Today we're talking about one of the most overlooked skills in leadership, understanding how different people think, work, and communicate.

My guest, Laura Anthony, has spent decades helping leaders strengthen connections with their teams through the lens of neurodiversity and brain science.

In this conversation, we explore the skills needed to communicate effectively with people who think differently,

recognizing that not all brains work the same way. We'll talk about how to approach these conversations with respect and curiosity,

the risks of making assumptions or getting it wrong, and how thoughtful communication can become a powerful

tool for conflict resolution, trust,

and ultimately unlocking innovation within your team.

Whether you're leading a company, managing a team, or just trying to connect better with the people

in your life, this conversation will give you practical ways to build trust and create an

environment where everyone can thrive.

Let's jump in.

I would be interested to know when it comes to, especially what you talk about, with neurodiversity,

how does that translate across cultures?

It's really interesting because there are different expectations,

there's different acceptance levels in different countries. There was a really interesting study about masking. Do you know what that is? Masking is the concept of when I'm in a space, I'm going to try to mask the fact that I need a particular support or I need a particular accommodation.

I'm going to try to look like I don't have that need.

And there was an interesting cross-cultural study about the level of masking in the UK and the relationship between your own mental health, between UK and in Japan.

So in the UK, the idea is I want to be myself, be my authentic self. And so when I'm

masking, I'm not being my authentic self, so my mental health is going to suffer. But in Japan,

where the expectation is you are going to fit into this particular norm, less masking is seen as a decrease of your mental

health. So there's the inverse. So just some interesting things that I had to think about as I'm

training a global team. Yeah. Fascinating. So when it comes to neurodiversity, just awareness or acceptance, I know it's becoming more and more

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