Client Testimonials
Hear from our past clients about their experience with The How Skills.
Please note, feedback has been anonymized to protect the privacy of our clients.
Adult Coaching
“Coaching has literally changed my life for the better. Before I started with The How Skills, my life had become overwhelmingly difficult and chaotic. Every day felt like I was barely surviving and like I was failing at everything. It was a huge relief to have a coach who was knowledgable about the challenges that come with ADHD and could present strategies designed for my brain. I felt seen and understood with zero judgement. My life and mental health have drastically improved over time as a result of implementing the strategies I learned through coaching and would recommend The How Skills to anyone with ADHD struggling to manage everyday life.”
“I had a great experience with my coach and am super happy I went through this process!”
“Working with my coach and The How Skills built off of good habits I already had and armed me with useful language to communicate needs.”
“The skills I learned with my coach helped me gain confidence in the workforce. In some areas in school growing up I fell through the cracks and missed learning skills, such as related to self-advocacy. Also, learning skills pertaining to workload management, note taking and memory tools, task management, task switching, transitioning between tasks better, and self-advocacy all helped dramatically decreased my anxiety and getting overwhelmed at work. I’m so grateful for the help from my coach. Meeting new people and specialists can be hard. She was very kind and patient. The way she coached showed me I don’t have to feel ashamed or embarrassed with having learning disabilities and needing support for it at work. ”
“Coaching from THS helped me with strategies that improve my ability to get everything I need to do done without stress and anxiety, life seems a bit less overwhelming now. ”
“The How Skills got me back on track with practical suggestions I could put in place immediately. They seemed to have a ready solution for any problem I ran into, and meeting them weekly gave me the accountability I needed to implement the new structures and tools they gave me. I also like their positive attitude and flexibility in figuring out what worked and what didn’t for me.”
“Coaching came with compassion and insight.”
“My coach gave me the tools I needed to become more effective at work, be a better manager, and navigate workplace situations I have difficulty with. It truly changed my life.”
“My coach was amazing! Not only did she have useful tools and ideas to help me manage my life, but took the time to really listen to me. Even though she had a set of tools and skills to share, we worked together to find the best implementation for me in my world. I always felt validated, heard, and seen. She is great!”
“I would recommend The How Skills to anyone looking to advance their career or improve in their current position.”
“I was diagnosed with ADHD later in life. Executive function coaching really helped me to understand where my strengths are and the areas where I may not be neurotypical. My coach met me where I was and gave me a safe environment where I could address these opportunities to learn more about how to work with my strengths to improve. ”
“Coaching was simply life changing. I see my work life as “before coaching” and “after coaching”. My coach helped me to be more intentional about what to do, how to do it, and when to do it. By having a lot of tools for breaking my tasks apart, I am much better at moving forward in challenging situations. They were very smart and patient.”
“My coach helped me recognize areas for improvement like energy management and created a step-by-step action plan with me. The How Skills has been incredibly useful in my journey.”
“My coach was personable and took time for us to develop some rapport. She was very knowledge about the struggles I was having. I found most valuable the ability to create a plan that focused on what I needed and the support to learn those methods to address those needs in a way that would be ongoing.
I reached out for coaching to help me in my personal life. I’m ADD and my partner isn’t. I learned to use tools and make them become a habit to aid in organizing my personal life. My partner has seen the difference and is a big fan of The How Skills.
I loved my coach. She had a great sense of humor and was able to suggest ideas and strategies that were suggestions vs you need to do this. I highly recommend The How Skills!”
“My coach really made the experience worth it. They were such a pleasure to work with, and I really felt like they went above and beyond to help me work through specific situations from week to week and set me up for success. I now have a really helpful system for my to-dos around the house and a much more structured approach to daily scheduling at work and in my personal life. After years of struggling to maintain the motivation to get through the slog of applying and interviewing for new jobs, I’m about to start a new job that I’m really excited about thanks to the help I received from my coach. I’m incredibly thankful for this experience and all of their support.”
“My coach gave me a safe place to find myself again. She helped me become a human again. I can not recommend her higher. ”
“Once I gained the insight of my ADHD diagnosis and understood my executive functioning issues, my coach really helped with providing the right tools. I would ramble about what I need to focus on, and she was able to piece all my ramblings together and target what road to go down to help me. She has been super attentive, actively listens, engages in the most encouraging conversations, and is exactly what I was/have been looking for in a coach. She has really actively set me up for success, and I truly value my time with her and her insight.”
“Before I began my coaching journey, I often felt embarrassed about my inability to complete certain tasks. Coaching has been instrumental in my personal and professional growth. It has helped me build confidence in both my work and my life. Each coaching session provided a safe, non-judgmental environment, allowing me to express my vulnerabilities and address areas where I felt I lacked the necessary tools for success. As a result of the coaching experience, I now feel more confident in effectively communicating with others.”
