A conversation with Laura Anthony on neuroinclusion, disability law, communication, and why great minds don't think alike — exploring how leaders can create stronger teams by making space for different brains, different perspectives, and more human ways of working. Episode Date: May 26th Host: Adam Kleckner (Head of Strategy at LinkTech), Devon Walker (Head of Recruiting at LinkTech) ________________________________________ Summary: Laura Anthony is an inclusive leader, disability and education lawyer, mediator, and neurodiversity advocate whose belief that great minds don't think alike started long before her career — with a grandmother who lost her right hand and kept painting, and a mother whose brain injury left her French intact while everything else shifted. In this conversation she breaks down why neuroinclusion is a talent, cultural, and performance imperative, why curiosity is the most underused leadership tool, and why you can't policy your way into inclusion. ________________________________________ Main Topics: ● The family origin story behind "great minds don't think alike" ● Why leaders confuse communication style with capability — and how that assumption skews everything ● The curb cut effect and why neuroinclusive design benefits everyone, not just neurodivergent people ● Why neuroinclusion is more than accommodation — it's a rising tide that lifts all boats ● How curiosity stops risky assumptions before they become wrong conclusions ● The COVID video call moment that proved a curious question beats a panicked assumption ● Why different ways of thinking matter more in the age of AI, not less ● The myth she'd retire: neurodiversity as always a superpower ________________________________________ Intriguing Quotes: "Great minds don't think alike." "Confusing communication style with capability — that's where everything else starts to skew." "Neuroinclusion is a talent imperative, a cultural imperative, and a performance imperative." "When we don't understand someone's behaviour, we fill those gaps with assumptions and stop being curious." "You can really live inclusion in the smaller moments — how you run a meeting, how you give feedback." "One word for a truly neuroinclusive workplace? Connected." ________________________________________ Key Moments: ● [02:09] The origin story: grandmother loses her right hand, keeps painting with the other. Mother survived a brain injury and lost everything — except her French. A family where ability just didn't always look how people expected. ● [09:23] The biggest leadership mistake: confusing communication style with capability. Someone processes out loud, needs more time, avoids eye contact — and it gets called a performance issue or a culture fit problem. ● [13:26] Why neuroinclusion goes beyond accommodation — if 50%+ of Gen Z identifies as neurodivergent, separate programs just keep othering the majority of your incoming workforce. ● [24:44] The COVID video call: staff think Laura's mom has had a stroke. Everyone's panicking. Laura takes a breath, gets curious, asks: "How do you like my hair?" Her mom sits up and says she hates it. No stroke. Just tired of people. ● [30:06] Why different thinking matters more in the age of AI: the tasks AI can't replicate come from out-of-the-box thinkers. Neuroinclusion isn't just the right thing — it's the competitive thing. ● [31:03] The myth she'd retire: neurodiversity as always a superpower. It glosses over real challenges and can feel dismissive to someone navigating sensory overload or a system not designed for them. ________________________________________ Notable Resources: ● Concepts: Curb cut effect; universal neuroinclusive design; neurodiversity vs. neurodivergence; curiosity as leadership tool; communication under pressure ________________________________________ Connect with Laura Anthony: ● LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lauraganthony/ ________________________________________ Connect with The Human Advantage Podcas