It can be tricky, especially remotely, to manage someone who has some amount of ADHD. Sometimes it can be a bit of a super power, but sometimes it can lead a person to get stuck below Sr. Engineer, or languishing at that level.

A very helpful metaphor that I heard somewhere along the way is:

Teams are like a person with ADHD.

To flush it out a bit. Teams need:

• Clear goals
• Defined tasks
• Regular process feedback loops
• Frequent course adjustment check-ins

Whiiiiiich are pretty much the exact things that folks with ADHD need from you as well.

It's often not that clear, but I've found that the metaphor is a place to start working backwards into something that fits. It makes the managing much more approachable rather than thinking that you need to have a deep understanding of ADHD and how it's impacting this particular person. Everyone is different but we all have similar challenges.

P.S. Happi Pi Day!