ADHD Coaching Serving Adults, Teens, Kids, & Couples

Client Story: Learning to Accept Help

ADHD Client Coaching Story

Joan was a hotshot in Boston’s financial industry. She had recently moved to a larger firm with a fancier job title, and unfortunately, things were not going well.

ADHD Coaching Success StoryAt Joan’s old job, she worked with a highly collaborative team. The projects required each member to perform focused analysis with quick deadlines, and the whole group meshed well and kept each other on track.

When Joan applied for a new job, the firm was impressed by her analytical skills and how much she had accomplished in her career. She was hired, put through a quick training program, and sent to work.

In her new position, Joan’s work process was very different. Her projects were self-directed, with long deadlines. Gone were the days of the collaborative team. Unsure of the details of her new company’s workflow, Joan began a damaging pattern of bluffing, underperforming and apologizing. To avoid asking for help, Joan forced herself to learn every part of her new role through trial and error – much to the frustration of everyone involved.

After six months, Joan knew her job was on the line. Her boss had given her a negative performance review, and her coworkers were visibly frustrated. Everyone assumed that Joan would shine in her new role, and felt confused by her lackluster performance. Likewise, Joan encouraged her new colleagues to expect the best from her, because she was desperately afraid of being considered a fraud.

In my work with Joan, there were many changes oriented around scheduling, organization and self-image, but nothing was more important for her transformation than building a support system.

Joan’s network of cheerleaders started with her husband, who was worried for his bright wife and made the initial contact with me. From there, we sought out allies in the office, and Joan pushed herself out of her comfort zone to befriend the most sympathetic of her coworkers. Gaining a friendly face made going to work a much more pleasant experience. The next step was to work with her human resources representative to outline a performance improvement plan. It was difficult for Joan to reveal her shortcomings, and she and her HR rep had clashing personalities, but in the end they both worked hard to put Joan’s success first. Eventually, Joan’s boss was looped in, to provide further guidance where her initial training had lacked. He agreed to waive the performance review, and instead set her up with a new series of deadlines to improve her productivity at work.

Like so many with ADHD, Joan’s coping mechanisms had gone overboard. She was so worried about admitting confusion that she overcompensated by pushing help away, which only made the situation worse. She was never taught how to reach out for assistance and integrate feedback into her life. It was a challenging lesson to learn as a middle-aged woman, but Joan did her best. A year after she started at her new job, everyone started to see her game-changing talents on a much more consistent basis.

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About the author

Carol Gignoux, M. Ed., author of Your Innovator Brain: The Truth About ADHD, is one of the foremost thought leaders on the subject of ADHD and other innovator brain types. She founded Living ADHD Free to help her clients – children, teenagers, college students, adults, executives and couples struggling with ADHD or executive function issues – lead orderly, happy lives in the classroom, office, and home. Drawing from her decades of hands-on experience and cutting-edge research, she provides valuable tools and success strategies for those who face issues with maintaining focus and concentration, time management, procrastination, impulsivity, and other disruptive symptoms of ADHD. After working with Carol, you will know your unique gifts, be able to express your true talents, and successfully achieve a more stress-free and fulfilling life.

1 comment on “Client Story: Learning to Accept Help”

  1. Jack Witzgall Reply

    Hi Carol.. What does one do when they cannot afford the $125 to $200hour that ADHD Coaches charge and do not accept my insurance?.. I have searched endlessly for over 10 years! Now l’m out of work 8 years at 55 urs old and wish i would never wake up again. Life sucks. I finished at the top of my class,
    have 3 degrees, but life is meaningless and hopeless.
    Any advice except your unaffordable fees?.. Life is meaningless. ~ King Solomon
    I live in Andover, MA.. Even the Hallowell Center left town and charged $160/hour. If i didn’t have to eat i could possibly afford Txn But the 50
    minute sessions with ignorant therapists have done NOTHING for decades. Actually
    they frustrate and OVERWHELM me MORE!.. Please advise…ok.
    Thank you… ~Jack W

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