“Before I began my coaching journey, I often felt embarrassed about my inability to complete certain tasks. Coaching has been instrumental in my personal and professional growth. It has helped me build confidence in both my work and my life. Each coaching session provided a safe, non-judgmental environment, allowing me to express my vulnerabilities and address areas where I felt I lacked the necessary tools for success. As a result of the coaching experience, I now feel more confident in effectively communicating with others.”
“Part of my focus was helping curb negative thinking toward myself and projecting previous failure into current situations. Reframing things and keeping a list of positives about previous accomplishments was a great way to inoculate myself toward this. The coaching was focused on my needs and driven by what I thought was something that would work for me, so no forced, eye-rolling self-affirmations.”
“Coaching thoroughly helped me improve my day to day life. My coach was personable and goal-oriented, I would highly recommend coaching for those who struggle with ADHD!”
“I found that coaching helped me to see things in a different way. My coach was great at presenting options that didn’t overwhelm me and helped me to make decisions. The experience has been beneficial in all aspects of my life.”
Student Coaching
“The transition from middle to high school was tough. I remember struggling to focus on school and not taking opportunities that would help me in school and life. I took my coach’s advice to heart and took risks I didn’t expect myself to take. I connected with my high school teachers more, participated in a lot of extracurricular activities, managed to find what I am passionate about, and through it all, I encouraged myself to work hard in everything I do and not lose hope. I will forever be grateful for my coach and the bright knowledge she passed down to me.”
“We couldn’t be more pleased with the support that our son received. Everyday used to be a constant struggle, but his coach has helped him develop the skills to get his homework finished, do better in classes, and overall has made things go a lot more smoothly in school and at home. Now we get to focus on being parents, not managers.”
“Coaching is a great way to hold yourself accountable, and gain tangible skills and tools to make significant steps. Coaches at The How Skills are full of knowledge and compassion—a winning duo.”
“As a single mom, I didn’t have anyone to share all the things I have to do for my family to get feedback on what to prioritize and what next steps to take next for something I’ve been putting off and feeling bad about. I have a special situation too, where among many other things, I’m supporting a child with a lot of needs. I needed someone who could understand what I’m dealing with around my kid’s school accommodations, etc. My coach had a background in education and met me right where I was at. Every week I could just unload all of it and talk through what I needed to do next. Sometimes this was a “let’s do it together” and other times it was “ok you have your list, now go forth!” Just so helpful.”
“My coach was super supportive and kind. She gave me very valuable tools that changed my life. I am now much more confident in communication and decision-making in particular. She was so understanding and sweet and didn’t judge me.”
“My coach gave me easy, accessible, tangible steps I could implement very easily but made a huge difference.”
Workplace Coaching
“Ultimately this experience gave me more confidence interacting with coworkers and leadership, and equipped me with invaluable tools for managing my life in this remote working world. I would absolutely do it again, and I’ve already started recommending The How Skills to my other neurodivergent peers. So many of these skills are just never taught, and The How Skills helps bridge that gap to allow neurodivergent individuals like myself to grow and thrive in a corporate working environment.”
“For the first time in my life, my challenges were listed out, but more importantly - I FELT CONFIDENT. I felt confident that I had strategies that could address each one. I felt confident that I knew WHY I struggled with each one. I felt confident that if some new challenge would arise, that I had an arsenal of knowledge and strategies to help me find creative ways to address it. Thank you for supporting those of us with disabilities so that we can be even more effective, but more importantly, healthier and happier.”
“I just completed the Workplace Coaching program and can’t speak highly enough of my experience, and the impact it has already made in just a couple of months. I am so very thankful that my employer is working to make an environment which welcomes diversity and recognizes it is a strength to be harnessed in the workplace. The experience was personally tailored to help me identify my individual problems and find comfortable ways to address them with the help and guidance of my coach. The outcome? I feel less stressed and overwhelmed and much more productive after a very short period of coaching.”
“My coach taught me to reject my limitations and be fearless and exude confidence each day! Be resilient and anything is possible if you try. Renew your mind each day so that you are a winner and an overachiever. Believe that you will accomplish and complete any task before you and you will be the best at doing it. They also taught me to not be afraid and to realize the power that I have within me and remain constantly inspired to achieve more each day. With their training and support my scores have risen sky high! I know some days it might be a little rough, but I know what to do to become a champion again thanks to the services and support from The How Skills. Thank you, Microsoft, for this great service you have provided for me and other employees in need!”
“My executive function coach did a great job of honing in on my specific needs and helping address better ways to meet or express those needs. I feel like I have a much better toolset now for being an effective employee while also managing my mental health.”
