Curious, Creative, Capable: Why different brains make better teams

At Two Circles, we believe that diverse ways of thinking drive stronger outcomes for our clients and our teams. As part of Neurodiversity Celebration Week, Rhiannon Blake, Creative Content Producer, shares her experience of working with ADHD in a fast-paced creative environment.

Bringing energy and insight to some of the biggest moments in sport, Rhiannon has contributed to major events including Wimbledon, The Hundred and the Women’s Rugby World Cup. With a background in graphic design and a passion for storytelling, and as a member of our Neuro Network, she offers a personal perspective on how different ways of thinking can shape more creative and effective teams.

Curious, Creative, Capable: Why different brains make better teams

For years I thought I was just bad at being an adult.

Not catastrophically bad, just consistently the “why is this harder for me than everyone else?” kind of bad.

At school, I was always the student who “could try harder if she concentrated more”. The one who talked too much. The one who started projects with heaps of enthusiasm but quietly struggled to finish them.

I assumed that everyone must find the basics harder than they let on. I put it down to being creative. Or busy. Or maybe just… not being disciplined enough. It never really occurred to me there could be a different explanation.

About six years ago, I started reading about how ADHD presents in women and what I found was uncomfortable in the best possible way. The traits people described didn’t feel dramatic or extreme to me – they felt familiar.

Racing thoughts. Hyperfocus. Sensitivity to feedback. That constant sense of either being completely switched on – or inexplicably stuck.

After a long wait, I finally had an assessment and, in November 2024, I was diagnosed with ADHD.

My diagnosis didn’t change who I am, but it gave me language and context. It helped explain patterns I’ve lived with for years – at school, in relationships, and increasingly, at work.

At Two Circles my days are rarely similar. I move between live match coverage, campaign planning, brainstorms, edits, decks and client emails – sometimes all before lunch. It’s fast, reactive and fuelled by ideas.

And as someone working in an industry that thrives on energy, ideas and momentum, that understanding has been both challenging and empowering.

What ADHD Actually Looks Like for Me

ADHD is often reduced to stereotypes – hyperactive children who can’t sit still, or people being “away with the fairies”. *

For me, it’s far more nuanced than that. My attention isn’t absent – it’s inconsistent. Think less “low battery” and more “unpredictable Wi-Fi”. Some days it’s fibre broadband, and other days it’s that free train Wi-Fi, buffering as you go through a tunnel. You know that feeling when you walk into a room and immediately forget what you went in there for? Imagine that being your working day.

In meetings, I can be completely absorbed one moment and mentally elsewhere the next. Not because I’m uninterested, but because my brain has latched onto a passing thought, a background noise, or an idea that suddenly feels urgent. I’ll open a tab with purpose and then forget, seconds later, what I meant to do.

Verbal instructions can blur together, and written clarity is absolute gold dust. I absolutely love a good digital to-do list, especially when I can link it across the tools I use for work.

At the same time, when something genuinely engages me, I can focus for hours. I lose track of time. I sometimes forget to eat (which sounds dramatic, but if you’ve ever fallen down a creative rabbit hole tweaking one tiny detail for 45 minutes, you’ll understand).

I become completely immersed in building, shaping and refining an idea. The same brain that struggles to start certain tasks can become laser-focused on others.

That duality can be confusing – both for me and for the people around me.

There’s also the internal restlessness. Even when I look calm, my mind is rarely quiet. It moves quickly – linking ideas, replaying conversations, thinking about what’s next.

Silence can feel genuinely uncomfortable. The kind of uncomfortable where you consider turning the kettle on just for background noise.

My partner can work in total silence. I need a podcast or music on – something to occupy the chatty part of my brain so the thinking part can get on with it. Background noise, movement, or something small to fidget with helps me regulate. I’m literally twiddling with BluTac between writing these paragraphs.

It’s not distraction – it’s how I regulate my focus.

The Emotional Layer

One of the least discussed parts of ADHD is the emotional side.

Constructive feedback can linger longer than I’d like. I can replay a comment repeatedly, analysing tone and wording, even when the intent was supportive. Many people – especially women – experience imposter syndrome and with ADHD, that self-doubt can feel amplified.

