Line Managers on the Spectrum?

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How many people here line manage(d) or supervise(d) one or more human beings as part of your job/voluntary work etc?

And in what ways do your spectrum traits help and/or hinder you in that role?


I currently manage 5 people, but work in a team where I can end up supervising/supporting up to 13. It's certainly not something I'd choose to do, but I seem to be vaguely good at it in ways that often surprise me. In some respects, thinking about staff motivations more logically than emotionally seems to get some good results. Of course, organisationally I'm barely treading water most of the time. I wondered what others have experienced.

Not a supervisor but I am one of the senior, highest paid (and youngest) in my department. I struggle some days but if I'm drawing up a 'play' like a sports coach I am in my element. People tend to let me take the lead, partly because they knew I'm highly intelligent but also because I'm a bit rigid and hate to share power. My department has two 'cliques' that fight constantly but both sides respect me and I'm able to logically communicate with everyone. Basically, NOBODY gets special treatment from me on the job, even if that person was my own mother.

I'm not diagnosed AS, but it's pretty probable. I do have an ADHD-PI diagnosis.

I manage 6 members of staff.

I'm hopelessly disorganised, particularly with paperwork.

I really struggle with keeping on top of individual team members performance and handling confrontation, emotions and motivation.

I do disappear a fair bit, either getting overly engrossed in a particular problem OR getting stressed and working away from my desk. I do tend to lose great chunks of time (weeks) when I'm not very productive at all, but then I catch up when I need to.

All in all I'm a pretty lousy manager, but on the plus side I manage all males in a technical environment so we are more alike in many ways. I've made pretty good hiring decisions. My own technical work, keeps me from getting in any sort of real trouble. I'm pretty logical and fair. I don't tend to play the typical office politics and have nice strong views, where many people are just avoiding work. So I'm valued.

Oh yeah: My desk and poor dress are infamous. At present I have just enough space to fit my laptop, the rest is coke bottles and gum wrappers.

Jason.

Oh Yes!!



And this. In fact it hasn't occurred to me that there are any office politics. So either I'm oblivious or we're all a bunch of tree huggers (botanists, ecologists, biologists etc) and there really isn't any henpecking.



And definitely this!! There was a sharp intake of breath from the colleague to my right on the first day I walked in wearing stripy purple socks with naff looking red hiking sandals. But I don't actually own any shoes at present because I hate shopping too much.

My desk is covered in scrumpled post-its and bits of paper & glue projects that I never finished. We're meant to keep things quite clean so when it starts to look untidy I push everything under my keyboard. Not surprisingly this gets taller and taller and starts rocking and clacking causing said colleague to my right to purse her lips in annoyance.