“Before coaching with The How Skills, I felt lost and didn’t have the tools to effectively perform certain job functions. I struggled with memory, organization, and I didn’t understand that I learned differently than how I was being taught. I tried to do everything someone else’s way and didn’t understand why it wasn’t working for me and why I was struggling so much. My boss noticed my decline in work quality and quantity, and every day I was afraid of being let go and that I just wasn’t cut out for the corporate world. This is my first “big girl job” out of college and it severely impacted my mental health knowing I wasn’t doing a good job.
After my coaching sessions, I receive nothing but praise from all of my managers. I’ve even been able to add more job responsibilities because my colleagues and managers trust me to do a good job with little to no oversight. My coach and I worked on creating strong and lasting systems to help me remember deadlines and as-needed information. We organized all of my notes, and she helped me understand that I prefer feedback in writing as opposed to verbal and how I thrive with an agenda ahead of meetings. I think my manager and I both agree I am truly able to come into my own as a working professional. I finally have the confidence in myself to be proactive, take on extra work, and go the extra mile knowing I won’t miss an important deadline, no one needs to proofread my work or look over my shoulder, and that I will get it done right the first time. This was a very valuable experience for me, especially as someone newly joining the workforce. I can’t thank my coach enough for her patience and endless knowledge. Thank you!! :)”
“My coach is a game-changer! She helped me understand *why* I struggled and developed personalized strategies that *work*. She breaks down complex tasks, tailors her approach, and is incredibly supportive. She celebrates every win and makes you feel empowered. Since working with her, my productivity, stress levels, and well-being have dramatically improved. She’s an exceptional coach.”
“My coach and I worked on skills and routines for managing my work at the hourly-, weekly-, and project-level. It made my work more engaging and easier to manage, and I now feel more in control and less overwhelmed at work. I really enjoyed seeing my coach, and each session she would listen and help me refine what I was doing until I landed on an optimal routine for me.”
“One of the most valuable aspects of the coaching was the focus on developing practical tools and strategies that I could immediately apply to my work and life. These techniques have significantly enhanced my ability to maintain focus, reduce context-switching, and manage my time more effectively. Overall, this coaching has led to meaningful improvements in my daily life, ultimately resulting in increased productivity and a stronger sense of control.”
“Working with my coach was phenomenal. Her wealth of knowledge and experience were so valuable, and I am leaving this program with so many relevant tools and frameworks for managing my ADHD at work. I appreciate how warm and accommodating my coach was, and I truly felt like I could bring my full self to each session. My coach is a gem and I’ll really miss working with her!”
“My experience with The How Skills was unique, in that they helped me during a sudden and unexpectedly difficult time in my personal life that cascaded into work. The How Skills helped me prioritize stress management, communication, and time management, and provided coaching, tools, and frameworks to address each. Ultimately, they helped me feel back in control of my life at work and like an even better version of my old self.”
“Executive function coaching is valuable for me because as an autistic person, I have executive functioning deficits. The training compensates the deficits using a set of tools. I become more confident when facing a new task and challenges. Working with my coach is effective and enjoyable. She provided customized tools based on what I need.”
“Coaching helped me feel accountable in actually implementing these helpful practices, instead of just hoping I would. It made a noticeable difference in my performance at work and my ability to relax at home.”
“Coaching has empowered me to work with my brain and listen to what my brain needs to operate effectively. This includes noticing sensory or motor needs that cause my brain to wonder. I have learned to love my brain and stop fighting against it to fit in or work in a way that other’s expect.”
“Prior to coaching, I was struggling with finding ways in which to actively communicate in a business setting what my needs were, and in the ways that I wanted to showcase my skillset. Through coaching, I learned how to truly hone in on my strengths to use them to my advantage as I learned to develop skills in other areas where I was not as confident. My coach helped me learn ways to use my time to my advantage as well as healthy stress management tools.”
“The insightful guidance and unwavering support helped me gain clarity on my goals and develop a concrete plan to achieve them. I feel empowered and motivated to take action, and I’d already seen drastic positive results in my personal and professional life.”
“I feel so much more confident now. Did coaching fix all my problems: No. What it did do was give me more tools and systems to reach my goals. Not everything worked for me but the things that did are really helpful in getting you where you want to be.”
“I like the different tools that were made available to cope with challenges I have. Learning about these tools and techniques was great, and having a document I can refer back to is extremely useful for tools I don’t need a regular basis.”
“Coaching provided me with the tools and skills needed to address issues such as procrastination and time management. It was really helpful to have a concept introduced, and then having the freedom to modify it to my needs.”