Sometimes that shows up as Rejection Sensitive Dysphoria (RSD) – essentially a heightened and sometimes overwhelming emotional response to real or perceived rejection, criticism or failure, often associated with ADHD or autism. Research even suggests it can occur when you expect rejection before it’s happened.

For years, I internalised these challenges as personal flaws. I was lazy. Overly sensitive. Disorganised. Dramatic.

Understanding ADHD reframed that narrative.

I wasn’t lazy – I was overwhelmed.
I wasn’t careless – I was trying to manage an inconsistent attention system.
I wasn’t overreacting – I was feeling things intensely and struggling to regulate them.

That shift in perspective has been game changing.

ADHD as a Creative

In high-performance environments within sports and entertainment marketing, we value innovation, resilience and competitive edge. Yet we sometimes assume that everyone operates in the same way to achieve it.

The reality is that diverse cognitive styles often drive the very creativity we rely on.

Working as a creative – particularly in sport, where pace and pressure are constants – has highlighted both the strengths and the challenges of how my brain works.

Where ADHD challenges me:

• Long-term planning and admin-heavy tasks can feel disproportionately difficult.
• Starting projects that feel daunting or less stimulating can lead to avoidance.
• Switching back to focusing on a project after an interruption takes a lot of effort.
• Emotional responses to feedback can feel amplified.

Where ADHD helps me:

• I think quickly and make connections rapidly.
• I’m comfortable speaking on the spot and filling space when needed.
• Live match coverage – when everything is moving at pace and decisions must be made instantly – it feels stimulating rather than intimidating. When a moment explodes online or a brief shifts mid-game, my brain lights up.
• Brainstorms are my comfort zone – give me a Miro Board, a deadline and a sports moment to build around and I’m completely in my element.
• When I’m invested in a project, I can pour huge energy and focus into making it an absolute blinder.

It’s estimated that around 20-50% of those working in the creative industries are neurodiverse (for context, only around 15-20% of people in the UK are neurodiverse). _{(Creative Review, 2024)}

There’s a reason many creative workplaces are full of neurodivergent minds: energy, curiosity and the ability to see things differently are real assets.

As someone who also has Multiple Sclerosis, I’m often fighting a tiring battle between the MS telling my body to slow down and my ADHD telling it to speed up.

I feel incredibly lucky that my job allows me to channel that energy into something I genuinely love – sport. I grew up caring about it, analysing it, feeling it (sometimes too much), so being able to build stories and content around something that already naturally occupies space in my brain feels like a privilege.

It turns out a fast, emotionally invested brain pairs quite well with last-minute tries and record-breaking innings.

What Has Helped

Diagnosis didn’t “fix” anything overnight, but it did give me tools.

Writing everything down is essential. If it isn’t written down, or I can’t see it right there in front of me there’s a high chance it won’t exist in my working memory for long. Breaking large tasks into smaller, tangible steps makes them feel manageable rather than overwhelming. Clear deadlines – and sometimes accountability – help me move from intention to action.

Background noise helps my brain settle. I’ve recently found that music sung in a language I don’t speak works best – which means Bad Bunny and Rosalía are now officially part of my productivity toolkit and will almost certainly dominate my Spotify Wrapped.

Most importantly, feeling comfortable enough to be open has helped me greatly.

“Can you send that in writing?”
“Can we record this meeting?”
“Can I just double check our priorities here?”

Just as I learnt about my ADHD, we should reframe how we look at these adjustments; asking for these changes isn’t showing weakness – it’s just effective communication.

And just because that’s how my ADHD presents, doesn’t mean it’s universal.

Understanding my ADHD hasn’t limited me but helped me work more intentionally. It’s allowed me to be more compassionate with myself, more honest about what I need, and more appreciative of the strengths my brain brings.

My mind is fast, curious, emotional and, at times, chaotic. It is also creative, empathetic, passionate and so very capable.

I wrote this for Neurodiversity Celebration Week to help build a culture where people can understand how they work and ultimately, feel comfortable sharing that with others.

Because when we create space for different ways of thinking, we’re not just supporting individuals – we’re strengthening teams.

And in an industry built on ideas, that can only be a good thing.

*By the way, I really hate that “oh look, a squirrel!” stereotype… but since becoming a bit of a bird watcher, I must admit it’s not entirely inaccurate.