While not nearly enough research has been done on ADD’s benefits, we have compiled a list of attributes that seems to apply to many employees with ADD. This list has been gathered over our years of working with the ADD community, but there is limited research that might explain why people with ADD may exhibit these qualities.

It’s important to note that just as every employee may not be impacted by the same ADD symptoms, each individual with ADD has unique skills and advantages. Within the ADD community, these advantages are often times referred to as “ADD Superpowers”.

CREATIVITY

People with ADD can be some of the most creative resources on a team, bringing energy and new approaches to their projects. Several studies have shown that adults with ADD tend to be out-of-the-box thinkers. A study done at the University of Memphis (White & Shah, 2011) confirmed what many experts have told us, and many ADD books claim: People with ADD tend to be more creative than their Non-ADD peers. In the study, 30 ADD students scored higher than their peers on 11 different tests for creativity. (Read more about the White & Shah study.) This tendency for creativity was further confirmed through a series of three experiments and approximately 1,000 participants attending a Dutch university (Boot, Nevicka, and Baas, 2017).

HYPER-FOCUSED, QUALITY & TIMELINESS

When focused on work that aligns with their interests and strengths, individuals with ADD frequently draw upon their strength of hyper-focus and deliver results that easily offset any (often minimal) costs associated with accommodations. Organizations can create a competitive advantage by capitalizing on the diversity ADD minds bring to their teams.

EXCELLENT IN A WORK CRISIS

A recent study also found that the ADD brain tends to produce more Theta waves than average brains. Theta waves indicate a state of deep relaxation, and ADD employees’ over-abundance of theta waves can make them great in a crisis. We often see higher rates of ADD among E.R. doctors and nurses, police officers, fire and rescue personnel, journalists, stock traders, professional athletes, and entertainers. When others are in crisis, those with ADD can be cool, calm and under control.

INTUITIVE & DETAILED-ORIENTED

ADDers seem to notice things others miss, sometimes to the point of seeming extraordinarily intuitive or (dare we say!) psychic! The average brain manages to sort and filter all incoming sights, sounds, tastes, smells, and touch sensations to a manageable 40 bits of information per second. The ADD brain is overloaded with sensory input and faces issues with Executive Functions – sorting, filtering, discarding, prioritizing, following through, tracking progress, following procedures. Since the ADD brain lets in a lot of what some employees might consider irrelevant noise, sometimes, ADDers are able to notice things that others naturally filter out.

QUICK STARTERS

While impulsivity is an ADD symptom, that often means that people with ADD are quick starters. They jump right in without worrying or doing endless research. If your team is resistant to risk, resistant to change, hung up on process and procedure, you know it can take forever to get anything done. People resist change and will stick with systems even if they don’t work, or get stuck in analysis paralysis. Although sometimes, employees with ADD struggle to get started, but often, once they do get going on something that they’re passionate about, they are able to hyper-focus!

THE LIST GOES ON…

Our list is by no means extensive and you’ll likely find yourself adding to the list as you get to know your ADD employee.

  • Ability to find unique solutions to difficult problems
  • Adventurous, courageous, thinks “outside the box”
  • Being able to derive patterns where others see chaos
  • Able to talk about many different topics at one time
  • Constant evolution, continual learning
  • Good in a crisis – Some of the most stressful jobs are staffed by those with ADD
  • Seemingly endless desire to try new ideas, tasks and projects
  • Empathetic and intuitive
  • Entrepreneurial. See Succeeding with a Lack of Structure: Tips for Working on Your Own for advice from a successful entrepreneur with ADD.
  • Continual source of new ideas, methods and strategies
  • Ability to see many if not all sides of a situation
  • Resourceful