Episode #48: Supporting Neurodivergence and the HSP Nervous System at Work with Sira Laurel

How understanding neuropsychological safety, sensory processing sensitivity, and nervous system regulation can help highly sensitive people (and others) thrive in the workplace.

Welcome back to The Happy HSP Podcast. I’m your host, Kimberly Marshall, and today I’m joined by organizational development strategist and executive coach Sira Laurel. We explore why it’s important to support people’s nervous systems at work, how neurodivergence shows up in professional settings, and why so many highly sensitive people struggle in work environments that were never built for us in the first place.

So, if you’ve ever wondered how to thrive in traditional work environments or use your sensitivity as a superpower in your career or problem-solving capabilities, then this episode is for you.

I hope you enjoy it!

Kim: Sira, thank you so much for joining me today. It’s great to see you.

Sira: You too. I’m happy to be here.

Kim: Yeah. So, my first question for you is your own personal journey in high sensitivity and how you found out you had the trait and what happened in and around that experience for you.

Sira: Yes. So, in some ways I’ve known since I was very, very little, but I’ve also really only been deeply aware since 2014. So, a little bit of history there is that when I was two and a half-ish, two, three, I was in a Montessori school.

Kim: Oh, wow.

Sira: My mom put me in this particular type of school system where they have more individualized teaching approaches and they had an occupational therapist on staff. And that individual, apparently, this is before my memory of this, but for my mom, letting me know that that individual had noticed some behavior that might’ve been the result of some sensory needs. And, at the time, which was the mid-80s, the terminology that was used was sensory integration dysfunction. So, my earliest memories of this trait were framed as a deficit.

Kim: Dysfunction.

Sira: Yeah, as dysfunction. Yeah. And that’s for a lot of differences, especially in the United States, how things are framed, is that if it doesn’t read like the typical or expected, it must be wrong.

Must not have to do with something in the environment. It has to do with that individual. So set up to think of it as an issue. And the terminology was later updated to sensory processing disorder, so not a positive evolution, just a change in the DCM. And that’s what I was out of living with, experiencing as an identity until I moved from the small, small town of Eugene, Oregon, where it was quiet and quaint and calm. And once I had a lot more language, of course, even as a child, to be able to express this is what’s going on and what my concerns were, and that we could adapt environments to my needs, that I was able to almost ignore the trait until I threw myself into what I call the sensory deep-end of the pool of San Francisco.

Kim: Wow. I love that.

Sira: And yeah, that was then my back against a sensory wall moment. And I was met with this onslaught of sensory information and finding it very difficult to function. And I called my dad who, though we’d never talked about it, it was very apparent that I had inherited sensory processing sensitivity from him and probably also from my mom. He and I were on the phone and I was asking him, “How the heck have you managed this?” 

Because he was still living in Southern California, whereas my mom and sister and I had moved up to Eugene. So, I think my mom intuitively had designed a life around her sensory knees without knowing that that’s what she was doing, but felt really attached to, again, the calm, the quiet, the quaint of the small town. And my dad somehow was doing everything in SoCal and was like, “How are you doing this? I feel like I’m going to explode.” And he pointed me to the meditation center in NorCal that he had been going to.

And it’s like, I have a meditation practice. I’ve been meditating for 25 years. That’s how I’ve been doing it.

Kim: Finding inner calm in pretty much anything.  

Sira: Yeah, exactly. So, I went to a young meditator’s retreat at this meditation center, and that was in 2014 or maybe early 2015 where there was a participant in that weekend who, on a late night in the library, as we were just talking about all the things and what brought me there, I was explaining. So, I had this sensory processing disorder, and I was done. I explained all these things about it. And he’s like, “What you have is not a disorder. It’s a gift. You’re a highly sensitive person, and you should read this book.” And he pointed me to The Highly Sensitive Person by Dr. Elaine Aron, and that obviously changed everything about everything.

Kim: I love that so much because it was like ... And that surprised me, you went to Montessori School, which is usually an out-of-the-box type school for kids to be more creative. And it’s funny to me that you were there and still had those challenges. 

