Being a CEO with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can come with a unique set of advantages and challenges. You may have spent your entire life feeling like the way your brain works made it harder to succeed in traditional work environments. But once you’re the one creating the environment, some of those same characteristics may start to work differently.
Owning your own company can give you more freedom to follow your interests and build your work around the way your brain functions best. But ironically, having ADHD can also make it harder to be responsible for the entire operation.
Getting a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation is the first step to getting the ADHD treatment that can help you function at an even higher level as a CEO.
People with ADHD make great entrepreneurs and CEOs
People with ADHD make great entrepreneurs and business leaders. Although life with ADHD is often not easy, it also comes with characteristics that make you better-suited to this lifestyle.
Research shows that up to 1 in 3 business owners live with ADHD, including some of the world’s top founders and CEOs. This isn’t a coincidence; many of the traits associated with ADHD can be a natural fit for entrepreneurship. Many people with ADHD thrive on the unpredictability and constant stimulation that comes with building something of your own.
Even if your early life was challenging for you — maybe you struggled to get through school or to keep a 9 to 5 job — you can absolutely still succeed in adulthood, when you have more choices. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition, which is not the same thing as a mental health condition. There are treatments that can help you function and thrive, but ADHD isn’t a problem to “fix.”
Sometimes, the problem is less about the way your brain works and more about the environment you’re expected to function in. Traditional workplaces aren’t always designed with ADHD brains in mind. If you’ve found a way to create an environment that works for you, that’s a huge accomplishment.
For many people, entrepreneurship and leading their own businesses (instead of working for someone else) has become one way to do that.
Unique strengths of CEOs with ADHD
ADHD is typically talked about as a challenge or disability. And to be clear, it absolutely can be. People with ADHD are more likely to struggle in school and experience challenges with employment. The discourse about ADHD being a “superpower” can feel invalidating when you’ve experienced very real consequences because of your symptoms.
But it’s also true that ADHD comes with characteristics that can be incredibly valuable in the business world. If you’re in a position to be able to use these unique strengths to your advantage, they may help you become a more effective entrepreneur and leader.
High energy and enthusiasm
Some people with ADHD have a seemingly endless supply of energy, especially when they’re doing something they’re interested in. You may be able to throw yourself into a new business idea and work on it with a level of intensity that people without ADHD would find hard to manage.
Your enthusiasm can also be contagious. When you’re excited about what you’re building, it may be easier to get other people excited about it too. This can make you a great leader that people want to follow.
Quick decision-making
Running a company requires you to make decisions constantly, often without having as much information as you’d ideally like. It’s important to carefully weigh the benefits and risks, but overthinking can slow a business down.
ADHD can make you more impulsive, which can absolutely cause problems in some situations. But being able to make decisions quickly can also be useful when your business needs someone who’s willing to act instead of getting stuck overthinking every possibility.
Out-of-the-box thinking
Studies have found that people with ADHD tend to score higher on measures of divergent thinking, which means you may approach problems differently than the people around you. Sometimes, that can make traditional environments difficult. But in entrepreneurship, it can be exactly what you need.
You may be more willing to question why something has always been done a certain way or notice possibilities that other people miss. Especially when the obvious solution isn’t working, thinking differently can be an advantage.
New ideas and innovativeness
If you have ADHD, coming up with ideas tends to be the easy part of running a business. It’s what your brain thrives on.
Novelty is incredibly stimulating for an ADHD brain, which is naturally lacking in dopamine. Chasing new ideas gives you the dopamine boost that you crave. As a CEO, you may constantly think of new products or entirely new directions your company could take. That drive toward something new can help you continue innovating instead of becoming too comfortable with the way things have always been done.
Willingness to take risks
Starting and running a business is inherently risky. For many people, the uncertainty alone is enough to stop them from ever trying.
People with ADHD may be more comfortable with risk and less likely to spend years waiting until every detail is perfect before taking action. You’re okay with jumping right in. Risk-taking can be dangerous at times, especially when it leads to reckless behaviors. But being willing to tolerate uncertainty can be a crucial skill as a CEO.
Thrive in fast-paced environments
For someone who gets bored easily, entrepreneurship can offer a constant stream of stimulation. Things are unpredictable and can change quickly. Every day, there are different problems you need to solve.
For many people, that sounds overwhelming. But if your brain needs a lot of stimulation to stay engaged, you may find that you actually function better in a fast-paced environment than you ever did in a predictable job.
Many people with ADHD also rely on urgency and intense pressure to be productive. So even if it’s stressful at times, being a CEO or starting your own business may work better for you than more predictable jobs.
What are some of the challenges that ADHD can present for CEOs?
But living and working with ADHD is undoubtedly a challenge as well. Even successful CEOs with ADHD may have times that make them wish that it were easier to live in the world with their brains.
Running your own company can also mean that you don’t have as much external structure keeping you organized. There may be nobody telling you what you need to work on next or making sure that you actually finish what you start. This autonomy can be both necessary and a barrier for CEOs with ADHD.