“My coach was very understanding and knowledgeable about the challenges I’m facing balancing a very demanding work and my newly diagnosed disability, and she helped me tailor solutions to my specific needs. Overall, The How Skills has an extensive playbook of tools, resources, and strategies for every problem I brought to my coaching sessions. I learned something new with every strategy and resource.”
“The How Skills has had an immeasurable impact on my work and home life. From email triage, task initiation, workload management to name a few. The weekly check-ins on action items with my coach were very helpful in keeping me accountable and motivated me to put the strategies to use. I honestly can say I feel a lot less stressed in my daily work life after completing The How Skills.”
“I cannot express how grateful I am for my coach and The How Skills! Before coaching, I was stuck in a constant state of overwhelm and mental chaos. Since I started working with my coach, I’ve been able to develop personalized tools that help me navigate the chaos in my brain and set myself up for greater success.”
“The coaching I received through the How Skills was excellent. The coaches helped me to find systems that worked for me — not people like me. We were able to create a number of new processes that have shown marked improvement in my productivity. I cannot express strongly enough how much of an impact this has made in my work, my confidence, and my peace of mind. Their patience, wide range of experience, and deep wealth of knowledge helped me get from challenge to solution in short order. Highly recommend!”
“My coach was great at listening about my struggles, and helped me address my challenges with novel techniques. Best of all, we spent a lot of our time applying the techniques to my actual work, seeing the new techniques and tools in action.”
“I will continue to use the tools and frameworks we discussed to take on more at work going forward. We were able to take very complex situations and bring them back to the core executive function tools in a way that truly helped me navigate new responsibilities.
It is my belief that this type of supportive coaching shouldn’t be limited to a small subset of employees, but brought to all that are committed to self improvement.”
“I finally had someone who understood and wanted to understand the divergent mind and how to help operate in the neurotypical world. It was the highlight of my career at Google working with The How Skills.”
“It’s been a pleasant experience to work with third party coach to review issues experienced through the week without repercussion and strategize ways to tackle similar challenges in the future.”
“Especially as I was transitioning back into work after a leave, these meetings helped center me back into my work and transition back to being a more productive version of myself.”
“My coach has helped me in every facet of my life, not just work skills. I loved our time together and am forever thankful for her kind and helpful teaching throughout the course. I feel like I’m a completely different person after coming out of the coaching program.”
“The strategies we covered over the course of the coaching program not only provided me with science-backed techniques specifically designed to support my needs, but it gave me back the confidence that my condition had stripped me of. This program was invaluable.”
“My coach is the best. She’s thoughtful, considerate and did a really great job helping me feel comfortable being open with her and myself in this entire process. There was no judgement and I think that was probably the most important part of coming into this process for me. I wasn’t reprimanded for not doing things, I was encouraged to keep trying and not stop.”
“I needed coaching on how to maximize my time, especially at work, to achieve my goals within a certain time frame. I believe my coach did an absolutely wonderful job of giving me the tools and aiding me in building a mindset in order to achieve those goals. If I look back to where I first started and where I have ended up there has been massive progress made and it definitely shows! Highly would recommend!”
“I really liked having someone to check in with to have some accountability as I try to implement these new strategies and make changes in how I work and approach everything. The guidance I received was really helpful and having someone I felt comfortable talking with was really important in this process.
I’ve found strategies to overcome some of the bigger hurdles I’ve had in my work life and I feel a lot more confident being able to come in and tackle things.”
“My coach was great and really helped me break my bad habits and create new, healthier ones. The tools I’ve learned I use daily and have made a really positive impact on both my work and personal life.”
“Coaching has helped me identify and put to practice helpful strategies for improving my performance at work despite my neurodivergent disability. It was great having an outsider’s perspective for pointing out the gaps and digging deeper into analyzing the root cause of some of my challenges. Some things may seem obvious at first but when you are in the thick of it, it may take someone else pointing it out, such as the coach, for you to realize the source of the issue and then with their help take the steps necessary to address it.”
“The strategies and tools provided during our sessions have had a profound impact on my work performance. I particularly appreciated the personalized approach, helping me develop systems for task management, minimizing distractions, and improving task initiation, especially for non-preferred tasks. I loved working with my coach. Her guidance in breaking down tasks and creating sustainable routines has been invaluable in enhancing my focus and productivity. I now feel equipped to handle work challenges with greater confidence and efficiency. Thank you for such a positive and transformative experience.”
“I found immense value in the coaching sessions with my coach, particularly in the personalized approach that addressed my unique challenges and goals. The structured, yet flexible, framework provided clarity and direction, which was incredibly beneficial.
My coach had a profound impact on my professional work, giving me valuable tools to use. At work, I became more confident and effective in my role, leading to a noticeable improvement in my written communication and confidence.”