Sira: Yes.

Kim: What was that like? What kind of challenges were you having? I mean, again, it just seems like a different type of school. It probably would’ve been a better fit.

Sira: Yes. Yeah. So, one of the other attributes that I have going on is also sensation seeking. So, it’s that combination that makes for a pretty narrow window of optimal arousal.

Kim: Right, right, right. I want it all, but I can’t.

Sira: But I can’t. So that push-pull was happening then. So, while absolutely do consider myself a highly sensitive person, I also have this other trait that is in combination among all sorts of other aspects, personality. But yeah, it was then those in combination that I think led this occupational therapist to think that there was a disorder or dysfunction, that there was something often in regulation. So, apparently there were some aggressive tendencies with some of the other students when-

Kim: I mean, I find it funny looking back on it, but I can imagine.

Sira: Yeah, where they’re getting on my nerves, just like, “Please stop. I’m trying to focus here.”

Kim: It’s amazing to me too that you went from this school to learning you had a disorder or they thought was a disorder, and then to a calm and safe place, and then to a busy bustling area, it’s almost like you had the experience of the overwhelm to the gentleness to more overwhelm. It was like you got to experience all of those angles. What did you find when you landed in the meditation space? How did that affect your journey, would you say?

Sira: Yeah, I realized, recognized, experienced meditation as medicine.

Kim: And what’s that?

Sira: As opposed to what could have been prescribed for me, and this is not to say at all that medication is not an appropriate course of action for an individual, but meditation as a medicine, as opposed to a pharmaceutical drug as medicine…being introduced to that concept was fortunately early, just at the beginning of this journey of experiencing, “All right, I am wanting to be here. This is for my career, my education and relationships, et cetera. I want to be in this space. How can I do this?” 

There were options. There were paths for me to choose. And I was like, I really like this one. I would like to walk this path because I don’t want to dampen the gift. I want to be able to leverage the intuition. I do need to feel the intensity of feels to be good at what I do in my work and to just leverage my cognitive capacity. So that was really fortunate that I was introduced to that and was able to start that grounding early. And I’ve gone in and out of practice. I cannot say at all that I’ve been consistent like my dad has been, but it always comes back.

I always come back to it, and it is, I think again, because all the messages we get, especially Western hemisphere side of things, that’s not enough. And it can be.

Kim: Yeah. Let’s mask it versus learning how to work with it. I hear you. So, on this, as you’re doing all of this and learning meditation practices, how did that affect your work and that choice for you?

Sira: Yeah, I had been managing, I just call it the revenue cycle. I was on the quantitative side of business when I first exited college, and I was doing that for five years, and it was just sucking the life out of me to figure out how could we make more sales? How can we maximize our billings?

Kim: What do you mean…sounds amazing.

Sira: Yeah. Every HSP is like, “Yeah, that’s what I want to do.”

And we were doing something that I thought was worthwhile. We were in postoperative bracing. We were supporting people’s postoperative recovery. And I was there for that mission and being in healthcare and just thinking that I was supporting people in their recovery, but the tasks that I was doing to that end were not fulfilling. And I found myself gravitating towards the qualitative side of business. And because I’m finally tuned to the subtleties and going, morale is weird or retention is not where it should be. Before I even had this terminology, I’m just like, people feel weird. They’re not having a good time. I’m struggling recruiting people and finding people to stay who actually care and want to do a good job and different frictions between internal staff and external salespeople. I’ve just noticed all these dynamics.

And there was nobody there who was positioned to tend to those needs. And I recognized that that was a career that they called it human resources, and I could pivot. So, I had also actually gone on a business trip and checked out another organization that was larger than us, but was doing similar products and was able to evaluate their operation and take back learnings. And I was like, “That’s also a career.” I was like, “They call that a consultant.” 

