A conversation with Dr. Tiffany Jameson on neuroinclusion and why better leadership begins when managers pause, listen, and see the whole person beyond a label.
Host: Adam Kleckner (Head of Strategy at LinkTech), Devon Walker (Head of Recruiting at LinkTech)
Summary:
Dr. Tiffany Jameson is an organizational psychologist, neurodiversity specialist, researcher, LinkedIn Learning instructor, and founder of grit & flow. Her work began after learning about unemployment among autistic adults and recognizing that responsibility for inclusion was being placed almost entirely on neurodivergent people. Tiffany explains why person-centered workplaces require shared responsibility, safe conversations, clear expectations, and managers willing to escape the assumption trap. She also offers practical ways to design hiring, onboarding, and accommodations around how people work.
Main Topics:
Seeing the whole person beyond diagnoses and labels
The assumption trap—and why leaders need to pause
Shared responsibility between employers and employees
Teaching people to explain how they learn and work
Training managers for accommodation conversations
Embedding inclusion into everyday behavior
Designing jobs around real environments
Using work samples without exploiting candidates
Why accommodations are simpler than many assume
Intriguing Quotes:
"I'm not just one label. I'm not just one thing."
"Pause and stop yourself from that assumption trap."
"We work differently, we think differently, we communicate differently. Not bad, not good, just different."
"People want a magic pill—but it's a behavior change, it's a process change, and it's a culture change."
"Just because you're neurodivergent doesn't mean you're broken."
"If we're not modeling this behavior of self-acceptance, then how do we expect to be asking it of others?"
"It's not an initiative. It's daily practices we can change."
Key Moments:
[02:24] The statistic that activated Tiffany's "mama bear mode" and led her to research autism employment.
[03:50] Person-centered work: cognitive diversity includes neurology, culture, gender, economics, and lived experience—not one label.
[07:30] Escaping the assumption trap: when behavior changes, ask what happened before judging performance.
[11:39] Inclusion as a two-way street: employees need language for their needs, while employers must know how to respond.
[17:18] Tiffany recalls being told her autistic son had no future; today he lives independently and is completing two majors and a minor.
[22:33] Why corporate efforts remain performative—and why a training video cannot create lasting inclusion.
[23:19] Real change takes sustained behavior, process, and culture work, not a magic solution.
[25:19] Clear job descriptions are inclusion tools because they define how success will be measured.
[26:03] Skills are only part of fit; noise, smells, pace, customers, and lighting also shape performance.
[27:58] Reducing first-day anxiety by showing candidates what the workplace will feel like.
[32:48] Work trials can reveal ability, but asking candidates for dozens of unpaid hours is exploitative.
[39:39] The myth Tiffany wants retired: neurodivergent people are broken.
[42:55] What never appears fully on her résumé: compassion applied through emotional intelligence.
[45:25] Her closing challenge: skip the giant initiative and change one daily practice at a time.
Notable Resources:
grit & flow: https://gritandflow.com/
Connect with Dr. Tiffany Jameson:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanypaytonjameson/
Connect with The Human Advantage Podcast:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/thelinktech/
www.thelinktech.com