“I want to extend my sincere gratitude to my coach and the Workplace Coaching program. My coaches guidance in breaking down tasks and creating sustainable routines has been invaluable in enhancing my focus and productivity. I now feel equipped to handle work challenges with greater confidence and efficiency. Thank you for such a positive and transformative experience.”
“For most of my life I have lived with undiagnosed ADHD. While it has always been a known issue, I was not prepared as an adult to the challenges I would face. I feel that the learnings and exercises have helped me understand why I do things. I am not broken or need to be fixed. I just needed some skills to help me grow and use my powers for good.”
“My coach helped me to identify specific areas of executive dysfunction that are especially impactful to my job performance, rank them, and then systematically address them one by one. Each step of the way, I was provided specific, concrete, actionable steps that I could take to cope with the natural difficulties that are symptomatic of my impairment. This precise behavioral approach has proven to be dramatically more effective than anything else I’ve tried before. I am deeply grateful to my coach and the HowSkills organization as a whole for empowering me to achieve more in work and in life.”
“Workplace coaching was recommended to me by multiple coworkers who had gone through it themselves. Now I’m the one recommending it to coworkers! The How Skills is a highly skilled organization, and I’d recommend it to anyone wanting to improve work skills that aren’t always explicitly taught. I especially recommend it to neurodivergent folks. As a neurodivergent individual, The How Skills’ coaches specifically helped me work with my brain rather than fight against it.”
“Coaching has helped me be more productive and confident at work. I have been able to use task initiation skills to overcome task initiation barriers. I’ve been able to use some of our communication scripts to have more productive conversations with my coworkers that take into account the way in which my brain works. Rather than having to mask for my unmet needs, I now know what they are and how to advocate for what I need to be more successful.”
“Coaching delivered more value to me both personally and professionally than I had ever expected. Prior to our sessions, I was hopeful for a good outcome, but the reality has blown me away. I felt able to discuss any issue or barrier I was dealing with, free of judgement. I felt empowered to learn how to work with my own brain, and empowered by the strategies my coach suggested. We fine tuned these strategies to better fit my life, experience, and strengths, and I am in a much better position mentally and professionally because of it. Coaching has allowed me to actually show up as my authentic self at work, and I am finally able to really practice Microsoft’s mission to empower every person to achieve more, because now I am too.”
“The coaching sessions led to significant improvements in communication, particularly in challenging situations. Techniques like reflective listening and non-violent communication were introduced, which helped in understanding others better and expressing thoughts and feelings more effectively. The coaching also provided strategies for managing stress and preventing burnout, such as mindful breathing and de-escalation strategies. These strategies have contributed to a better work-life balance and overall well-being for me.”
“My Coach made each session we had engaging and an incredibly valuable use of my time. She made sure that we didn’t just talk about skills, but helped me put them into practice by creating the space to build my own toolkit, and providing action items for added accountability. I would highly recommend that anyone who feels they have an unmet need in this space to advocate for themselves and seek this support.”
“My coach’s championing of Neurodiverse accommodation with my managers dramatically corrected an organizational perception of my performance from Less Impact Than Expected (LITE) to a vital part of ongoing business operations.”
“Every Microsoft colleague should have access to this, as we all are on a spectrum of executive functioning skills. I was hesitant at first because I was hoping for a coach with my specific learning disability, but was pleasantly surprised after my first session how their model of neurodiversity covered all kinds of disability. My work has been impacted positively by providing me routines, scripts, and systems based on my very specific needs to be reflective. They didn’t judge me when I made the same thinking errors that I struggle with and instead was compassionate but also constructive towards my goals.”
“I found it really useful to dive into tangible strategies and resources to combat a variety of work related issues that I was facing. Often times, I knew that I needed a better system to manage my time/projects but trying to figure that out from ground zero along with balancing everything else just seemed impossible.”
“The insights on each session provided me with newfound clarity and confidence to navigate wok and life hurdles. Working with my coaches was an exhilarating journey filled with both fun and professionalism from them. Their expertise not only improved my professional performance but also ignited significant positive changes in my personal endeavors. If anyone at Microsoft is experiencing any kind of blockers or struggles, they should take the first step towards unlocking their potential and achieving more.”
“It is impossible to put a value on what this coaching did for me, and not only professionally. I found it transferrable to my personal life as well, which has only amplified my overall happiness, and made me even more effective at work. This training helped me be me more communicative with my team, improve my effectiveness and impact at my job, gain awareness of how I can improve, and realize strengths I didn’t know I had.”
“My executive function coach did a great job of honing in on my specific needs and helping address better ways to meet or express those needs. I feel like I have a much better toolset now for being an effective employee while also managing my mental health. With their training and support my scores have risen sky high! I know some days it might be a little rough, but I know what to do to become a champion again thanks to the services and support from workplace coaching.”
