How to Harness ADHD to Drive Business Growth

By Donna McGrath

How to Harness ADHD to Drive Business Growth

The smartest leaders are looking for untapped performance potential and one of the most overlooked assets is ADHD talent.  

Why?

It is still not fully understood.

I was a Solicitor for 16 years and worked as a senior lawyer in FTSE legal teams, and I left the industry because of the incredible overwhelm I consistently experienced. What I didn’t understand then was that I had ADHD.

If I had known, I would have understood, I would have sought out and got the right support.  And I would have likely stayed in my career. Now, I see the strategic advantage ADHD brings to companies, but to unlock it, leaders must know how to harness it. I coach legal leaders and teams to retain top talent (often with ADHD) by teaching strategies that boost productivity without burnout. Below are 5 key strategies to unlock the ADHD potential in your business, so you avoid losing your best people and drive business growth.

Why this Matters

In the UK, around 3–4% of adults are formally diagnosed with ADHD, but actual prevalence is likely closer to 5–8%, particularly in high-pressure sectors like law, finance, and leadership. ¹

Your ADHD people are likely to be among of your most strategically talented because they are:

·         Fast, strategic problem-solvers,

·         Intuitive leaders and values driven decision-making,

·         Innovative through rapid pattern recognition,

·         Big-picture thinkers and highly emotional intelligent.

However, many are overcompensating, burning out, or leaving, not due to lack of capability, but because the environment isn’t built for how they operate.

By creating environments where ADHD professionals can thrive, you not only reduce these risks, but you also unlock competitive advantage through diverse, agile thinking and sustainable high performance.

This isn’t just about inclusion. It’s strategic workforce design.

Five Strategic Principles to Unlock ADHD Performance 

No 1. Understand the Signs.

Being "ADHD-aware" means recognising how it shows up, especially in high performers who’ve learned to mask it.

Here are some of the signs to look out for:

·         Hyperfocus – Tunnel vision on tasks at the cost of context, meals, or rest.

·         Time blindness – they will always be late, not on purpose. Just poor time. estimation or sequencing.

·         Working memory lapses – Losing a thought mid-task or mid-sentence.  Forgetting to agree next steps.

·         Emotionally sensitive – High EQ, but strong reactions to feedback or perceived rejection.

·         Impulsive – Quick, intuitive decisions that may skip over finer detail or risk nuance.

Be aware that most people with high-functioning ADHD develop workarounds to appear “fine” on the surface.  So, watch closely.  

Left unmanaged leads to burnout, causing potential claims, loss of people and top talent.

No 2. Create Focus & Structure.

The challenge for ADHD isn’t laziness, it’s focus.  

ADHD brains are very creative and wired for stimulation and strategy.  They connect distant dots, often seeing risks, opportunities, and connections others miss. Taking tasks beyond the original scope.

Without the ‘right’ structure, their focus simply does not exist.  They seem inefficient or not delivering results, but the truth is, you haven’t provided the right structure to focus their ADHD brain.

So, give them a clear target and a framework to focus their energy.

A good structure has,

·         Clear outcomes – Define the goal, not every step.

·         Mini-targets – Break it down into bite-sized wins.

·         Regular check-ins – Anchor progress without micromanaging.

·         Room to explore – Allow a controlled space to follow tangents and connect the wider dots, that’s often where genius lives.

·         Protected focus time – One interruption can erase the whole train of thought.

Without it, they'll feel ineffective, unvalued, and are likely to leave.

No 3. Allow Others to Work Differently

People with ADHD have often been told they’re too much, too emotional, too chaotic or not enough of the "right" things.  They then feel shame, and this is the silent killer of performance.  They often need to be in many different environments to stimulate their focus.

So, create a culture where it’s safe to say: “I work differently” and ask others how they work best.

That means:

·         In team meetings, discuss how the ADHD brain works differently.

·         Discuss the strengths of ADHD and how other team members can leverage this. 

·         Adapt your meetings, one of my clients had her best ideas while walking. Her manager embraced walking meetings. Her output soared.

When people are free to work in ways that match how their brains operate, you unlock levels of clarity, creativity, and contribution most businesses never reach.

No 4. Create Psychological Safety 

Psychological safety is not soft; it’s a growth strategy. It’s how innovation takes root. It’s what turns silent observers into bold contributors. 

For people with ADHD, it is non-negotiable.  Many live with RSD – Rejection sensitivity disorder, where subtle criticism or being cut off can feel intensely personal. When that happens, they retreat. Not because they lack ideas — but because they don’t feel safe to share them.

And others will be watching how safe it is to speak up.

Do you create the space for people to risk speaking up? 

Also, the person with ADHD in the room are your most creative.  But if they feel stifled by control, and judgement they won’t feel free to contribute and you’ve probably just lost on your best ideas and opportunity are gone. 

5. Stop Burnout

People with ADHD often take on too much and overdeliver to prove their worth.  Why? They are people pleasers!   Which is a great attitude, but for someone with ADHD, they don’t see the boundary.  They take responsibility for work that isn’t theirs, just to help.   

The red flag is, if someone is consistently working late or continually saying I am doing this to help.  It isn’t that they are inefficient; it’s that they take on too much.  It’s not that they cannot say no. The reward of making others feel good is just very validating.

So, if you see this, they may have undiagnosed ADHD.

It’s an expensive lesson for you and your organisation, as they will either have to take sick leave, take a claim, or leave completely, as I did. 

As a leader, you must recognise and interrupt this pattern.

Ask them to create a list of what they are working on and monitor it. 

Some of your best people are highly likely to be ADHD. When you understand how to create an environment where they can flourish, you will have highly performing talent who will stay.

• Take the Assessment - To see how your business compares to industry leaders unlocking ADHD strengths for competitive edge.  How Well Is Your Business Designed to Harness ADHD Strengths?

Donna McGrath is the UK’s only accredited leadership coach and mentor focused exclusively on in-house lawyers. A former FTSE senior solicitor with 16 years’ experience, she now helps legal and business leaders become strategic drivers of value — building ADHD-smart, emotionally intelligent, high-performing teams.

Diagnosed with ADHD in 2025, Donna realised her strengths as a strategic legal leader stemmed from the very traits she was once told to suppress. Today, she teaches legal functions how to harness those traits to boost performance, drive share value, and improve retention.