
Episode #20
S1 - E19 - STOP DEFINING PEOPLE BY DIAGNOSIS with Traci Austin
Traci Austin on ADHD, the And/Both Method, and Designing Teams Around Strengths Host Ron Sosa welcomes Traci Austin, founder of Elevated Talent Consulting and creator of the And Both Method, to discuss normalizing neurodivergent experiences at work and focusing on how people operate rather than diagnoses. Traci shares how being held back in kindergarten and later placed in gifted programs drove her to collect credentials to prove she belonged, and how an ADHD diagnosis helped her understand her focus patterns, deadlines, and the differences between laziness, procrastination, and executive dysfunction without letting a label define her identity. They explore curiosity as a tool for collaboration, building teams around complementary strengths, creating environments that support focus, and shifting workplace conversations from blame and shame to clarity, accountability, and outcomes. Tracy describes tools like Predictive Index, challenges around culture fit, and “left unattended” as the need for structures to manage thoughts and reduce rumination. 00:00 Welcome and Guest Intro 00:56 Credentials and Identity 01:36 Kindergarten Story 03:30 ADHD Insight Not Identity 05:46 Curiosity and And Both 07:29 Hyperfocus and Team Design 09:24 Environment and Asking Needs 12:53 Labels and Self Discovery 15:32 Better Workplace Questions 18:05 Capacity Burnout and Careers 24:21 Culture Fit Reframed 29:23 Left Unattended Meaning 31:46 Wrap Up and Where to Find 32:14 Final Takeaways and Outro