Manager Readiness
“It was deeply beneficial to learn more about executive functioning and the ways a manager can support a neurodiverse employee. The tactical tips also enabled me to communicate in a way that more effectively answered my report’s questions, helped them better understand their expectations, and provided options for them to more productively collaborative with teammates.”
“As a manager I never knew the term “executive functioning” and have come to realize how much it covers many of the “how to work” skills I have coached my reports over the years. It’s amazing how often a small tweak or perspective switch is all that is needed for a massive performance change – I’ve found learning about executive functioning has repeatedly given me the language to identify those gaps and coach my reports through the needed shifts more easily and smoothly. The language and terminology has especially helped me to better articulate and share tangible feedback or actionable advice on “soft skills” which are usually both harder to describe or coach on as well as more likely to be impacted by bias or stereotypes. I found my reports far more receptive and curious about ways to improve when I used specifics from what I learned about executive functioning to explain the why and then dig into a “how.” It’s also allowed me to provide more specific positive feedback to encourage behaviors or identify unique skills when coaching. Across the board it’s given myself and my team a shared language and set of tools to better work together, provide feedback, and set expectations.”
“I had an exceptional experience working with my coach at The How Skills. They listened carefully to my experiences, reflecting back to me where I might have an opportunity to provide clarity and remove barriers for the people I work with, particularly with those who may be neurodivergent. I left our sessions with tools that will help me assess a situation and use language to communicate effectively.”
“From the beginning of the coaching program, the mentee told me in the 1:1s how relevant it was for him, how much the tips were making sense and how much more prepared he was feeling. Coaching comes as an additional resource to that of managers, who are not necessarily trained to deal with more complex issues. In addition, it comes as a third party validation. From my side, I found it very valuable to have additional resources and the possibility of discussing matters with someone.”
“Our coach was a great coach on both sides — to me as the manager and also to my report. In all of our meetings they brought a different perspective and asked questions or brought suggestions for things I hadn’t considered and that were helpful for me as a manager across all of my reports. I have seen an improvement in my Googler’s performance since they began working with The How Skills, and I also feel an improvement in myself and my capacity as a manager to have more empathy and more flexibility in how I show up for my team.”
“The manager meetings were extremely beneficial to me. My coach helped me to gain knowledge, skills, and resources to address some of the needs of my employee. She reduced the anxiety I had around making mistakes or doing the wrong things. Her guidance was instrumental in bolstering my confidence to explore alternative communication strategies and verify comprehension to help me drive improved performance. I am rather sad our sessions have come to an end.”
“The coaching helped me to have confidence that I was doing the right things to support my employee. I’m encouraged that this is something that Google offers managers.”
“I felt it was valuable to get an external perspective that could offer different ideas to help my team member grow. Great questions and discussion.”
“I have seen multiple changes and new skills in my report during this time! Their impulse control, focus, general confidence level, and strategic focus have all improved. They have built multiple systems to help them navigate their workload (and life in general) with less stress and wasted effort — making them more productive and strategic as a result. These changes have had a business impact on their work and the team as they have taken on larger leadership roles and more complex projects with a level of confidence, including recognizing when they should actually pause or deprecate work to align with business need. I am so glad they got this opportunity — both for themselves and for our team!”
“I’ve seen noticeable changes in my employees after coaching. My coach has been a tremendous partner and is highly skilled at coaching to individuals’ unique needs. Everyone is very leaned into the process and motivated to change, which is making an impact on the business and with clients. ”
“My coach was extremely effective in helping me as a manager figure out how I can better support the employee, with actions that I could take immediately. I saw a significant improvement in the employee’s executive functions.”
“My coach was excellent at getting straight to the core of the opportunity I was describing. She re-framed and confirmed my points to ensure clarity, then swiftly offered helpful suggestions.”
“My coach was skilled, and the design of the program (where she worked separately with both me and my direct report over the course of a few months, while keeping our discussions confidential from each other) was excellent. The combination of these things meant that I received helpful, tailored, contextualized advice as I adjusted my approach with my team member.”
“My employee is already a top performer, so I worked with The How Skills’ coaches on how to support my employee through a large re-org. It was incredibly helpful to get support and advice from the coaches.”
“Throughout the whole process and the touch point meetings I was able to see changes I needed to make to create a more accommodating environment for my direct report in the program. I not only applied what we discussed to them, but broadly my entire team. Through these sessions I was able to chart a direct correlation to the positive changes in communication, and creating an environment that is open and everyone is on the same page. ”
“Working with someone else helped the seller understand the importance of the issue that he had to improve and feel more commitment from my end in ensuring he had several resources to check it thoroughly.
