Article 6: The Power of Vision – Making Leadership Visible Through Rhythms Learned From Neurodivergent Leaders

Cover of "Learning from Neurodivergent Leaders" by Dr. Nancy Doyle, a guide exploring how neurodivergent individuals can effectively start and excel in leadership roles, offering insights into leveraging unique perspectives for driving success.

Part 6: Forged by Difference – Blog Series on Neurodivergent Leadership

Inspired by Dr. Nancy Doyle’s Learning from Neurodivergent Leaders

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What if your team can’t see your vision…because you’re not showing it?

Most leaders don’t struggle with having a vision. They struggle to make that vision visible. And as Dr. Nancy Doyle reveals in Learning from Neurodivergent Leaders, vision builds trust only when it shows up in your everyday rhythms and not just in slide decks or all-hands meetings.

In her research, Doyle found that the most effective neurodivergent leaders didn’t lead with speeches. They led with habits. They built trust through consistent behaviors. They made their vision clear by embodying it, day in and day out, in small, visible actions.

I saw this firsthand with my son, Kirby. After his autism diagnosis, abstract rules and explanations fell flat. ‘Show don’t tell’ took on a new meaning. When we used visual schedules, steady routines, and intentionally consistent responses then he was able to internalize the information and directions. He didn’t need more talking. He needed to see consistent rhythms of actions. And truthfully? Most teams do too.

When I worked with marketing teams, I noticed that companies rarely failed because their vision statements were bad. They failed because their leaders’ behaviors didn’t match their messaging. When a leader says “innovation is a priority” but leaves no space for curiosity or talks about inclusion but allocates zero resources to support it the dissonance is visible and obvious. People don’t follow words. They follow patterns. Leaders show their teams who they are by how they choose to spend their time, put their resources, and not so much how they use their words.

Neurodivergent insight teaches us that psychological safety isn’t just about being nice, it’s about being predictable. Trust grows when people know what to expect, and when your actions consistently align with your stated values.

Here are four leadership rhythms that either reinforce, or quietly erode, the vision you are trying to get folks behind:

1. Your calendar is your strategy. How you spend your time signals what matters. If your schedule doesn’t align with your stated priorities, your team will believe your calendar and not your words.

   
   

2. What you recognize becomes your culture. The moments you highlight, especially the small, everyday ones, signal what gets valued in your life. Are you celebrating behaviors that match your vision?

   
   
3. 
   

   The questions you ask, and not what you tell them, shape your team’s focus. If you only tell them what to do or ask only about performance metrics and never ask about people or purpose, your team will chase numbers and check-lists instead of your vision and strategy.

   
   

4. Your resource allocation is your vision statement.You can’t say inclusion matters while investing nothing in accessibility or training. If you declare innovation a top priority but devote zero budget or time to experimentation, learning, or cross-functional collaboration, then your team will take the hint: your vision is just talk. Where you spend time, energy, and resources is how your teams will determine what is your true vision and strategy.

   
   

Doyle notes that many neurodivergent leaders have a heightened sensitivity to inconsistency. What may feel like a minor mismatch to neurotypical team members registers as a deep misalignment to them. That discomfort becomes a leadership superpower because it drives them to walk their talk. Neurodivergent leaders are naturals at ‘show don’t tell’.

So if your vision feels like it’s not landing, ask yourself:

Are you saying it or showing it? Is your leadership rhythm reinforcing your message or canceling it out?

Your team is watching.

Visible behavioral rhythm is how they’ll know your vision is real.

What’s one leadership habit you could make more consistent to bring your vision to life?