When you go out into the world of post-college, which doesn’t prepare you at all for work, you’re learning these things and you’re Googling like, “What could I do with this? And I actually like this. What is it called?” I’m like, wow, organizational development, organizational psychology, that’s what this is. Okay, I need to go back to school. I need to get a master’s. And that’s what took me to San Francisco is that there was a program at USF that I wanted to enroll in. And then I also just thought I’m punching the ceiling here for opportunity in this college town, and gosh, there’s no end to the possibilities in a major city. 

And I had a friend who was already in Oakland, and so there was a connection there. There were a couple other friends who were thinking about relocating. So, I’m like, okay, I’m going to have community in this big place. So, it made it seem more attractive and possible to make that leap. But yeah, it was met with a reality check when I got down here of what I’d be up against in big city corporate, even in a people role, it was just wild, wild and intense, to say the least, introduction into corporate expectation. And yes, we want you to care about people, but we really want you to protect the company.

Kim: Yeah. Bring your whole self to work, but not that part.

Sira: Not that one. Yeah, not that part.

Kim: Yeah.

Sira: Yeah, yeah.

Kim: I hear you. So, what led you to coaching and what led you to this?

Sira: Yeah, so I really describe myself as I’m a systems strategist. That’s where I always lived inside of organizations was finding out the constraint, the friction and solving for it. Systems thinking comes very naturally to us, HSPs. And I am a systems strategist who uses coaching tools.

So I did put myself through a couple, well, three now different certification programs to make sure that I could meet anybody where they’re at and have a lot of tools in the kit to be able to pull out as needed for the players in that space, in the context, and to be able to switch, okay, this tool’s not working, let’s try this tool. So, I’m a system strategist who uses coaching tools, and I focus on the people side of change, particularly high-stakes change where vulnerability and, excuse me, where morale, retention, and alignment are most vulnerable.

Kim: Wait, this is really interesting. Explain what that means. Systems in terms of computer systems, systems in terms of ... When you say systems, what do you mean?

Sira: Yeah, so human systems and the human operating system and neuropsychological safety in particular is what I focus on, the body and what signals we’re receiving from our environment that tell us it’s safe to proceed. So, a very hyper-specific example is that meetings, we all have them. Every organization has them. We must meet to collaborate, and that means that’s where we have the opportunity to actually connect with another human being and build trust and earn loyalty. So, if our meetings are not safe, then all of those things are at risk.

We can send signals to our brains before we ever enter that meeting of how to prepare for that meeting. Some of those things are an agenda. We can also color-code meetings that say a blue meeting is an exploratory, no decisions made, space for ideas to emerge kind of meeting, and we can think about what type of brains really like that meeting and that they’re allowed to be that and they could leverage those gifts in that session. And then red meetings. When I show it to a red meeting, I know what time it is. It’s time to decide, not debate, and that way your decision fatigue can dissipate.

Kim: So amazing. I’ve never heard of this before. And it makes so much sense because it’s like you are digging into where in the corporate environment might trigger HSP nervous systems or high sensory nervous systems, and you’re helping solve for that. Just in a grounded way like, “Hey, we need a heads-up with this. We need to know how to think about this, how to come into this meeting. We need to calm our nervous system so we can bring 100%.

Sira: Yes, exactly. Yes.

Kim: I love that. 

Sira: We are not fully leveraging the cognitive capacity of our teams in any way with the amount of pressure and friction and frenetic way of working. And so it is, while I absolutely have my HSPs and my cognitively diverse folks in mind, every meeting just as a for instance for meetings is putting all of our brains in a constant state of distress and disorganization.

Kim: Everyone.

Sira: And distress, disorganized people do not have as many great ideas and do not solve as many problems.

Kim: That’s great. I’ve never heard of this type of position before. How do you frame this? Or I mean, are CEOs, are companies and corporate places aware of this type of role and the help that it can do for functioning teams?

Sira: Yeah, yeah. I mean, fortunately the neurodiversity conversation is becoming more top of mind, more mainstream. We’re starting to truly understand that, actually no two brains are alike.