I felt safe and cared for during the coaching sessions. ”
“Working with the workplace coach provided perspectives that helped me tune my own methods for coaching and developing my employee!”
Hiring Programs
“Coming into this internship, I thought I had a good understanding of the challenges I would face, but there were many unforeseen challenges that I encountered. This program was instrumental in helping me navigate these challenges, and it equipped me with the tools to tackle similar challenges in the future.”
“I really appreciate how my coaches took time to understand my background and experience throughout the internship. As I gained experience in new fields, they took time to understand the nature of my new tasks in order to assist me in effectively building the skills I need.”
“My coach is really good at her job. I felt she was adept at listening to my experiences and figuring out how techniques from the toolkit could help me. I have learned good methods for self-esteem management, time management, email organization, task organization, and reducing ambiguity. These are things I apply on a daily basis. I felt like we had a jovial personal connection, and I strongly appreciated having someone to vent/talk to who was outside my team.”
“My coach did a great job with understanding the struggles that I had as an entry-level employee, and they were able to give me proper guidance based on their knowledge and past experiences with similar people in my position. This helped me tremendously as it made the onboarding process much smoother and gave me the confidence in knowing that I would be able to succeed in my role.”
“The How Skills coaching program, as part of the overall Neurodiversity Hiring Program at Microsoft, has been an amazing resource for me. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to participate in this program and for the support it has provided me as a neurodiverse individual.
Adjusting to my first full-time job outside of college was a daunting experience. Finding and maintaining employment can be extremely challenging for neurodiverse individuals, particularly when it comes to adapting to a completely new environment. However, the coaching I received through The How Skills has made a tremendous difference.
My coach has been an amazing mentor. She has guided me through the process of adjusting to my role, helping me navigate challenges, and develop the skills I need to thrive. Her support has been invaluable in building my confidence, understanding workplace dynamics, and finding a sense of stability in my new environment.
Through this program, I have learned so much about myself and how to adapt and grow professionally. I am truly grateful for everything The How Skills coaching program has done for me. It has been a transformative experience that has given me the tools and confidence to succeed in my career, and I know that I would not have come this far without the guidance and resources this program has offered.”
Training Workshops
“Thank you so much for providing this training. I loved that there were manager workshops as well.”
“This was amazing and the presenter is incredibly well-spoken and a fascinating speaker. I will begin implementing these strategies IMMEDIATELY. ”
“Thank you for conducting this and other sessions. These can only increase the level inclusivity within the company.”
“I appreciated that the training gave multiple examples and options for working with team members with neurodiverse needs. Nothing is a one size fits all, and that was well-presented.”
“I found the training valuable because it helped me better understand neurodiversity and my misperceptions. As a manager, I am better informed about working with team neurodiverse team members. I appreciate the insights from the presenter. Your team did an excellent job of facilitating the discussion.”
“The presenter was very knowledgeable but also incredibly sensitive and aware to the potential needs of those attending the seminar and adjusted the presentation accordingly. It was inspiring to see these things actively being used in the presentation, not just being discussed. As someone who is neurodivergent, finding out different ways to communicate with my team and what I can feel comfortable expressing to them was very helpful.”
“I liked the concrete examples of processes and tips for working with neurodiverse employees. I also liked hearing from my colleagues about ways in which they support them.”
“The examples regarding how to handle accommodations was very helpful.”
“The information and share of real-life challenges at work helps us get a better understanding of the environment and people better. The trainer was also energetic and able to relate in their message.”
“As a new manager, this was great exposure and awareness for me. The techniques and navigations provided were a good start to further my development.”
“The training gave me words and actions to describe and share what my neurodivergent mind is experiencing and what I need for support.”
“I particularly liked the advice to focus on the support aspect, and not attempt to interrogate the person who has revealed their neurodivergence. The chat was also interesting, the anecdotes of challenges that neurodivergent employees have had both personally and regarding their children were very informative.”
“This training is very valuable and will undoubtedly improve the way we work together.”
“It was very insightful to learn how those who are neurodivergent navigate day-to-day work tasks/environments. As a result, I will be more understanding of someone’s desire to do things a certain way as long as the work is getting done. I thought the presenter was very knowledgeable and appreciated that she could speak from firsthand experience.”
“The content describing the various traits / skillsets of being Neurodivergent was enlightening. It helps reinforce differences in engagement. Great comments from attendees.”
“This workshop was very informative. I learned a lot more about neurodivergent and actionable guidance to help me support my teams. The presenter was knowledgeable, helpful, aware, and kind.”