Here are some of the challenges you may need to overcome as a CEO with ADHD.
Disorganization
ADHD affects executive functioning, which can make organization especially difficult. You may be brilliant at seeing the big picture and coming up with new business ideas. But on the day-to-day level, you can still struggle to remember where you put an important document or keep up with your agenda.
As your company grows, the amount of information you’re responsible for grows with it. On top of that, running a business comes with plenty of administrative work that may be especially difficult to stay on top of when you have ADHD.
You may need to rely more heavily on external systems or support from people who can help you keep track of the details. Many CEOs with ADHD delegate administrative and other tedious tasks to an assistant.
Quick to boredom
You may love the early stages of starting a business, especially when you’re excited about the new idea. But you find it much harder to stay interested once your hyperfixation has passed and you’ve moved on to the next thing that’s captured your interest.
Starting something new can give you an immediate burst of energy. Following through is harder. Once the novelty wears off, you’re left with the boring details and a list of projects that are nearly complete but never quite get there.
This can make it tempting to constantly change direction simply because the current one no longer feels exciting. Your brain is searching for novelty and stimulation. It can feel easier at times to just abandon the old idea and move on to the next.
Starting multiple businesses at once
In a similar vein, many people with ADHD end up being “serial entrepreneurs.” If one business is exciting, starting another one can feel even more exciting. This isn’t inherently a negative, but you may end up taking on more than you have the capacity to handle.
You may find yourself constantly thinking about new ventures, especially once the company you’re currently running has become more stable. There is nothing wrong with having multiple businesses, but it can become a problem if your attention is spread so thin that none of them get what they need. Trying to juggle so many projects at once may also lead to burnout.
Crashing and burnout
You may be able to work at an incredibly intense pace when you’re interested in what you’re doing. But that pace isn’t always sustainable. You might work long hours for weeks or months on something you’re excited about and ignore signs that you’re exhausted. But eventually, you may crash and spend days or even weeks feeling completely drained.
There can also be another kind of burnout that has less to do with how many hours you work. The socializing required of a CEO or having to regulate your attention through long meetings can take a lot of energy. It’s the mental load of having to constantly mask your symptoms. Sometimes, ADHD burnout comes from the need to adapt to the neurotypical world around you, not the condition itself.
How diagnosis and psychiatric treatment can help
Many successful entrepreneurs with ADHD have been able to have such a positive experience because they’ve received the right diagnosis and treatment. The first step to getting diagnosed with ADHD is to get a comprehensive evaluation.
A psychiatric evaluation can:
- Help determine whether your symptoms are consistent with ADHD.
- Identify co-occurring conditions that may also need treatment.
- Help you understand how ADHD may be affecting your work and daily life.
- Give you a clearer explanation for patterns you’ve experienced throughout your life.
- Help you identify the environments and ways of working that tend to fit your brain best.
- Give you treatment options if there are symptoms you want help managing.
Sometimes, simply knowing that you have ADHD can change the way you understand your history. Things you (and others) may have interpreted as laziness or a lack of discipline make more sense when you understand the role that executive functioning plays. You can make more intentional career decisions based on the environments where you function best, rather than continuing to force yourself into ways of working that have never fit you.
The right diagnosis is also the first step to treatment, which is important. Again: ADHD is not a problem to fix. But psychiatric treatment can help when ADHD symptoms are interfering with your life or your ability to lead your company. Medication can be very effective for some adults with ADHD, but it’s not the only option.
ADHD also often co-occurs with other mental health conditions. Research shows that the majority of people with ADHD also live with depression, anxiety, or both. These conditions come with symptoms that cause a lot of suffering, and tend to get worse when left untreated.
ADHD treatment isn’t about changing the unique strengths that make you who you are. Research has shown that taking medication has no negative effect on creativity or divergent thinking. You may actually find that your unique leadership and business strengths are able to shine through more when you’re working with a treatment provider.
Get a psychiatric evaluation for ADHD in Manhattan and Garden City
At The Lieberman Center for Psychotherapeutics, your psychiatric evaluation is conducted directly by Brad Lieberman, PMHNP-BC. We look at your symptoms in the holistic context of your medical history and the demands of your professional life.
There is no blood test or brain scan that can diagnose ADHD as of today (although researchers are working on it). ADHD is a clinical diagnosis based on your symptoms and evidence that the pattern began earlier in life. Brain imaging, genetic testing, and laboratory testing cannot confirm that you have ADHD.
But medical testing can still be useful as part of a comprehensive psychiatric evaluation. At LCP, an integrative approach may include blood work or genetic testing when appropriate. Lab work can help identify other medical issues that may be contributing to symptoms that look like ADHD. Pharmacogenomic testing may provide additional information to help guide medication decisions.
The Lieberman Center provides private, concierge psychiatric care for high-stakes professionals, with appointments available in Midtown Manhattan and Garden City. New patients begin with a brief consultation, followed by a 60-minute initial evaluation if the practice is a good fit.
Schedule a free confidential consultation to get started.