That cognitive diversity is the baseline. And the benefits of a neuropsychologically safe environment are enhanced team performance and reduced stress, greater emotional stability, the improved ability to work under pressure, increased innovation, creative thinking, and engagement in what someone is doing. 

These are things that businesses care about. And we did have the seminal research on psychological safety and Google’s Project Aristotle to show organizations the science behind what practitioners like me are doing. And then I am taking it with other practitioners who have absolutely come before me that one step further or deeper is that there’s actually a neurological response. There’s an unconscious process that’s happening before we’re ever cognitively thinking, “It’s not okay for me to raise my hand.” 

And so that neuroception of safety, the brain’s ability to automatically detect risks or safety without conscious awareness, we need to bring that into the conversation, and yet tying it to these outcomes, yes, organizations do care about this, but there definitely is education around, well, how do we do this?

Which is why I like to focus on something universal and tactical like meetings…

Kim: For everyone. So, it’s like you’re not making exceptions for the neurodiverse people on your team. This really helps everyone kind of step up to the plate in a better way, but you also know that it especially helps.

Sira: Yes.

Kim: For someone like you who is highly sensitive, who does understand these things, you have just another layer of understanding what can be done to help.

Sira: Yes, yes, yes, yes. Yeah.

Kim: So how do you apply this practically? Do you coach people? Do you set up systems? Do you train people how to set up the systems? How does that work?

Sira: Yeah, so it could be any of those things. I often work with people one-on-one during some kind of inflection point. Typically, a leader who may have taken on a new role of responsibility and all of a sudden feels like the fracture of, I was doing this before, this was working, and now it’s not. What I am finding is that while we have more information now than ever before about cognitive diversity, still this trait of sensory processing sensitivity, the researchers on this are HSPs, they’re quiet. That makes sense. No one’s going out there and be like, do, do, do, this is what’s going on. 

Kim: We did the research, but it’s staying there.

Sira: Yeah. It’s staying there. And they’re like, if you want to learn about this, come over here and check out this website. The research is here if you want to find it. So I am finding that I’m a mouthpiece for this thing and that we all are actually taking in sensory information and it’s important for you to understand the way your nervous system works so that you understand the intensity with which you experience the world and thus the environmental conditions and triggers that either support or get in the way of your highest functioning. And so there’s some inflection points with somebody who may have been able to, again, intuitively design their life or their work around their sensory needs, and then there’s a change and all of a sudden their schedule is not their own and they’re having to meet the needs of others and that means that theirs are coming second or third or fourth.

And so, I can work with an individual then at that inflection point to figure out how do we handle this new world order where you do have competing priorities and one of them is your nervous system and then whatever responsibility this is that you now have. But then it’s also inside of organizations. I’ve worked with highly sensitive CEOs who are just too close to the problem. They feel it. They get that there’s something happening and that there is, say with scale, with growth, that the way that they’ve all been doing it is not working anymore and something needs to change, but they need just a new set of eyes. They come in and say, again, to scan the whole system, be like, “That is the constraint. That’s the biggest constraint. Sure, there’s a lot of problems we can solve, but that’s the one. Let’s go after that one first.” And then definitely training where we’re teaching everyone where they fall on the sensory spectrum because we know that in broad categories, but that there’s about 30% who are low sensitive, about 40% moderately, and then 30% high.

Well, where are you falling? And what are the benefits of any of these sensory processing styles? And then of course there’s two sides to every coin. What do you need to watch out for? If you’re the orchid in the office, what do you need to pay attention to? And then if you’re the dandelion, what might you be missing? And then the bridge building tulips in the middle, like, I kind of get this and I kind of get that. So, it can be great relationship builders between two extremes.

Kim: Beautiful. And it’s amazing to me because with everyone talking, and I’m glad this is a subject that so many people are talking about now, the nervous system regulation, that’s so huge when it comes to being able to listen to your intuition and hear what’s the best choices. When we are in constant fight or flight, which is the norm, I feel like in a lot of workplaces, we’re not functioning at our highest capacity. This is important work.

