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Neurodiversity Global
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Scenario 03

The engineer missing moving priorities

Software Engineer · ADHD disclosed

Persona

Name
Alex
Age
34
Role
Software Engineer
Disclosure
Alex has disclosed ADHD. They have said that context switching, unclear priorities and decisions spread across different channels make it harder to stay aligned.
Context
Alex is strong in deep work. When the task is clearly defined, they produce high-quality work and often solve difficult technical problems. The issue appears when requirements shift across meetings, messages, tickets and quick verbal updates. The team is moving quickly, and decisions are not always captured in one place. Since the restructure, two of the people now making decisions about Alex's work sit in a different function.

Record

  • Strong technical output.

  • Good problem-solving.

  • Works well with clear task ownership.

  • Has missed two informal requirement changes.

  • Finds repeated status meetings draining.

  • Has asked for one clear source of truth.

Scenario

Alex is working on a software update linked to a product improvement. The original ticket is clear. During the week, the requirement changes after a few conversations between product, engineering and operations. Some of the update is mentioned in a meeting. Another part is discussed in a message thread. The ticket itself is not updated. Alex submits work that matches the original ticket but not the latest decision. The work is technically good, but it is no longer the right output. The product lead says: We talked about this three times. Alex says: I cannot track decisions if they live in four different places.

"I cannot track decisions if they live in four different places."

What happened after

Alex became frustrated and started avoiding quick verbal updates because they did not trust them. Product colleagues felt Alex was being difficult. The manager noticed more tension in planning meetings. The team now has two problems: missed alignment and reduced trust.

Now, in your groups

Discuss in your group

  1. 01

    What is Alex accountable for, and what is the team accountable for?

  2. 02

    Where should decisions live, and who is responsible for putting them there?

  3. 03

    What would the manager need to say to the product team, not just to Alex?

  4. 04

    If this happens again next month, what would tell you the fix has worked?

The stretch of discussion

The easy answer is that Alex needs to keep up. The harder question is whether the team has made it possible to keep up. If the source of truth is not updated, managers should not be surprised when people work from outdated information. The stretch is to hold Alex accountable for checking the agreed source, while also holding the team accountable for maintaining that source.

What if there was no disclosure?

Even without disclosure, the manager should not rely on memory-based working as the default. The question should still be: Where should decisions live? Who updates the ticket? When does a change become official? How do we confirm understanding before work continues? This is not only an ADHD issue. It is a team operating issue.

Capture your thinking

Group output

Use this to note what your group lands on. One person can capture for the share-back, then save to send it to the facilitator review.