Neurodiversity, AI risk and speaking up in the boardroom, with Professor Charlotte Valeur, FTSE Chair and NED

"All boardrooms have people of different neurotypes. We are everywhere, and once we can properly acknowledge that, we can consider the broader human variety that human beings beautifully are." 

This week's guest on the Boardroom Confidential podcast, powered by Sherpany, is Professor Charlotte Valeur, founder of the Institute of Neurodiversity and former chair of the Institute of Directors.  

Charlotte shares the boardroom stories that have shaped her career, including becoming the first high-profile UK businessperson to publicly disclose an autism diagnosis, her refusal to play by unwritten boardroom social rules, and why she believes disagreement, not consensus, is where boards actually learn. 

She also discusses why, in a world with AI, neurodivergent thinking may become a board's most valuable asset. And sets out the risks raised by the recent US restrictions on foreign access to some AI models. 

Charlotte began her career as an investment banker in Copenhagen and London before becoming a non-executive director and chair across a range of boards. She is the author of "Effective Directors: The Right Questions to Ask", a corporate governance consultant, and visiting professor at the University of Strathclyde. 

Boardroom Confidential is brought to you by Sherpany, a leading meeting management solution, designed to meet the unique needs of the board, board committee, and executive meetings.  

Chapters:

(00:00) Introduction 

(01:25) Disclosing Diagnosis 

(07:04) Neurodiversity in AI Era 

(10:15) Transparency and Leadership 

(15:01) Better Board Meetings 

(23:54) When to Walk Away 

Key takeaways

How can chairs ensure every voice reaches the table?

06:10

Charlotte Valeur: The chair needs to ensure that all the voices get to the table, which is the role of the chair. All classrooms have children of different neurotypes. All workplaces have different neurotypes. All boardrooms. We are everywhere. And once we can properly acknowledge that, we can maybe consider the broader human variety that human beings beautifully are, and ensure that we don't have this model human that fits into a little box. [...]

How can different ways of thinking add value in an AI world?

07:06

Charlotte Valeur: My way of thinking means that in certain cases I would see patterns. Knowing yourself and knowing what strengths it gives you is a diversifying factor that really, really hits in hard. We have some real ways of looking at things that are different from a standard way of looking at things. And in a world of AI, this is where our mindsets can really, really make a big difference in a boardroom. [...] If you ask someone of a minority neurotype, you could get an answer that no AI would ever give you.

Why is not asking the question the biggest mistake?

11:22

Charlotte Valeur: The biggest mistake is not asking a question, no matter how stupid it feels it is, because there is no such thing as stupid questions in the boardroom. [...] You should always ask questions that come up to you intuitively. You should listen to it and ask that question and not feel that, for whatever reason, it's not the right question. [...] The questions younger people ask, the boards often can't answer, because they go back to basics and say, “But why are you doing it like that?” And nobody can answer it because it has become something that we always did.

Why should strategy be part of every boardroom discussion?

12:51

Charlotte Valeur: Sustainability for many boards and DE&I sits on the side as a separate issue or separate agenda issue, where in fact it is, or should be, an integrated part of every single thing that's discussed on the agenda. [...] Once you have integrated it and weaved it into the fabric of the organisation, that is not possible anymore because it's part of the fabric. [...] The same with governance and strategy. So many boards say, “We don't have enough strategy talk.” Well, you should have strategy talk at every single board meeting, on every single subject on the agenda.

Why is constructive disagreement essential to good decisions?

19:48

Charlotte Valeur: Disagreement is key for proper decision-making processes. I would be very, very concerned if I'm in a boardroom where everybody agrees on everything. It's simply not good business. [...] We're not here to find friends. We're here to lead a company. We don't have to like each other. We can even dislike each other, as long as we can have good, respectful, constructive discussions and communications around the disagreements we find. [...] The dynamics I like to see is active disagreement, but respectful and constructive. That's the kind of discussions people should be having.