Sira: Yes. Yeah, I think that there’ll be continuing to be a shift towards awareness around nervous system needs.

Kim: And the benefits of expressing it.

Sira: And the benefits of understanding yourself in this way. And neuroscience made simple, to be sure. We do not all need to become neuroscientists to understand how to tend to our needs and make sure that we’ve got full body-brain integration and that we know our environmental conditions that set us up for success and how to meet our own needs as much as possible. 

I believe that we are self-leaders first and foremost, and that is primarily what the goal of this is, is that we need to learn how to meet our own needs, which could include articulating, of course, to someone else what those needs are so that you can hold a boundary or that person can help you meet that need. Of course, there’s that partnership that’s involved too, but first and foremost, it’s just understanding self- so you can lead self.

Kim: Yeah. And feeling comfortable speaking up for those needs in the workplace, which can be tough because you’re afraid to be done to be ... Yeah.

Sira: Yeah. And while I am, I feel like I want to believe that organizations stand behind their mission, their vision and values and inclusivity statements, but that is a formal culture that doesn’t always translate to the actual culture. And we have to be aware of what is safe and not safe to say. And for me, I work a lot with people on how to communicate needs, not from a neurodivergent or cognitive diversity or accommodation language at all, because especially in the United States, that can trigger other people that you are now a risk, and it can inadvertently make them treat you differently.  

Kim: Exactly.

Sira: But we all have needs, and to communicate in simple language what those needs are can protect you from usually inadvertent, but discrimination or at times overt discrimination.

Kim: So, one more question before we move on. Do you work within one company or do you work with whoever needs your services? Are you employed by a specific business, or are you just wherever people need you? Does that make sense?

Sira: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I-

Kim: An independent consultant, I guess.

Sira: I am an independent consultant, yes. And I work with, of course, intentional humans, and I specifically don’t say I work with organizations because organizations are just comprised of humans. That’s all an organization is. So, I work with humans, intentional humans, and they tend to be cognitively intense humans, of course. But yeah, when we have a conversation and we learn that we are values-aligned and that we are learning from each other, that that’s where you start to see then a potential for collaboration in this way.

Kim: Right. So, what would you say is your struggle when it comes to high sensitivity? What do you find challenging?

Sira: Oh, let’s see. I mean, sometimes the intensity of feels, it can be overwhelming to, when you’re in a room where tensions are high, where there’s conflict, where there’s other people’s stuff there, everyone like, “Is this mine?” No, okay, what is mine? And being able to discern that and to have that grounding process that allows you in the moment to be a channel for that input, throughput, output, to be a well-oiled machine, where that’s functioning really well and not a sponge where you get heavy and overloaded with again other people’s stuff. So if I’m not tending to my own nervous system, if I’m pushing myself up too hard, not getting the sleep or rest recovery, whatever that looks like, if I’m not doing that, well, then I start that system, the input, throughput, output system is not working as fast or as well, and I can end up holding on to stuff that’s not mine.

Kim: Right, right. And what would you say is a way that you can recognize that and mitigate that the best you can, would you say?

Sira: Meditation has certainly been advantageous in remaining aware, remaining consciously aware of subtle signs of change. And for anyone who’s not meditating, it’s simply it’s just noticing. You don’t have to have a meditation routine to notice and to pause to check even Dr. Aron’s framework in a slightly different way. You can pause to check what’s going on in your system. Is your chest tight? Are your palm sweaty? Are your shoulders high or are they down? Are they relaxed? Are you breathing normally or is it shallow? And to then pay attention to, well, what just came before these feelings? There’s always an antecedent to the behavior and that results in a consequence of that ABC of behavior there is like, what made me do this? Oh, I got a weird email. Or somebody said something that I took personally. Okay, that’s what happened. I got to remember that that can happen.

And so that when I start to do these things or my body starts to really do these things or I start to have certain thoughts to ... One way that I just had someone put it was like to doubt your doubt is one method to course correcting that. When you start doubting yourself, when you start feeling down, when you start feeling heavy, you’re like, what?

