Alice Zagato - Systemic Coach - Keeponexploring

📐7 rules for the differently wired leader 🧠

Some leaders think differently.

They do not “think outside the box.”
They were never in it.

Their usually self-taught, lifelong training goes the other way: learning other people’s boxes, how to enter, exit, and not kick them over.

They might have learned, in their own way, that people may like “different”… but not too much. Just the right amount of different.
They have learned that the context they want to belong to often screens for “fit”.

Now, using the word leader can be prickly. And yes, you might not always consider yourself a leader. Let me explain: leader as in anyone who has a shot at acting on or influencing others. Hence they bear responsibility … and visibility.
When you are in a place of influence, you become more exposed, more visible, which might be a perk… or lose the team’s trust in many different ways.

To lead often means to clear paths, remove obstacles, and then step aside so others can walk them on their own.

It is about the influence you have, how you “regulate” others in moments of stress, and how it shows up in concrete, compounded results over time.

In practice, that path is rarely linear.

These are “field notes” from 16+ years working with leaders who think otherwise: healthcare professionals, executives, watchmakers, entrepreneurs, artists… and yes, parents.

Among them, those who succeed do so precisely because they think differently and they learn, over time and fluidly with the ever-changing environment, how to leverage this.

Their rhythm, perception, relational styles, and problem-solving do not fit the usual templates.

Today, some of these traits would be described as neurodivergent.

Now, when translated well, that difference in wiring is not a liability. It can be one of the greatest assets.
1. Translate it → make your rhythm legible to others.
2. Leverage it → use the unique lens where it solves problems others cannot.
3. Buffer it → build routines and relationships that protect you from its costs and help you give your best.

If this perspective resonates with both your assets and your challenges, let me know.
I am glad to continue the conversation.