Managing with Asperger Syndrome

Malcolm Johnson

• Publisher: Jessica Kingsley Publishers
• Year: 2004
• Print ISBN: 9781843101994
• eBook ISBN: 9781846420290
• Topic: Psychology
• Subtopic: Autism Spectrum Disorders
• Index: Psychology

This insider account provides much-needed information about a subject of increasing interest: people with Asperger Syndrome (AS) working in management positions. Johnson draws on his personal experiences to explain how elements such as the working environment, managing staff, group dynamics and office politics can have a profound influence on work performance. He provides useful examples and guidance on adapting to the workplace and coping with the pressures and demands of professional roles.

Full of practical advice, this book will be essential reading for anyone with AS in employment as well as their managers, colleagues, family and friends, as well as supporting professionals.

1	Introduction

‘Yes: but what about the consumer?’

I was in a meeting with the new divisional director – a former marketing professional himself – whose first words to me were this question. Starting with the consumer is, after all, what all professional marketers are taught to do, for building a product that meets the needs of consumers is the central objective of marketing! It was therefore an obvious question for anybody who worked in marketing to ask a fellow professional…but I just could not think straight or find the correct answers.

It was easy enough when I thought about it later, when I wasn’t under pressure; all the subject matter and related detail came hard and fast: core audience 15 to 24 – in other words, teenagers and young adults; totally product-led; and a price barrier of around £5.

Having said that, this was no ordinary meeting. It was the first time that we had met the new divisional, main board director. He was a hard, aggressive, ‘give-the-answers-to-me-straight’ type of character whose approach represented a change in the management style that I had been accustomed to, and change is something that, as a person with AS, I was uncomfortable with.

The meeting had been sprung on us with deliberately at short notice so that we had no prior warning or indication what to expect. We had been told at four o’clock on the previous Friday afternoon to report to the head office at nine o’clock on Monday morning, and the managing director, who had met the new director a couple of times before and knew what he was like, had not mentioned anything. I was totally unprepared.

What was worse was that I knew why he was asking these questions, but felt unable to provide the correct answers. The business approach of the company was essentially financial in emphasis and totally contrary to the central objective of marketing – namely, investing in products, services and promotion to satisfy the needs of customers.

Consequently, the shortcomings and negative image that I believed surrounded the company’s core product were not being addressed even though I believed – and had argued passionately – that they should have been. The company hadn’t provided me with the resources: indeed, the senior management did not understand why it was necessary. Every time that I had advocated doing research to identify consumer needs so that marketing activity could address the identified shortcomings, I had been met with a negative response. If I had spoken the truth in this meeting with the new divisional director, it would have meant putting my boss in a poor light: but being anything other than totally truthful and loyal as dictated by my Asperger Syndrome was something that I found uncomfortable and virtually impossible to do!

As the questions came hard and fast I felt under even more pressure. The room was packed with colleagues and I was aware of them watching. It was the sort of tense group gathering that I had never handled well. I began to feel not just nervous but frightened too: I was conscious of being in deep trouble.

In order to focus more fully on the actual questions, and cognitively process the information more effectively, I turned away so that looking directly at the director didn’t distract my thought processes. But he didn’t like that; the loss of eye contact, as typically practised by those with Asperger Syndrome, made him even more suspicious: ‘I should warn you, young man, I have a nasty habit of checking these things.’

It was all very different at my initial interview with the company four years earlier. I didn’t know what to expect then either when I went in to meet the person who was to become my future boss; he could have been an ogre as well, but he wasn’t.

‘Good morning, Sir!’

‘George, please call me George.’

Only he and I were in the room and as I was required to interrelate with only one person at a time, a person who immediately put me at ease, I did not feel anxious. His welcome was totally reassuring and so was his questioning: always constructive, always positive; and I sensed, and felt, that it was entirely honest too – I was completely comfortable being able to say what I thought, irrespective of whether it was positive or negative. But, there again, George was an exceptionally bright, straight and highly respected person who had the knack of supporting, encouraging and motivating people.

