptoms of impulsivity in inattention. “It's one of the easiest scales we can administer in the office setting. It doesn't take too much time. And I do often find if somebody does have ADHD, when they go over that scale, they say to me, Oh, this is exactly me.”
Women and ADHD and how often they are not diagnosed till adulthood.
ADHD treatments - she goes deep into her strategy on medication approach and also talks about the non-medication route, nutrition, coaching, counseling, and much more.
Risks of untreated ADHD, especially in children who were not diagnosed and later on will struggle in adulthood. She gives great examples here at @15:00min mark.
be sure to listen to the end as she has an inspiring message for those who are late in life diagnosed with ADHD.
About Dr. Rannie Tao:
Rannie received her Medical Degree from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada after completing an undergraduate degree specializing in Pharmacology. She then completed her Family Medicine Residency in Vancouver, with a special interest in mental health, chronic pain, and geriatric medicine. Rannie enjoys being a family doctor because she is able to journey alongside her patients and families, learning with them, while providing a continuity of care. Rannie views herself as a patient’s sidekick, providing education and guidance so that they become engaged and informed in caring for their own health over time.
Remember to connect with my on Instagram @proudlyadhd_coachcathy or connect with me on Linkedin @cathyrashidian
If you enjoyed this episode, be sure to subscribe and leave a review, I love to hear how this show is helping you better understand ADHD

How to Manage ADHD in Relationships: Tips for Nurturing Meaningful Friendships

This episode is one honest back and forth between ADHD Coach and my good friend Sherri Cannon, and me. We each have some aha’s and do some existential pandemic pondering.
Sherri talks about the hairballs of unresolved stuff in our past that can block growth and stop us from becoming better versions of ourselves.
Then we talk about the times we want to let go and vent to a friend, but instead, tell ourselves how together or busy our friend is – who are we to complain?
Self-compassion and curiosity (which Cathy has been making friends with recently ) are essential. These keep us from endless ruminating and all those mental self-beatings.
At 22 mins, you might relate to our experience about the challenges for ADDers in making friends AND the goodness of discovering that lots of different types of friendships feed us.
Stay around (@33mins) for the close as we dive into a whole new topic on cognitive hangovers and talk about what kind of help our uniquely wired brains most need from us.
We felt that this was an important conversation to be shared publicly, as we often see this topic come up in our work with ADHD brains. So we hope that this conversation sparks a new insight for you and also know that you are not alone making sense of your complex brain wiring, we see you, we feel your struggle and are here to support you. 
Connect with Sherri Cannon: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherricannon/  
Connect with Cathy Rashidian: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cathyrashidian/

Transforming Your Life with ADHD Coaching: Gain Clarity, Focus, and Perspective

What is ADHD coaching? how does it work? how can someone with ADHD benefit from coaching? These are some of the questions I had when I was diagnosed and I now see it come up often in the ADHD community online.
In this episode, I share a snippet of an actual ADHD coaching session that I facilitated. Pls note that this person has ADHD , is not a client of mine, they agreed to be on the show/recording and wanted to experience ADHD coaching.
The session starts with her wanting to address her lack of motivation - as the session progressed we talked about her values, then in the middle of the call you hear a shift in her energy as we got deeper into her values. She has a shift in perspective when she realizes the root of lack of motivation is that she has been avoiding what truly makes her happy which are tied to her values.
As you listen to this coaching session, do you relate to what she is going through (I know I did)?
This is just a short snippet of how coaching can really bring out the best in you and help you realize what is the root cause of what is holding you back. ADHD or not, we all have our stories/reasons/excuses until you take the time and dissect what is really holding you back, you will continue to get in your own way of success and even management of your ADHD.
I am so honoured to be part of these shift in perspective with my clients and in this call it was my pleasure to help and witness this young lady experience a shift in mindset.  I want thank my guest for sharing her story with us, she was such a star and so open to seeing new possibilities.
My coaching is a partnership where I design a plan based on the your agenda – coaching takes what’s inside and translates it into outer goals that you accomplish step-by-step.
I hope this snippet gives you more insight into the endless possibilities of how ADHD Coaching can benefit you.
p.s. When you feel unmotivated, direction less, chances are you are not fully living by your values. Grab my free values assessment workbook and find your true north. https://www.readysetchoose.com/adhd-free-tools

