Attention Deficit Is in the
Office, Too
September 22, 2002
By Anne Field
Two years ago, Andrew Hearn felt as if he was going nowhere
fast. He was 45 but couldn't hold down a full-time job in
his field, social work, instead doing part-time stints at
Planned Parenthood of New York City and Beth Israel Medical
Center.
Mr. Hearn knew that something was wrong, but he didn't know
what. So he sought help from an executive coach, and it didn't
take her long to figure out the problem. She asked him if
he had been tested for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
He hadn't. So he took the test and learned that he had the
disorder. He began taking Adderall, used for treating A.D.H.D.,
and almost immediately could focus better and organize his
day more efficiently. Though his symptoms - trouble meeting
deadlines, a tendency to become distracted and to jump from
project to project - didn't disappear, he learned some basic
tricks to keep them under control. He could hold shorter meetings,
for example, or break down projects into steps.
Last January, Mr. Hearn was promoted to director of social
services at Planned Parenthood of New York City. His salary
- and his self-confidence - shot up, and for the first time,
he set up a 401(k) retirement account. "I now know how
to deal with the problem and live with it," he said.
"And at the end of every day, I'm able to accomplish
so much more than ever before."
About 3 percent to 5 percent of all adults have the disorder,
estimates Kevin Murphy, associate professor of psychiatry
and chief adult A.D.H.D. clinician at the University of Massachusetts
Medical Center in Worcester. The condition, also known as
just A.D.D., for attention deficit disorder, is a malfunctioning
of the part of the brain that governs self-control, concentration
and planning.
While the disorder can hamper anyone's job performance, it
is a potential career killer for managers, who must struggle
to complete tasks that colleagues can breeze through. Their
energy and creativity are "enormous assets," said
Dr. Edward Hallowell, clinical instructor of psychiatry at
the Harvard Medical School and founder of the Hallowell Center
for Cognitive and Emotional Health in Sudbury, Mass. "But
in corporations, they get into trouble by being late, by offending
people with their shoot-from-the-hip style and by their impulsiveness."
For some executives, the answer is to seek help not in psychotherapy
but in the practical advice of executive coaches. An increasing
number of coaches are specializing in A.D.H.D., and many have
become more adept at recognizing its manifestations. About
a half-dozen organizations, including the American Coaching
Association in Lafayette Hill, Pa., and the ADD Coach Academy
in Slingerlands, N.Y., provide such training to coaches.
"We've seen a substantial growth in the number of A.D.D.
coaches and businesspeople seeking help," said Dan Martinage,
executive director of the International Coach Federation in
Washington. The increase has come even though most executives
hide their condition, fearing that it will be perceived as
a weakness.
What makes them go for help? Sometimes a spouse or trusted
employee prods them, or they just "have the feeling that
something is missing," said Nancy Ratey, a coach in Wellesley,
Mass., and the president of the Attention Deficit Disorder
Association. One of her clients, the chief executive of an
insurance company in the Midwest, sought her out at the urging
of his family.
His symptoms were classic. He would change appointments without
telling his assistants, lose files, run meetings without an
agenda, jump from topic to topic and generally leave everyone
in confusion. "It was like trying to lasso an amoeba,"
Ms. Ratey said. But his condition was treatable. Ms. Ratey
followed him around for three days, interviewing people including
his chauffeur and his secretary, then made recommendations.
Each morning, for example, his assistant would hand him one
file at a time, discussing what needed to be done and taking
notes. Only after they had finished with one folder would
she hand him the next. The chief executive also moved his
top executives' offices closer to his own, so he would have
fewer distractions on his way to talk to them.
Difficulty in concentrating is probably the most troublesome
symptom for executives and is the focus of most coaching.
Pamela Redmond, executive director for finance operations
at Anthem Inc., an insurance company in Columbus, Ohio, is
a case in point.
Ms. Redmond, 46, had managed to succeed in her job despite
her lifelong pattern of being easily distracted and her difficulty
juggling multiple assignments. But there was a cost. "For
years, I'd watch other people leaving at 6, and I'd be there
till 9, 10 at night," she said. "I just wasn't able
to focus." Thirty people reported to her, and she had
meetings throughout the day.
Ms. Redmond suspected that she had A.D.H.D., though she didn't
take a diagnostic test. Instead, a year ago, she sought help
from Barbara McCrae, a coach in Colorado Springs. In weekly
phone sessions - executive coaching is often done on the phone
- the two zeroed in on ways to bolster her organizational
skills. For example, she learned how to make a to-do list
that wasn't "just 100 things I needed to get done,"
she said. She learned techniques for figuring out which two
or three tasks were the most important and started keeping
a journal about her goals. Today, she says, she leaves the
office around 7, even during her busiest season.
Coaching techniques vary. A daily nagging session works for
a 54-year-old Massachusetts executive who requested anonymity.
For the past year, his coach has been making 10-minute calls
every morning at 8 to go over the previous day's accomplishments
and the goals for that day.
"It's all about time management," said the executive,
who recently left his old job as the principal of a consulting
firm to become director of policy for a state agency.
Executives can learn a variety of on-the-job strategies,
but the most important coping mechanism is finding good office
help, coaches say.
"The things that are hard for them, they need to delegate,"
Ms. McCrae said. "And they have to get a very organized
assistant."
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