Neurodiversity Is Your Superpower (with Katherine McCord)

"Different is not a deficit": that's Katherine McCord's blunt answer to anyone who thinks neurodiversity means something's broken. Katherine has six invisible disabilities, including bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and misophonia, plus multiple physical diagnoses including a seizure disorder, and she calls neurodiversity her superpower, not in spite of any of it. She tells her own story with zero shame and a whole lot of humor, like the time an insurance company called to apologize because they thought they'd gotten her age wrong. They hadn't: she was 26, but her file, full of diagnosis after diagnosis, read like she'd lived twice that long. Katherine is the founder of Titan Management, a national people operations consulting firm she started in 2014, and in 2021 she designed the first fully accessible, anti-bias applicant tracking system plugin, one that hides the resume and shows company diversity instead. We talk about what it means when your parents "steer into" your differences instead of fighting them, how to tell the difference between someone who's just uninformed and someone who's being deliberately unkind, and the line between having a diagnosis and using it to manipulate the people around you. Katherine also walks me through what misophonia actually feels like (spoiler: it's not just "not liking a sound"), and the workplace study that proves accommodating how people naturally work isn't just kind, it's good for the bottom line. In this episode What neurodiversity actually means, and why Katherine calls her six invisible disabilities her superpower How to respond when someone doesn't accept your differences, and how to tell ignorance from malice The difference between having a diagnosis and using it to manipulate people, and how to set a boundary around either one What misophonia actually feels like, from the sound of kissing to a booth full of strangers at a restaurant Why the Hewlett-Packard study found that letting people work in ways natural to them increases productivity by over 30% How to tell someone they have ADHD for the first time as an adult, without making it sound like a diagnosis of doom Timestamps (00:01) Welcome and guest intro: meet Katherine McCord, founder of Titan Management (02:18) Six invisible disabilities, and what "neurodiversity" actually means (03:58) The Aflac phone call: "Ms. McCord, we got your age wrong" (04:26) How Katherine's parents responded when she was diagnosed with OCD at three or four years old (06:41) Meeting "the jerk": Katherine's first encounters with people who weren't accepting (08:41) Choosing education over conflict, and the boundary of "not today" (12:28) The difference between having a diagnosis and using it to manipulate people (21:23) What misophonia actually feels like (29:09) Katherine's three missions: integrity, innovation, and inclusion (33:12) Where to find Katherine, and her new nonprofit, the Neuroverse About Katherine McCord Katherine McCord is the founder of Titan Management, a national people operations consulting firm founded in 2014, and in 2021 she designed the first fully accessible, anti-bias applicant tracking system plugin. She lives with six invisible disabilities, including bipolar disorder, OCD, and misophonia, plus multiple physical diagnoses including a seizure disorder, and recently founded the Neuroverse, a nonprofit focused on neurodiversity, which is hosting its first "Neuro Wonderland" event in New York next year. Learn more at her speaker website, join the Neuroverse, or find her consulting firm at TitanManagementUSA.com. Favorite quotes "Different is not a deficit." —Katherine McCord "You are not whatever this diagnosis is. This diagnosis is no different than a finger on your hand." —Katherine McCord "Inclusion is the ultimate expression of freedom." —Katherine McCord Resources mentioned KMcCordSpeaking.com: Katherine's speaker website and bio JoinTheNeuroverse.org: Katherine's nonprofit around neurodiversity, with free resources and upcoming events TitanManagementUSA.com: Katherine's people operations consulting firm Loop earbuds, the noise-filtering earbuds Katherine uses to manage misophonia The Hewlett-Packard workplace study Katherine cites on accommodating natural working styles Related episodes Why Neurodiversity is Important in the Workplace: a deeper dive into the exact topic Katherine champions here Queer Rights, Mental Disability, and Suicidal Ideation: Zane Landin's Journey of Advocacy: another guest turning a disability experience into public advocacy Emotional Healing Laboratory: The Workplace: more on building workplaces that actually work for how people are wired Subscribe & connect If this episode gave you something to sit with, follow Phoenix and Flame so you never miss an episode: all apps in one place, or jump straight to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, or YouTube. And if it moved you, leave a review; it's the easiest way to help another listener find the show. Learn more about Phoenix and Flame, connect with Dana, and listen to more episodes here. Curious where your own boundaries stand? Take my free Work Boundaries Quiz: danaskaggs.com/quiz