Hello there, and thank you for your interest in ADHD Wise Coaching.

My name is Jo Oakley, and I recently left the Civil Service after 25 years in public service to establish ADHD Wise Coaching!

My Civil Service career has been a hugely important part of my working life, of which I am incredibly proud. I have worked on some significantly complex HR Policy and Service areas: Operational Delivery Careers Pathways Framework, Reimbursed Secondments, Performance Management Evaluation and Assurance Framework, Managing Poor Performance, TUPE/COSoP, Shared Parental Leave, Health and Wellbeing and Workplace Adjustments. Alongside working full-time I completed my MSc in Human Resource Management/Development and achieved CIPD Chartered Membership status. Before that I spent 11 years working in private sector Audit and Accountancy practices.

So I understand the challenges of working in large complex organisations and leading teams and project managing a multitude of competing stakeholders, with tiered or strong governance, legislative, financial, ethical and compliance standards. I've collaborated with colleagues in HR policy, workplace adjustments, Occupational Psychology, Occupational Health, Health and Wellbeing, Inclusive Practice, Operational Delivery, IT, Commercial and Finance professionals, Government legal teams (the list goes on!) across-Government departments and executive agencies and led the Civil Service strategic partnership with Our Future Health Research Programme.

Workplace barriers are something many neurodiverse employees have to navigate. My position and role as Civil Service Workplace Adjustments Policy Lead allowed me to facilitate changes to make HR policies and practices more inclusive by endorsing the social model of disability. Promoting the benefits of workplace adjustments helped create equity of opportunity and changed perceptions of employees with workplace adjustments by using inclusive terminology and language. Educating leaders, managers and employees on neuro-inclusion included promoting the benefits of attracting and retaining diverse talent through communication campaigns, establishing workplace adjustments policy standards, guidance and advice.

In my experience, neurodiverse teams are without doubt the best ones to lead and work in! The diversity of thought, processing, communication and learning styles, and skills everyone brings is invaluable. People work at their best when they have the autonomy to work in ways that motivate and engage them and use their skills. Providing a psychologically safe space where people are not criticised, but learn and grow from mistakes, generates innovation, an environment where 'critical friends' provide crucial internal challenge through alternative perspectives, interpretation and experience.

I have been enthusiastic about equity and inclusion since early in my career when I experienced workplace exclusion, harassment and discrimination. Firstly, as a young female working in a male dominated working environment, later as an introvert. Then, when being "visible" was valued, and I was not visible (compared to my extrovert colleagues) because I did not feel the need to constantly broadcast my workplace achievements, which far exceeded my peers. The one that hit the hardest though, was a senior colleague's negative narrative about me as someone with non-visible long-term health conditions and disabilities. Their false assumptions and narrative could have destroyed my career, but for a senior manager who knew me and my capabilities extremely well challenging them. Those incidents, coupled with other challenging life experiences only made me more resilient and determined to prove the doubters wrong!

The skills and experience I have gained over the years as a line and countersigning manager, coaching, mentoring, and buddying colleagues including those on disability development schemes and Life Chances Programmes has been invaluable. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing potential in someone else, helping them to find their voice, lifting them up and enabling them to unlock and achieve their full potential. I am a carer and advocate for neurodiverse family and friends too, so training and qualifying as an ADHD Coach was an obvious and natural career choice.

Outside of work, I have been married to Mark for 28 years. I am a mum to two amazing young adults, Sam (21) and Eloise (19). As well as being 'dog mum' to Milo (an energetic springer spaniel) and Darcy (our lovable lazy Labrador retriever), and a carer for my Dad who has late-stage Alzheimer's and Prostate Cancer. When I'm not busy with my family and dogs, I like to do yoga and meditation to relax, attend music concerts and comedy shows, and meet friends for lunch or a coffee. You will also find me watching my beloved Sheffield Wednesday with Sam at Hillsborough where we have had season tickets for 10 years, or visiting new away grounds! Mark and I enjoy regular trips to Liverpool where Eloise is now at university, and Mark is usually planning our next short break or a holiday to our 'happy place' in Tenerife.

I'd love to be part of your future ADHD journey, so please book a free 30 minute discovery call today and take your first step forward!

Best wishes

Jo