As the questions came, so naturally did my answers. I felt able to respond positively and say honestly when I did not know what the answer was: I liked that. I left thinking that this was a place I would like to work and a person that I wanted to work for – a person that I could trust and be loyal to, and learn a lot from: just the sort of person who would bring out the many positive, beneficial characteristics inherent within Asperger Syndrome. The whole process felt ‘right’ and I knew that I had got the job.

With hindsight, knowing now about my AS, I can easily explain my reactions in the previously described crunch meeting. However, at the time I had no idea of my condition. I knew that I had always felt different, but I could not explain why. If I had known what was wrong I could have seen the meeting coming, considered things beforehand and prepared for some of the possible potentialities, but I did not. At that stage I had never even heard of Asperger Syndrome.

2	What’s Been Driving My Bus

My reactions and behaviour in the meeting with the new divisional director, and the way that I have managed people and situations throughout my career, are illustrative of a number of core traits that have been consistently present within my personality from an early stage. Consequently, they have impacted greatly on my management style and performance.

It is said that the major thought processes and actions that guide behaviour throughout life are generated and learnt in the first few years. Behavioural patterns form and continue to appear in different guises at different times, in different circumstances, in different situations and with different people.

These processes may be particularly pronounced for those with Asperger Syndrome as the traits that are associated with the condition are more exacerbated. Looking back, I believe they have strongly influenced me personally and, in particular, my experiences and performance in the workplace.

From as early as I can remember I have always felt different to those around me. I could not explain how or why, but I felt different. Though I did not realise it at the time, this feeling (of being different) has had a major effect on the development of my career and on the way I have interrelated with people and the way they have perceived me.

The source of this behaviour, I believe, lies in important traits that I picked up from my parents: traits which have played a significant part in formulating my actions and that have been highly influential on my interpersonal relationships. These, in turn, have had a further effect on my work-related experience.

My father was, for the most part, an insular, independent man with – often – firm opinions about others. He also possessed what my mother described as a very ‘genuine’ (in other words, honest) personality, a trait that is pronounced in those with Asperger Syndrome. He had spent his early working life employed by large organisations but was ill at ease in structured, formal working environments. Consequently, he started to work on his own as a self-employed electrician, where he enjoyed a reputation as a likeable, reliable tradesman who enjoyed a high degree of trust.

My father taught me his perception of the way that things ought to be done and the way people should behave. He modelled a tendency to express feelings overtly if people digressed from his idea of ‘acceptable’ behaviour; such a deviation made it hard for him to deal with and relate to these people.

However, this facet, which was impressed upon me, brought many benefits for me. I became, and came to be regarded as, honest, reliable and trustworthy and in possession of a high degree of integrity, all of which have proved to be highly valuable assets throughout my working life. However, perhaps I did not learn to take into consideration all the circumstances or the views of others, or understand the need to exercise tact when forming judgements. As with my father, my views were firm, clear and very black and white and I was often told that I held ‘strong views’ – something that used to surprise me.

Overall, from my father I developed a very strong sense of right and wrong which is consistent with a major trait of those with Asperger Syndrome: that of being ‘honest to a fault’ (Attwood 1998). Although this may be an honourable trait, it is one that I have found is not always reciprocated in the corporate ‘jungle’, which has presented me with certain difficulties. My not feeling able to say what I truly believed in the aforementioned meeting with the divisional director through fear of putting my boss in a critically exposed position is one example. Working to attain a position and stance that I believe in and can defend whenever necessary has become a key personal managerial objective and requirement for me.

The genuineness inherent within my father was also apparent on my mother’s side, though often expressed emotionally with fewer inhibitions. Things could upset her considerably and could grate for lengthy periods. From her I gained a tendency to worry unduly about things and to feel uncertain in some situations and with certain people. Like her, if something transgressed the high values and principles I had inherited, I would respond strongly, resulting in a counterproductive response from others and the problem remaining an issue for a considerable period after. I have come to appreciate that it is important to not react emotionally and prematurely to issues within corporate environments and that standing back and retaining distance can deliver real advantages, such as the maintaining of credibility and gravitas.

