Embracing Every Mind

Joanne Lockwood is joined by Charlie Hart (Awesome Charlie) for a wide-ranging conversation on neurodiversity at work, grounded in Charlie’s experiences of late diagnosis and a career in HR.

Charlie shares what it was like to run into burnout, overwhelm and “meeting behaviours” that didn’t match workplace expectations, and how discovering autism, ADHD and complex PTSD reframed years of feeling “broken”. Together they explore neurodiversity as a natural form of human variation, unpacking ideas like neuronormativity, interest-based motivation, hyperfocus/monotropism, and why common stereotypes (including “superpower” narratives) can be unhelpful or reductive.

The episode also looks at what inclusion can mean in practice: recruitment and job descriptions that unintentionally screen people out, sensory and social pressures in open-plan offices and team culture, and the need to balance different access needs in real workplaces. The conversation includes reflections on identity language and intersectionality, including explicit references to trans and non-binary identities alongside neurodivergence.

Listeners will leave with a clearer understanding of how modern work can shift from expecting people to fit a narrow norm to creating environments where different minds feel safe, supported, and able to do their best work.