'ADHD is my broker superpower'

Estimated to affect around 2.6 million people in the UK, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a condition that has grown in the public’s awareness over the past decade. 

ADHD shapes people’s behaviour, so that they often seem restless, may have trouble concentrating and may act on impulse; they can also have problems with organisation and time management. 

Intriguingly, two brokers whom Mortgage Introducer has interviewed in recent days have both, by chance, spoken of their own ADHD and how they manage it in the course of their work. 

Both believe it enhances their performance as brokers – one describes it as his ‘superpower’, and notes too that a number of advisers at his brokerage have it, and that they are the top-performing brokers there. 

Is it a coincidence, or could there possibly be a link between ADHD and mortgage broking? 

Sheena Campbell (pictured left), managing director of her own business, Campbell Financial, is still processing her recent diagnosis. 

“I only got diagnosed this month, and am trying to figure it out and what it means for managing my workload,” Campbell shared. “My brain is never quiet. It just seems like it'll all come out and I'll trip over my words because my brain’s working too fast to get the information out.  

“Sometimes I can go off on a tangent and not entirely realise how I've got there. It doesn't really happen with clients though, because the conversations are usually quite similar and repetitive. In terms of my face-to-face interactions with clients I think it's more of an asset - my ability to be creative, to think on my feet.” 

She continued: “If my diary is stacked back-to-back and I've got loads of things on in a day, my brain is engaged the whole time. I'm right up there at the best that I can be, the best version of myself I could be. I only really feel engaged when I'm actually sitting with clients or if I'm processing applications because that is money making activity, that's work, that's useful.” 

The main thing that Campbell struggles with is her need to be busy all the time.  

“I can't rest, so if I have a day off, it's almost like it's not possible for me to switch off my brain,” she confided. “I have to feel like I'm being productive or useful, so taking time off is just not feasible. I need to be able to have the laptop with me to pick it up and kind of feel like I've earned time off.” 

Campbell said she might also struggle with doing a ‘boring’ administrative task connected with her business. 

“I find that I will leave it, I keep pushing it and pushing it and pushing it, and then it'll get to the last day before a deadline.,” she said. “It has to be done now, so I have no choice.” 

Following her diagnosis, Campbell is trying to manage her diary better and make allowances for her condition; to essentially be kinder to herself. 

“I've been trying to be more mindful of the behaviours I would engage in that are probably symptomatic,” she explained. “Before, I would maybe be frustrated at myself for not being able to sustain my focus for long enough to do the things that I need to do. I am trying to give myself a break, to give myself that bit of compassion and being realistic about what I expect of myself, instead of expecting myself to work at 110% every day. It's just easier, to get along with myself.” 

Read more: Mortgage industry risks losing top brokers over one issue 

‘ADHD has made me the sales person I am’ 

Broker Luke Hollingdale (pictured right) was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 38, and - like Campbell - he thrives as a broker but struggles with administrative tasks. After his wife and mother both suspected that he was showing symptoms, he was encouraged to get checked out. 

“I always knew my brain was a little bit different because I could never shut up, ever,” Hollingdale said. “I like my personality and I like how I am, so I don't want to take any medicines to try and alter anything. I think ADHD has made me the sales person I am. It's made me be able to work at a pace which is very fast, constantly, without getting tired, ever. 

“I think that's where my ADHD is a superpower in this world because it just allows me to be 110% all day. My brain can flip between one thing and another really quickly. Imagine that you're looking at a wall of TVs and each TV is a different story - that's what an ADHD brain is like. You've got all of them running at the same time, but you have to learn to control them and just focus on one at a time. I can hyper fixate if I'm interested in something and give it my all.” 

He added: “Going from one appointment to another, having to talk for eight hours a day, sometimes just one meeting after another, that's where the ADHD comes in handy, massively.” 

Hollingdale’s mortgage firm even asked him to address his colleagues about the condition. 

“We've got quite a few brokers who have got ADHD and all of us are the top performers, because we can work at a pace that other people can't,” he observed. “ADHD gives you a lot more empathy as well - I do really care about every client I speak with.” 

Hollingdale has done a lot of research to find out how he can naturally control his condition without taking pharmaceutical products. 

“I'm in the gym five-days-a-week before work, to keep my body tired,” he said. “I do a lot of meditation and gratitude journaling. It's all about just doing these little things just to help my days a bit manageable and easier.”