The High-Performance Safety Net: Navigating Overwhelm, AuDHD, and Team Culture
As someone with level 2 Autism and masking skills that should put me high on the list of candidates applying for NIDA (National Institute for the Dramatic Arts), much of my struggles under pressure are silent but exhausting. In childhood I learned not to complain and to try very hard to not react with my face because I would be in trouble if I expressed myself. As an adult I have been learning who will have my back when the overwhelm starts to sneak in, but it still feels risky.
I spent 15 years almost completely bed-ridden due to fibromyalgia with no disability supports and limited options for pain management. Since receiving disability supports and undergoing gender transition, I have been able to return to work, advance in my studies, improve my fitness and even come back to performing. Being a performer is the most important thing in my life, and it was miserable to not engage in performance for over 2 decades. \
When I returned to performing, I was a bit nervous about if I could still do it. There is a lot to remember and a lot of movement. The sensory impacts from the lights, smells in the theatre and sounds on stage that can feel pretty overwhelming if you don’t have Autism or ADHD, let alone with. Would I remember my lines? Would I remember my tracking across the stage? Would I remember choreography? How would I negotiate all of the new social demands with a whole community that was utterly new to me? A bit nervous might be an understatement. On the first day of rehearsal for The Boy from Oz I was so nervous, I thought I would pass out. I looked so nervous the director came over to check I wasn’t going to bolt out of the room.
Then Nick Joy came barrelling up to me with the biggest grin on his face and let me know he was going to be my son in the show. He was so friendly and kind, I felt so much better for having someone break the ice and reassure me I was welcome there. Over time I have come to know and love much of the Toowoomba performing arts community and I genuinely believe that we have something special here. I make sure if there is someone new, that I welcome them as I was welcomed.
But how does this relate to overwhelm and high performance, I hear you ask? This fluffy stuff isn’t why you clicked on this blog.
I assure, dear reader, that it has everything to do with it. As I learn how to move through this world, I am learning that everything we do as humans is relational. I am able to perform as I do in part through my skills and discipline, but also, and this is crucial, because of my relationships with the teams I perform with. They are my safety net and I am theirs. On paper, I should not be able to achieve the things I do, but it is possible with the right teams and right supports.
How are you supporting the teams in your business? How are you supporting people who might be your most valuable assets if the barriers holding them back are removed? There are times at work when everyone needs to pull together to get big things done. Let me assure you, you succeed or fail based on how strong your teams are and how well support needs are met across the team. And every worker has support needs, it’s just the supports for neurotypical people are built into “standard” work structures, but for people with disabilities there are usually some that are missing.
Contact me to set up a free 10-15 minute meeting to discuss how I can work with you to strengthen your team culture in your business and address support needs in your workforce.
Written by Taz Clifford
Principal IDEA HR Consulting