“I really appreciated:
- live captioning for accurate captions
- 1 hour was a good amount of time
- templates provided for relevant strategies
- recognizing different needs and actually accommodating for them (visual impairment, providing multiple strategy suggestions)”
“I greatly appreciated the recognition that neuro-diverse associates bring complementary talents and insights to the workplace, as well as the education on interacting with neuro-diverse associates. As a father of a neuro-diverse young adult, I see the unique value they can bring to the table.”
“Neurodiversity was a completely new term for me but it explains a lot and gives an entirely new perspective on how to work with others and for them to work with me. There are ways I like to work and ways I learn well and some ways that just don’t do anything for me and lead to frustration.”
“It’s inspiring finding out that my organization values neurodiversity, and I’m pleased to know that there are resources available to us.”
“I enjoyed hearing from others that have children who are neurodivergent. I also appreciated those that were brave enough to admit to their own challenges.”
“The training and presenter were very good. It is helpful not only as an employee, but as a person in the community and as a parent.”
“It was empowering to see how many were impacted directly, or indirectly, with neurodiversity. Engaging and important discussion!”
“So much of the “things that can help” are things I have often struggled with and I am happily seeing more people doing these more often as the common ways to interact. Knowing I’m not the only one with some of those issues also helps in feeling less like an outsider!”
“I didn’t know much about the subject. I learned how to handle certain situations and what not to say. It was all new to me and I have a deeper understanding. The presenter was great. She explained things well and was passionate about the subject.”
“Great speaker — so clear and calm and inclusive and appreciated their disclosure.”
“Very informative about Neurodiversity and ways to accommodate.”
“The content was clear and very relevant to my role. I gained a fresh perspective about how to care for and accommodate neurodivergent employees. I enjoyed hearing from my co-workers about their experiences as well. The presenter had vast knowledge of the topics covered. She shared relatable examples to drive home her teaching, making it easier to understand.”
“Some of the ideas presented in the training mirrored how I feel but were unable to articulate. It could help me to better communicate my particular strengths and obstacles so I can set up a more productive environment. The presenter was very clear, professional, and engaging. I would definitely join future events given the opportunity.”
“I wanted to take a moment to express my gratitude for the neurodiversity training session facilitated by The How Skills for our team. It was evident that the session was prepared and delivered with a great deal of professionalism and care. The information provided was not only insightful but also crucial in highlighting the importance of embracing neurodiversity within our team.”
“This was a good 101 training and a good foundational start for leaders to understand this topic at a high level. The piece around “how to respond when someone self-discloses” was helpful along with the two brief scenarios shared. The presenter spoke clear and answered questions as they arose.”
“This training provided a great foundational framework on what neurodiversity is and the different types. Focus on the strengths rather than gaps. Used data-supported insights throughout. Through the lens of accommodations, focus on identifying and removing barriers, not on the disability itself or “fixing” a person. I was struck by the statistic that 75% of people with disabilities have non-apparent disabilities. It’s a great reminder that just because you can’t see that someone is struggling or is different, doesn’t mean they are not and non-apparent disabilities are just as deserving of support and accommodations. Ultimately, a good balance of academic context with actionable strategies and insights.
The delivery was fantastic. Good pace, tone, and variety of inflection kept the listener engaged. She knew her stuff really well and could go deep on follow-up questions, which established a high level of credibility.”
“The presenter was absolutely fantastic! I particularly appreciated them sharing their own challenges and what tactics they’ve used. Their honesty was very refreshing particularly when they freely admitted that they struggle with memory and it hasn’t improved. ”
“It was great to see leadership acknowledging neurodiversity and taking steps to educated the wider global team on this often “invisible” issue. The content was very relevant and it was clear from the comments how much it resonated.”
“The training helped me to identify new ways of better managing my own neurodivergence.”
“The presenter was engaging and dynamic. She created a great space for learning and sharing.”
“I felt the material was very high quality and filled with up-to-date, relevant, and relatable information. I also felt the content was considered most valuable for those that do not identify as neurodivergent and how they can learn to support their peers across various workplace scenarios, whether or not they identify as neurodivergent out loud. The presenter did a great job and was very clear with their presenting and diving into the topics of discussion.”
“I appreciate the practical examples that were discussed for how people with disabilities may be impacted differently in the workplace. For example, by having a webcam on during a conference call. I also appreciated the call-out for invisible/unapparent disabilities, and the reminder that someone does not have to identify what kind of disability they have to ask for an accommodation. It reminds me that it never hurts to be understanding and accommodating for everyone, whether they’ve disclosed a disability or not, since we never know what challenges another person may be facing.”
“The presenters and host did a great job with this presentation! It was very well communicated and delivered. I hope we have more sessions like this.”
“Great presentation, very concise and top notch. Thank you so much for the resources you shared!”
“Being a neurodiverse person myself, this form of training is a great benefit for those of us who struggle with these issues.”