Even in casual conversation, the point guard’s eyes dart enigmatically around the gym, rarely focused on the person in front of him. Jason Kidd can’t seem to stop himself from seeking the better opportunity, the next best play.

Be it personality affectation or genius at work, who wouldn’t want to appear night after night Kidd’s enabling field of vision and enduring championship dream?

- Harvey Araton, in the New York Times, 15 May 2007

Jason Kidd, point guard and captain for the New Jersey Nets, is one of the best ball handlers in NBA history. Against the strongest defenses in basketball, he has an almost precognitive sense of which teammates are about to be in position to score, and then he whips and threads passes through space that any other player* would consider impenetrable.

What’s the relevance for attention deficit disorder? He doesn’t do this by “focusing on one thing at a time.”

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*except Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns. Kidd and Nash are widely regarded as the best  ball passers currently playing in the NBA. Both of them can score and defend, too. Kidd recently eclipsed the legendary Larry Bird to become the NBA’s all-time No. 2 in triple doubles” (with Kidd earning his in points, rebounds, and assists.)

Image credit: SportsResourceZone.net, vendor of autographed photos, apparel, and other pro-sports collectibles.

Adult ADHD? You’re not alone, and you’re not without hope. According to Harvard Health Publications:

Probably the most important recent change in the understanding of ADHD is the growing recognition that people don’t always grow out of it. The number of adults receiving drug treatment for ADHD more than doubled from 2001 to 2005 alone. The symptoms may even interfere with daily life more in adults than in children because adults have to exercise more self-control and do more planning.

In 2003, adult ADHD was included in a national survey for the first time; 4.4% of adults age 18–44 received the diagnosis…

It’s been said that identifying ADHD in adults can be like finding a missing jigsaw piece that solves the puzzle of behavior that looked like laziness, a character flaw, or a learning disability. Medications, group social skills training, individual psychotherapy, vocational counseling, and coaching may be helpful for adults with ADHD. The first controlled study of cognitive behavioral therapy for adult ADHD, published in 2005, found improvements in anxiety, depression, and attention.

from Attention deficit disorder: Old questions, New answers by Harvard Health Publications, February 2006, posted at MSN Health & Fitness.

“I am inspired.
You are inconsistent.
He is flighty.”

How do you label yourself and your ADD?

And how do you label attention deficit disorder in others? Is your method fair? Is it useful?

Names and labels have power. Fortunately, we have the power to decide what we call things.

For naming and labeling our ADD actions, I think it’s more important to be constructive than it is to be consistent. Use the name or label that’s helpful at the moment — whether that label is praiseworthy or critical.

And take a tip from parenting books and relationship books — label the action and not the person (if you need to label, at all).

"Poor listening skills" ranks among the top complaints about managers with attention deficit disorder.  This complaint is no surprise  — if only because few people talk as fast as an ADDexec’s mind can process information.

With bandwidth to burn while listening to our "slow-talking" colleagues, our minds give themselves permission to consider other things — our calendars, our next meeting, the bird flying by the window…   Sometimes, of course, our minds save enough bandwidth to stay tuned in to whoever is trying to talk with us.   But other times that bird flying by the window hooks our attention completely and takes it all away.  And then who’s the bad guy?  No, not the pretty bird — but the Boss Who Never Listens.

But maybe there’s a good side to this fat bandwidth habit.

Harvard Business School professor John J. Gabbaro has pointed out a "managerial paradox" in the the need to listen in two different ways that seem to contradict each other:

"…while it is crucial that managers be able to listen nonjudgmentally (to understand other points of view and get valid information), the essence of management is to do just the opposite–to make judgments…  The danger, then, is that this bias for judging will subvert a manager’s inclination to listen carefully and, in doing so, sabotage his or her ability to make accurate business and people judgments.

"Managers may be tempted to resolve this paradox as an either/or…  But if one thing has made itself clear in the past 40 years, it is that managers must have the capacity to do both.  They must recognize that to make judgments, you must suspend judgment."

"Normal" managers might have a hard time with this.  But for the ADDexec whose mind needs more than some talkers give in real time, might this be the great opportunity: to simultaneously hear everything "twice" — with half of the mind listening to understand, while the other half listens to judge?

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Reference:  John J. Gabarro, "Retrospective Commentary" (Harvard Business Review, November-December 1991) on "Barriers and Gateways to Communication" by C.R. Rogers and F.J. Roethlisberger, originally published in the Harvard Business Review, 1952.)

"The biggest part of being a ‘Ritalin kid’ growing into adulthood, says 31-year-old Providence artist David Cole, ‘has been learning to define myself in terms of my successes instead of my deficits.’"

Reference:  "David Cole: How a ‘Ritalin kid’ learned to handle success", by Pam Thomas, Providence Journal, March 25, 2007.

Note: the ADDexecutive is requesting permission to reprint the full article.  Meanwhile, enjoy the quote, and click over to projo.com to see the whole thing online (you may have to register).

"You’d be perfect for our board of directors.  We could really use your [insert your expertise here] skill at [insert local non-profit here].

You’re smart.  You’re busy.  You’re successful.

Of course everyone wants to you to serve on their board of directors, or fundraising committee, or homeowners association.

And for folks with attention deficit disorder, nothing quite sparks our excitement like a new opportunity.  And for folks with attention deficit disorder, nothing quite takes the edge off like saying "yes" when someone asks for it.

If you’ve read this far, you know that saying "yes" isn’t always the best idea.  And saying "no" so often hurts.  But on the days when you do say "no," consider all the good.  They asked because you are smart, and you are busy and you are (quite possibly) successful.  That’s something worth smiling about.  And if you really are smart and if you want to stay successful, you know you’re going to say "no" pretty darned often.  So put those "no" moments in your "win" column — they’re something to smile about.  And don’t forget to say "thank you" to the folks who wanted you, for recognizing you as the sharp person that you are.

Corporate America has a longstanding tradition of bosses wanting to look infallible, and staff not wanting to risk the bosses ire by pointing out mistakes.

And it’s a damned costly shame.  It doesn’t serve the boss, the staff, or the bottom line.

Your staff knows that they’re supposed to help you meet your goals.  Let them also know that you want to help them do their jobs well, and to make that happen, they need to help you be the best boss you can be.

Get their input.  Ask them to tell you when you’re not being clear, or when you seem to be doing something that doesn’t make sense, or when they need your time and attention to accomplish whatever mission you’ve given them.

And guess what — this isn’t just about managing ADD.  It’s about being a good boss all around.

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For one broader exploration of this theme, check out What is Servant-Leadership? at the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership.

Also see "Managing your Boss"  in the Harvard Business Review January-February 1990.  This article, by John Gabarro and John Kotter, was considered groundbreaking when it came out just seventeen years ago.  We still have a lot of "old thinking" DNA about the boss-as-infallible.  A whole lot of not-very-useful DNA.