How Neurodiversity ERGs Can Deliver Real Impact in 2026

Most organizations are entering 2026 with a familiar set of priorities. One of these is building greater leadership capability – something that remains under pressure as managers are asked to lead through constant change. Hybrid work and AI continue to reshape how work gets done, forcing teams to rely on tools and processes that did not exist a few years ago. Hiring and retaining Gen Z employees remains a challenge for many. Organizations also continue to re-examine performance and development frameworks to ensure they reward merit throughout.

Such priorities are widely shared, but what is less widely acknowledged is how dependent they are on an accurate understanding of how people actually think and work. A significant proportion of the workforce does not work in a way that perfectly suits common work norms. And when systems assume a narrow range of work styles, even well-designed initiatives struggle in practice.

The Explosion of Neurodiversity ERGs

Differences in how people think and work have always existed. What has changed over time is much greater visibility and conversation around this fact. Employees are increasingly (though sometimes nervously) open about their needs, and younger generations expect conversations about work style to be normal rather than exceptional. Indeed, more than half of Gen Zers consider themselves neurodiverse in some way.

Neurodiversity ERGs took off in the later 2010s, encouraged by major brands’ focus on neurodiversity hiring efforts. Such efforts – focused initially on talent acquisition – awoke and emboldened many existing employees who said, effectively, ‘we are already here, what about us? It’s not just about hiring new folks. A lot of things need fixing’.

Such ERGs have often grown rapidly, beyond initial expectations, because so many employees recognize themselves in the conversations, even if they have never used clinical language to describe their work style. The emergence (and growth) of these groups remains a signal that organizations are already more cognitively varied than their systems reflect.

Challenges of Impact at Scale

Most neurodiversity ERGs began or begin by focusing on awareness; hosting talks, inviting speakers, and creating space for people to share their experiences. These efforts play an important role in reducing stigma and helping colleagues and managers understand that different work styles are more common than many realize - and often poorly catered for.

However, awareness alone rarely changes how work operates at scale. Many ERG leaders observe that while attitudes improve, everyday experiences regularly do not. Leadership programs continue to reward a narrow set of behaviors, while performance processes often rely on implicit “neurotypical” expectations. Tools and workflows remain cognitively demanding. Managers, crucially, often want to be supportive but can lack a basic understanding of how cognitive differences show up at work.

Over time, ERGs may become increasingly popular – and visible - but many experience frustration as major business strategies and processes continue as before and/or remain shaped only with “neurotypicals” in mind.

Why Strategic Priorities Urgently Need ERG Insights

The strategic priorities occupying HR and L&D teams exist precisely because current approaches are not working well enough. Leadership development, performance systems, tool adoption, and early career retention are all under pressure. What often goes unspoken is that many of the solutions being developed still rely on neurotypical assumptions about how people process information, communicate, and experience change.

For example, common (though slowly becoming outdated) leadership frameworks frequently emphasize behaviors that come more easily to some work styles than others. Performance processes can rely on implicit norms around communication, self-promotion, and visibility – norms that many nevertheless struggle with. New tools are frequently introduced with little regard for cumulative cognitive load. Guidance for managers, meanwhile, can assume that feedback and expectations will be interpreted consistently across teams. These choices may be rarely conscious and intentional, but they play a crucial role in shaping what are often negative outcomes for the very many employees whose own styles don’t match. In a workforce where different cognitive styles are common, then, failure to consider this can be the unseen fault line behind the limited success of even otherwise well-designed initiatives.

Neurodiversity ERGs hold lived insight into where these assumptions break down in practice. They see recurring patterns across teams that rarely surface through standard metrics or individual manager feedback. When that insight is integrated early, strategic initiatives are far more likely to work across the range of work styles already present in the organization.

Moving From Awareness to Partnership

The next phase of progress requires a shift in how neurodiversity ERGs are engaged. The issue is no longer whether different cognitive styles exist in the workforce, but whether core people initiatives are designed with those differences fully in mind. Leadership development, performance systems, manager enablement, and tool adoption will continue to fall short if they rely on narrow assumptions about how people think, communicate, and adapt to change. This is not a niche accessibility concern. It sits at the center of how work operates.

For HR and People leaders, this means recognizing neurodiversity ERGs as a source of expertise directly relevant to strategic priorities. Their value lies in strengthening initiatives while design choices are still flexible. The most effective organizations engage ERGs as project-based partners, bringing them into specific initiatives at defined moments to help identify where neurotypical assumptions may limit outcomes or increase unnecessary cognitive load.

For ERGs, this shift involves offering their insight in a way that aligns with how organizations make decisions. Rather than focusing solely on awareness, ERGs can provide structured, time-bound input that surfaces patterns across work styles and flags areas where managers are likely to need clearer guidance.

This partnership works when roles are clear. ERGs inform and strengthen design. HR and leadership teams retain ownership for delivery and resourcing, supported where needed by strategic partnerships with subject matter experts who provide depth and scale. When cognitive differences are built into how initiatives are shaped, organizations are far more likely to see their most important people priorities succeed.

Avoiding Common and Costly Mistakes

As organizations begin to understand what needs to change, a familiar risk emerges. Insight is surfaced, but responsibility for fixing systems quietly shifts onto ERG members who already have demanding day jobs.

This approach is neither fair nor effective. ERGs are not designed to redesign performance frameworks, train managers at scale, or implement new tools. Expecting them to do so leads to burnout and undermines trust.

Instead, ERG insight should guide where effort is required, while accountability remains with those who have the authority and resources to act. This is also where strategic partnerships with subject matter experts become essential. Structured education, practical frameworks, and scalable tools help translate insight into consistent practice without placing additional burden on volunteer ERG leaders.

Optimizing for Different Styles Benefits Everybody

When cognitive differences are built into how work operates, organizations are far more likely to deliver people strategies that reward merit, reduce friction, and work in practice in 2026 and beyond. Neurodiversity ERGs can deliver real business impact when they are engaged as strategic partners early in this work, helping surface where assumptions break down and where systems are likely to struggle. Their insight informs better design, while responsibility for delivering change remains with HR and leadership teams, supported where needed by targeted partnerships that bring depth and scale.

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