What does good leadership look like when the traditional way of working doesn’t necessarily work for you?

In this episode, Karen welcomes Jess Jasch back to talk about her experience as an autistic and ADHD leader. They explore what neurodivergent leadership can look like in practice, from understanding your own needs and communicating differently to masking, burnout and the assumptions we make when someone appears to be coping well.

It’s also a broader conversation about leadership. Because whether someone is neurodivergent or not, people don’t all need the same environment, communication style or way of working to perform at their best.

In today’s episode, you will learn about:

→ Why neurodivergent leaders can find traditional expectations around leadership, availability and the workplace more draining than they appear from the outside.

→ Why supporting neurodivergent employees doesn’t have to start with a diagnosis, and the simple question leaders can ask instead: What do you need to succeed in your role?

→ How small changes to communication — including giving context rather than simply messaging “Can we talk?” — can make it easier for people to process information and show up prepared.

→ The difference between adapting the way someone works and lowering performance expectations, and why the optics of work don’t always tell us much about actual performance.

→ How leaders can model their own needs and create greater safety for other people to ask for what helps them work well.

→ Why describing neurodivergence as a “superpower” can overlook the very real challenges and accommodations that may sit alongside someone’s strengths.

→ What masking can cost someone over time, including the active recovery that colleagues and managers may never see.

→ Why someone performing well isn’t necessarily the same as someone coping well — and why the person who always seems capable may still need you to check in.

Jess also shares some of what she learned through writing her book, Leaders Who Thrive: A Mindful Antidote to Disconnected Teams, and why completing it changed the way she thinks about taking on difficult projects.

Connect with Jess and find out more about her book:
https://jessicajasch.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessicajasch/

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Visit https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/for more insights and resources.

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Need to hire someone before Christmas? Sometimes the deadline is genuine. Someone has resigned, the team is stretched, or there is work that simply needs to be done before the end of the year.

But sometimes Christmas becomes a deadline simply because it feels like everything needs to be finished before the break.

In this episode, I look at how to tell the difference and how to move through your recruitment process quickly without turning it into a rushed hiring decision.

I also look at what the Australian recruitment market is telling us at the moment, why a more structured process can actually help you hire faster, and the conversation I think every business should have before they start recruiting: what will we do if we don't find the right person?

In this episode, you'll hear about:

→ What “we need someone before Christmas” actually means — and why your real deadline may be different from the one in your head.

→ Why recruitment can suddenly feel urgent in October and November, particularly when a team has been absorbing extra work for some time.

→ What current Australian employment data tells us about the recruitment market and why the experience can be very different depending on the role you're trying to fill.

→ The difference between a fast recruitment process and a rushed one, and where unnecessary delays often creep in.

→ Why getting clear on what somebody needs to bring from day one — and what you can reasonably teach them — becomes even more important when you're under time pressure.

→ How structured interviews can make the final decision easier rather than slowing recruitment down.

→ Which parts of recruitment you can compress, and why reference checks and important assessments shouldn't disappear simply because Christmas is getting closer.

→ Why having a Plan B before you start recruiting can stop you choosing the “least worst” candidate just to meet a deadline.

→ How to work backwards from your Christmas hiring deadline so you know early whether the timeframe is actually realistic.

If you're hiring before Christmas, the aim isn't simply to get someone into the role before the break. It's to move quickly where you can, keep the parts of the process that help you make a good decision, and still feel confident about that decision when you come back in January.

Related episodes:

How to Run a Simple Recruitment Process for Small Business – Episode 151
https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/podcast-episodes/s02e151-how-to-run-a-simple-recruitment-process-for-small-business-with-daniel-moussa/

Informal vs Structured Job Interviews: Why a Chat Over Coffee Doesn't Work – Episode 38
https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/podcast-episodes/s02e38-informal-vs-structured-job-interviews-why-a-chat-over-coffee-doesnt-work/

The 9 Hiring Mistakes That Cost You Time, Money and Team Morale – Episode 134
https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/podcast-episodes/s02e134-the-9-hiring-mistakes-that-cost-you-time-money-and-team-morale/

Visit https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/ for more insights and resources.

Send us Fan Mail

Download our free guide, “Getting Stuff Done Through Your People,” giving you the tools to build a culture where people take ownership, goals get achieved, and results follow.

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/downloadable/getting-stuff-done-through-your-people/

What happens when your company values sound good on paper, but don’t actually influence how people behave?

In this episode, Karen is joined by Hope Collins to explore why values like integrity, respect and excellence can be so open to interpretation, and what businesses can do to turn those values into clear, observable behaviours.

Hope shares her approach to creating commitments that help people understand what’s expected of them and give managers a much stronger foundation for accountability conversations. Karen and Hope also discuss why leaders need to hold themselves to the same standards, how clearer expectations can contribute to a safer and more respectful workplace, and why structure can actually give employees more confidence and freedom at work.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• Why people can genuinely believe they’re living the company values while behaving in very different ways

• How to translate broad values into clear behaviours people can understand and demonstrate

• Why values like integrity can be difficult to use in performance and accountability conversations

• How clearer expectations can make accountability easier for managers

• Why leaders need to model the same behaviours they expect from their teams

• The connection between clear expectations, respectful workplaces and psychosocial risks

• Why more structure doesn’t necessarily mean micromanagement

• A practical first step for making your company values more meaningful over the next month

If you have company values but you’re not sure they’re influencing what happens day to day, this conversation will give you some practical ideas for closing the gap between what your organisation says it values and how people actually behave.

#findgrowkeep #workplaceculture #companyvalues

Make sure to subscribe to stay updated with new releases on Mondays!

Visit https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/ for more insights and resources.

Connect with Hope: https://www.linkedin.com/in/hopercollins/

Send us Fan Mail

Download our free guide, “Getting Stuff Done Through Your People,” giving you the tools to build a culture where people take ownership, goals get achieved, and results follow.

https://www.amplifyhr.com.au/downloadable/getting-stuff-done-through-your-people/