ADHD at Work: How to Turn Challenges into Advantages | Guest: Dr. Ned Hallowell

It was an absolute pleasure to talk to Dr. Ned Hallowell in this special mini-episode. When I got my diagnosis of ADHD, the first book that I picked up on ADHD was Driven to Distraction (audiobook) by Dr. Hallowell. This book provided so much insight and clarity into my ADHD and for the first time, I didn’t feel alone in my head. Since then I have been listening to his podcast and continuing to follow his work on ADHD.
I am super excited to share this episode with you and truly grateful that he accepted my invitation to come to my show. We talked about how to adjust to new working conditions Ie. working from home. He talked about the importance of creating meaningful connections. The value of working with a coach to manage your ADHD, to disclose or not about your ADHD in the workplace, and finally his point of view on what steps to take if you have been diagnosed late in life with ADHD.
About:
Edward (Ned) Hallowell, M.D., is a board-certified child and adult psychiatrist, a thought leader, a NY Times bestselling author (including the 1994 Driven to Distraction that sparked a revolution in our understanding of ADHD), a world-renowned keynote speaker and a leading authority in the field of ADHD. He is a graduate of Harvard College and Tulane Medical School and was a Harvard Medical School faculty member for 21 years. He is the Founder of The Hallowell Centers in Boston MetroWest, New York City, San Francisco, and Seattle and the host of the popular Distraction podcast.
Follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and YouTube, and sign up for his free monthly e-newsletter by texting drhallowell to 22828.
I would love it if you left me a comment about how my podcast has been helping you with managing your ADHD.
Connect with me on Linkedin - Cathy Rashidian
Follow me on Instagram for tips and insights @proudlyadhd_coachcathy

Unlocking the Power of Neurodiversity in the Workplace | Guest: Rick Fiery

In this episode, I talk with Rick Fiery who is the co-founder of InventiveLabs which is located in Amesbury, Massachusetts. InventiveLabs is a research lab and business incubator that helps people with learning differences find their passions and take a gap year, explore careers or create a new business in an all-accepting environment.
We talk about the following points
Why companies need to start thinking differently about talent recruitment and the benefits of modifying the hiring process so that it is more inclusive, especially when it comes to neurodiversity.
He shares success stories on how they were able to gain a competitive edge by embracing a neurodiverse talent pool in his startups. 
He shares his approach in tapping and creating an omni-brain team to make the most of his team which was pivotal to the success of the startups he ran.
He talks about how Inventivelabs helps those who want to take the entrepreneurship route and how to work best with their ADHD brain and helping them define their strengths and weaknesses and aim it in the right place.
How to pick the right career environment that suits your needs and brain function
how organizations may potentially be excluding the Gamechangers from their businesses.
There is so much depth in this conversation with Rick, I encourage you to listen to the entire episode to get the full picture of the benefits of neurodiversity in the workplace.
Rick Fiery's TEDx talk - Capturing necessary brilliance: Learning differences unleashed! | Rick Fiery | TEDxAmoskeagMillyard
More about Rick Fiery:
He is the co-founder of InventiveLabs.org which is located in Amesbury, Massachusetts. InventiveLabs is a research lab and business incubator that helps people with learning differences find their passions and take a gap year, explore careers, or create a new business in an all-accepting environment. Rick has a passion for helping young adults with learning differences find alternative paths to success and believes with the right environment and supports, people with learning differences can achieve substantial success. Prior to InventiveLabs, Rick was the CEO of several startup companies that he created and grew before selling them to strategic buyers. One of his software companies grew to where it had subsidiaries in 6 countries and products sold in over 60 countries. He also ran the finance department for a large multinational software company generating over $330 million before departing to do another startup. Rick has a Bachelors and Masters in civil engineering from the University of Virginia and an MBA from the Wharton School of Business.
Don't forget to rate this show
Follow me on Instagram @produlyadhd_CoachCathy 

Managing Adult ADHD at Work: Can Workarounds Really Help?

In this episode my co-host Sherri Cannon and I talk about some of the common challenges professionals with ADHD can face in the workplace. they often want to know if they can be themselves – you know --bring their best work,  make their best contribution inside an organization.
When they look for answers,
they usually focus on masking,
laboring in private,
working in unorthodox yet highly effective ways for them, but they often do it out of sight for fear (from valid life experience) that they'll be viewed as…weird
They focus on these lifelong “workarounds” much more than they do on proactively making their environment work for them. In the long run, this will turn to lead to overwhelm, burn-out, or even resigning without much notice.
We address questions such as:
Can you really accept your ADHD and be able to work to your best potential?
We know the importance of being authentic but how do you do it in a way that comes from a place of strengths?
You can connect with Sherri Cannon and learn more about her, visit: https://www.beyondthebellcurve.life/
Please don't forget to leave us a comment and also rate the show, I am always looking for ways to improve each episode. 
Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @proudlyadhd_coachcathy  hmfFJrWokixLAm40VMlC