Kim: Why am I doing this? Yeah.

Sira: Why am I doing that? Why am I doing that? Where did that come from? You got to doubt those doubts. Also, just be a scientist, be exploratory, be curious. And you’ll stay in that conscious awareness state where you’ll notice the subtle signs of fatigue, overwhelm of carrying things that aren’t yours. And then you’ll also be able to develop the routine to get out of that more quickly.

Kim: Yeah, that’s what you’re making me think. It’s like it can be such a runaway train. If you’re not paying attention to these things, it snowballs over the end of the day and then you go home and you’re like, “Why am I so overwhelmed? I’ve been like this all day, just nervous.” When you see in the moment, it’s like, oh, I just got that email, and that was kind of uncomfortable. You can take yourself out of it in the moment. And again, ease that nervous system.

Sira: Yes. Yeah. And it becomes easier over time than when you notice, “Oh, my eye’s flickering. I know what that is a signal of, and I know now what to do when I receive that signal.” So, it’s all about being able to notice your signals because everybody’s got different signals. No body is the same. It’s like no brain is the same. Oh, it’s noticing yours. And then what is the intervention? The little itty bitty intervention that you can apply to that signal that then gets you back into that optimal state, into that higher performance, high-functioning state.

Kim: Back in your body.

Sira: Yeah. Yes.

Kim: What do you love about high sensitivity? What’s your favorite part about the trait?

Sira: I mean, also the feels.

Kim: Yeah. That’s so funny. Yeah.

Sira: Yeah. It’s the susceptibility to positive experience, the simple thing of like, oh, the scent on that flower that just lingers and it just takes over my entire body. And somebody’s like, “What? What scent. You smelled what flower?” I’m like, “How did you not smell that flower? It was right there. We just passed by.” And you’re just overjoyed with that thing. So yes, still the feels. It’s just two sides to the same coin. So yeah, the ability to pay attention to and I guess experience small things as bigger things and notice things that other people miss. There’s just such a richness.

Kim: Yeah, that feel larger than life. It’s like these little things that are just like, “Heck yes.”

Sira: Yeah. Yes, exactly. Yeah. And they stick with you and they come up later and you’re like, “Oh yeah, that’s right, that thing.” And it just awash just comes over you again. So, you get to relive experiences because of how deeply the memory gets ingrained.

Kim: So cool. It just makes life feel just extraordinary and not so normal.

Sira: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I very much appreciate the people who can withstand what seems like insurmountable challenge of life, but I don’t envy that, but I do appreciate that there are people who can because we need that too. These are just alternative survival strategies. To exist in practically the same amount, the same quantity, 30, 40, 30 means that they’re all the same. They’re all just alternative survival strategies that the species has evolved to deal with the things that we’re up against and to survive together.

Kim: So, what advice would you have for HSPs who are struggling to find meaning or purpose in their lives? What would you say?

Sira: I mean, first and foremost is we’ve really got to embrace who we are, not just accept, but actually embrace in this warm, like that is amazing. You have a role in the survival. That’s big deal, survival of this species. You have a role, big role to play. And because I do think of leadership from a biological perspective, when we think of the changes that are happening to our world and our species and every other species, that there are times when certain survival strategies matter more than others, or more helpful than others. And I do think that we are seeing the swing towards, in the AI automation age, a need for high empathy, high processing, high-sensitivity people because relationships when the machines do all the work that machines can do are all that matter. 

Kim: That’s all that’s left. 

Sira: That’s all that’s left.

Kim: Yeah. Yeah.  

Sira: Yeah, exactly. And well, the energy consumption to replicate what the human brain alone can do, let alone a high-sensitive and high-processing, high-empathy brain can do. It can’t and won’t compete. It’s not able. So quell, you’re fears about machines taking over.

Kim: Yeah, they can’t do everything. 

Sira: They can’t.

Kim: I’ve even seen or read things or heard whatever about how maybe they’ll take care of a lot of these denser functions so we can be more creative and intuitive, and it may prove to be a positive tool.