During my childhood and adolescence I remained emotionally distant from others and this also reinforced my feeling of individuality and ‘differentness’. In her book Thinking In Pictures, Temple Grandin explains how she has difficulty understanding people whose actions are governed by emotions as hers are guided by intellect. This is something with which I can closely concur as I have a logical mode of thinking.

In addition, I also had little interest in, or appreciation of, many of the interests of other children. I enjoyed cricket and other sports – particularly team games – but did not easily mix or undertake role-play in groups, meaning that I was not the greatest team player. As for TV soaps – I could not see what people saw in them!

I seemed distant from many of the everyday matters that others of my age were interested in and picked up on naturally. Fashion was something about which I was unaware and unconcerned. I never wore things that were fashionable or that stood out. Instead, I wore basic clothes that were practical and comfortable, as opposed to contemporary and trend conscious.

Another important factor during my early years was my (perceived) intellectual ability. From an early stage I was both totally uninterested and non-gifted in practical matters and focused instead on the written word. I was encouraged by my parents academically and came to believe that I was intelligent and intellectually capable.

My early schooling was non-taxing and much of what I can recollect of infant and junior school was basic and, for the most part, consisted of what might now be termed ‘child-centred’ learning. Though I can remember learning my times tables and basic punctuation such as full stops, if I was taught grammar in any meaningful way I am unable to recall it.

About this time I became aware of streaming and an exam called the ‘Eleven Plus’. I was conscious of it being very important and of the need to pass it to get into grammar school. One day, upon entering the classroom after a play break, we found the desks re-arranged and formal papers on them along with pencils. We were told to sit down and complete the paper within a specified time period.

I struggled. The questions were of a type that I had not encountered before and seemed to consist of quite complicated maths, English and puzzle-type tasks. By the time I had finished I knew that I had not done well and was shocked when the teacher informed us that we had sat the first half of our ‘Eleven Plus’ exam. I was surprised: why had we not been told?

Later in the week, the teacher went back through the paper and explained clearly how to approach the questions. It all seemed much clearer then and by the time the second half of the exam came around I thought that I had done quite well, though not well enough to pass overall.

It was the first more realistic indication of my capabilities; though I was certainly intellectually capable, I was not perhaps as innately gifted intellectually as I had thought or had been led to believe. It seemed to take me a little longer to grasp the underlying principles behind subjects, particularly if I could not relate it to something. For example, at secondary school, though I undoubtedly worked and tried hard, I was unable, as my physics teacher rightly pointed out, to understand fully the fundamental concept that all objects consisted of molecules that were dynamic.

This, however, was the key to my learning: once I had grasped the fundamental point I was able, in most cases, to acquire the necessary understanding to perform well. Working to achieve this is something that I have put into practice successfully in many areas since. Though this was not always possible with subjects such as physics that I struggled to relate to, I did leave school with nine O-levels and three A-levels as a result of commitment and hard work; and four years later, I fully realised my academic capabilities via achievement of a good degree. Now, whenever I am faced with a problem I make my key objective the understanding of the core issue initially, before attending to specifics.

Looking back, however, another issue with certain subjects such as science and maths was that, deep down and in true AS form, I si...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Of Related Interest
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Preface
• Asperger Syndrome: What Is It?
• 1. Introduction
• 2. What’s Been Driving My Bus
• 3. Initial Work Experiences
• 4. Fitting In and Adopting the Right Approach
• 5. The Right Environment: an Ideal Position
• 6. Understand the Politics
• 7. Managing People
• 8. Forming Relationships and Building Credibility Fast
• 9. Honesty, Trust, Assertiveness and…Business
• 10. Confronting Issues
• 11. If You Meet ‘That’ Person
• 12. It’s Not Just What You Say
• 13. Productivity and Efficiency
• 14. Reflections
• References
• Index