How to stay calm in times of big emotions | Guest: Dr. Jody Carrington

Get ready for a jam-packed episode full of light bulb moments with, its funny, loud, and extremely informative. Get your note pad ready cause you want to take notes on - Emotional regulation, Trauma, you are wired for hard times!
I talked with my special guest Dr. Jody, she is a dynamic speaker, with so much passion and loads of powerful messages. She talks about emotional regulation, “how to stay calm in times of big emotion”. How to manage our emotions we when are losing our mind. Due to our unique wiring, we tend to lose our minds much quicker and have a hard time managing our emotions. 
She gives a few tips on how to manage our emotions (name it to tame it) and also how to teach it to our children.
We also talked about trauma and the impact on the neurodiverse brain. She talks about the 10 experiences that could cause trauma before the age of 18 and how it can affect you in adulthood. This portion of the episode is a must listen to.
Be sure to listen to the end as she has a very important message for adults with ADHD.
You will want to listen to this episode a few times, it is that informative and engaging.
How to stay calm in times of big emotion
About Dr. Jody Carrington:
Over the past 15 years, Dr. Jody Carrington has assessed, treated, educated, and empowered some of our most vulnerable and precious souls on the planet. She is a child psychologist by trade, but Jody rarely treats kids. The answer lies, she believes, in the people who hold them. Especially when kids have experienced trauma, that’s when they need big people the most. Some of her favorites include educators, parents, first responders, and foster parents. Jody has shifted the way they think and feel about the holy work that they do.
Before Jody started her own practice and speaking across the country, she worked at the Alberta Children’s Hospital on the inpatient and day treatment units where she held families with some of the difficult stories. They taught her the most important lesson: we are wired to do hard things. We can handle those hard things so much easier when we remember this: we are wired for connection.
This all started when Jody received her Bachelor of Arts with Distinction from the University of Alberta. She completed a year-long internship with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police during that time and worked alongside families struggling with chronic illness at the Ronald McDonald House. She received her Master’s degree in Psychology at the University of Regina and completed her Ph.D. there as well, before completing her residency in Nova Scotia.
Her first book, Kids These Days: A Game Plan for (Re)Connecting with those we Teach, Lead & Love, came out in 2019 and sold 20,000 copies in just three months. It is now on Amazon’s Best Sellers List.
Mentioned References:
Dan Seigel - Dr. Dan Siegel's Hand Model of the Brain - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f-m2YcdMdFw
Dr. Vincent Felitti - https://acestoohigh.com/2012/10/03/the-adverse-childhood-experiences-study-the-largest-most-important-public-health-study-you-never-heard-of-began-in-an-obesity-clinic/
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Neurodiversity Career Platform | Guest: Alex Corner

In this episode I talk to the founder of Alex Corner, Founder of Amforus.com, “The World's First Platform Connecting Talented Candidates with Dyslexia, ADHD, or Autism With Inclusive Companies That Assess Skills, Experience and Not Education, or Interview Techniques.”
Alex shares his personal story of his late in life diagnosis of ADHD and saw the opportunity to create a career platform for job seekers who are neurodiverse and match up with the organizations who are ready to work with their unique skill set.
some of the points of this conversation:
you can have an even more successful career once you really understand your brain wiring better and how to seek out careers that you are best suited for.
What organizations need to do in order to tap into the neurodiverse talent pool, taking a truly inclusive approach during the interview process. Take the time to really understand the candidate and their strengths.
about Alex Corner:
Alex Corner is a financial services and technology sales, business development executive, entrepreneur, and investor.
He started his career on Wall Street and was responsible for managing multiple global businesses using his creative innovative idea to launch some of the most successful revenue-producing platforms.
After a 20 year Wall Street career across the UK, Hong Kong, and settling in the USA, Alex transitioned from front office trading into technology, selling digital transformation solutions to multi-cloud environments, event-driven, and streaming data. (SaaS, PaaS, IaaS, DaaS) migrating companies to modern architecture.
During the decision for a career change, he was diagnosed with adult dyslexia and ADHD, which had prevented him from completing college, and ruled out specific jobs. Fortunately, he was able to rely on experience and network. Reflecting on the experience, he studied hiring techniques, criteria, and behavioral neurodiverse analysis. Watching his son demonstrate creativity, test results ignored and witnessed people who had tremendous coding skills rejected due to poor interview techniques.
This got Alex working on solving a problem, how were people without a track record, or exceptional grades, a global network going to secure a job they love without the grades or degree companies required, although they had tremendous talent. – This is why Amforus.com was created.