Sira: Exactly. Yes. That’s how I see it. The World Economic Forums, Future of Jobs Reports, it projects what skills will be necessary in the next five years. So, at that point, it was 2030, and all of the skillsets, the core skills required in the next five years were talent development, relationship building, negotiation, creativity, systems thinking. And I was just like- All the- HSPs. HSPs, HSPs.

Kim: Yeah. I’m ready for it.  

Sira: Absolutely. And organizations are starving for creative and innovative thought because they’ve been designed around a non-existent average brain and around a metaphor of a machine, which it never was, and it won’t be because it’s a living system. And that’s an industrial revolution relic that is holding on. 

There are still people and we can see that we’re holding onto that, but it is falling to the wayside with more information and more data and more effort by humans, like us just continuing to send the message that that is not the way human systems work. And it never worked that way, but we’re starting to realize just how depletive these environments are. And there is a shift, especially post-pandemic too, where people are really struggling with mental health and just experiencing just how much the brain-body integration is needed and how much ignoring it can be so catastrophic to health that the expectation is going to be on employers to solve some of these problems and or to be part of the solution for employees. 

Kim: That’s such a great point. It’s almost like our society’s being so pushed to the edge of burnout with everything because everyone’s so trying to make ends meet and our jobs are so detrimental to our mental health. But with COVID, we all had time off out of the office to get a taste of what that freedom was like. So yeah, I wonder if that’s just part of the natural evolution of where we’re going. That’s at least what makes sense to me when you’re explaining that.

Sira: Yeah. We had the opportunity to explore what flexible work could look like and that it actually does work and that treating people like adults, even if you’re forced to do it, does the yield still positive results that people who are allowed to control their schedule and flex it in the way that works for them makes them a better employee and makes them more loyal to your organization. So this rigid return, this forward step and two-step back moment that we’re having with return to work and forced scheduling is like, that’s going to backfire. It’s going to backfire on bottom lines.

Kim: Yep. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining me today. I really loved this conversation. Where can people follow along on your journey?

Sira: Sure. Best place to find me is LinkedIn. So, just Sira Laurel is my handle there, but also my website, and that is leadnorthofnormal.com. 

Kim: Awesome. It was so great to see you. Thanks again for joining me. 

Sira: Yeah, absolutely. Thank you.

Thanks so much for listening in on my conversation with Sira. I hope it reminds you that no two brains are alike, and if we want to build societies and workplaces with increased innovation and problem-solving capabilities, the key is increasing neuropsychological safety for all. A future that we should not only aspire to but also deserve.

Until next time. Take care!

About Sira Laurel:

Sira Laurel is an organizational development strategist, executive coach, and certified Highly Sensitive Person coach who helps thoughtful professionals design work lives that actually fit how their brains and nervous systems function. With more than 15 years of leadership and HR experience, she specializes in helping highly sensitive and cognitively intense people understand their sensitivity as a strength rather than a limitation. Through her work in organizational development and neuro-affirming coaching, Sira helps people reduce hidden cognitive load, navigate leadership and career transitions, and build work environments where they can contribute their best thinking without burning out.

Follow along on Sira’s journey:

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/siralaurel

Website: leadnorthofnormal.com

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About Kimberly:

Kimberly Marshall is an ICF-certified Energy and Intuition coach for highly sensitive people (HSPs) and host of The Happy HSP Podcast. After 20 years in the publishing industry working for companies like Time Inc., Monster.com, and W. W. Norton, she left her corporate career to pursue work that better suited her HSP needs. She now helps HSPs reconnect with their intuition, energy, and soul’s purpose so they can live gentle, heart-centered lives in alignment with who they truly are.

Through her work, Kimberly hopes to shed more light on the reality of living with high sensitivity and inspire more HSPs to embrace their empathetic, loving, and gentle natures.

• Hosted/produced by Kimberly Marshall

• Edited by Fonzie Try Media

• Artwork by Tara Corola