Audit Executive Lottie Cobley shares her experience of neurodiversity at work, highlighting the strengths it brings to her role and the power of understanding, flexibility and support in helping people thrive.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m a third-year audit executive based in Bristol. I was diagnosed with autism when I was 16 (but have been autistic my whole life), and I also deal with chronic anxiety disorder alongside it.
How has being neurodiverse shaped your approach to work?
Being autistic shapes the way I work because it means my brain is wired differently, so I approach the world differently. There are strengths that come from this, as well as many challenges.
I struggle with the people side of office life. I find it very difficult to balance helping associates, meeting the demands of different managers, and actually getting my work done. I want to be helpful, get everything done, and please people, but I also sometimes just want to get on with things in peace and focus on them properly.
I have received really positive feedback from both clients and managers for how I deal with clients, but it can be very tiring. This is because it feels like the rest of the world has a rulebook for how to do it, while I’m having to learn by watching others and making it up as I go along.
What unique strengths do you feel your neurodiversity brings to your role?
I am good with rules and with patterns. This is very helpful in Audit for identifying transactions that stand out and finding things that need to be queried further. After doing one job with a lot of legacies last summer, I was comfortable enough to follow the rules for another client to determine whether they should recognise a £5m legacy.
I’ve also been doing a lot of work on revenue recognition recently and after being given a bit of a briefing on the key areas I needed to focus on, including warranties and agents vs principal, I was able to discuss the key point with a client and easily summarise it into a memo for both this year and next year when the changes to FRS 102 come in.
I am very comfortable working by myself with just a list of things to do, and I am good at organising what I’m doing, where I need to be, and what people need to know for various jobs.
What workplace adjustments or strategies have helped you thrive?
It has been the little things that really help – the patience to explain things to me when I’m struggling, the reassurance that things are a bit less of a disaster than I think they are, and the permission to work from home when I need to, which is practical to give me a break from the noise and distraction of the office.
How has Bishop Fleming supported your neurodiversity?
I’ve found plenty of informal support throughout my time at BF. I’ve had three great growth coaches who’ve helped me work through different situations, dealing with clients and managers, and knowing what I’m expected to know and what it’s normal for me to struggle with.
I’ve been well supported by managers and seniors who’ve taken the time to patiently explain what they want, what I need to find out from the client, and how best to do so.
I’ve also been very lucky with associates who have tolerated my slightly chaotic way of working, asked good questions so I can best help them, and been happy to give me time to concentrate on the fiddlier bits of the audit when I need to.
Have you faced any workplace challenges due to neurodiversity? How have you overcome them?
I always get very nervous on the first day going out to see a client, whether it is for the first time or I am returning. However, with experience, I know it gets easier once I’m actually talking to them and I get on with the audit.
I also really struggled with having three academies I was trying to complete in the same week in my second year, two of whom I was waiting on a lot of information from, and knowing I was very unlikely to get them all done. It was very useful to know that no one was surprised they weren’t finished, as I had done what I could, and one of the managers was able to block out some more time a couple of weeks later to finish it. It was also useful to understand that, while we would love everything to be finished on completion days, realistically, that doesn’t usually happen, and there will always be some things that take a bit longer to get hold of.
I’ve also been part of BF’s Neurodiversity Group, where we have put together activities for the last three Neurodiversity Awareness Weeks. As a result of sharing my experiences, I’ve had some really insightful conversations with managers and partners.
It has also been really helpful to talk to others who have had similar experiences and faced similar challenges, whether it is around masking, managing our time, or burnout.
What misconceptions about neurodiversity would you like to challenge, and what do you wish more people understood?
There is no single way that neurodiversity, or even autism, presents in the workplace.
I have been told many times over the years that I ‘don’t look autistic’, but that is part of the reason I missed out on getting a diagnosis until I was a teenager, and the effort to present as neurotypical (not neurodiverse) is part of the reason I have such a bad anxiety disorder now.
What advice would you give to other neurodiverse individuals navigating the workplace?
Don’t be afraid to ask for help or a break if you need it. You are not the only neurodiverse employee here, and the firm is happy to do what it can to support you.
Also, don’t be afraid to tell people what help you need and what you don’t understand, as no one can read minds, and it is much easier to help someone once you know what they’re trying to get to.
How can colleagues and employers better support neurodiverse employees?
The same as you can for any employee. Be open to any questions they have, even if the answer is obvious to you, and if someone is asking for accommodations, do what you can to accommodate them as far as is practical.
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