Accelerate Delivery

It’s a story as old as software itself.

Managers think: “why don’t these engineers understand we have deadlines in the real world?”

The engineers likewise wonder: “we’ve explained the problem so many times, is this guy just stupid?”

Now here’s the kicker: nobody has the monopoly on common sense. Rather, it’s just another example of the double empathy problem.

The idea behind it is simple. If people don’t generally understand neurodivergent individuals then other neurodivergents shouldn’t either. Twice the divergence, right? Except that neurodivergent people tend to understand each other very well.

Now, it’s worth mentioning at this point that I’ve not said which side (engineers or managers) are neurodivergent. You probably assumed I was inferring it was the engineers. I don’t blame you. I would.

But the double empathy problem is about mutual misunderstanding. Neurodivergence can operate at all levels of an organisation.

Interestingly, the double empathy problem challenged decades of accepted wisdom that framed difficulties with empathy as common amongst autistic people. (Fun fact: a lot of this accepted wisdom was established by Prof. Simon Baron Cohen, cousin of comedian Sacha).

So, next time you find yourself arguing with somebody on the other side, take a deep breath, pause and think about things from their point of view. They’re (probably) not being awkward on purpose.