You can pull a major report together in days. So why can’t you clear your inbox?
ADHD and AuDHD coaching for civil servants, local government officers, and public sector professionals who are doing brilliant work and falling behind on the bureaucracy that surrounds it.
Do any of these sound familiar?
- You can pull a complex report or briefing together under tight deadline, then take three days to start a routine reply
- Your inbox is full of clearance and sign-off requests waiting for a short reply
- You crash for days after a high-stakes meeting, a major committee, an audit, or a critical incident
- You read the same paper six times without absorbing it, then absorb the whole 80-page bundle the night before the meeting
- Your performance review keeps marking “consistent delivery” or “follow-through” as a development area, even when the high-stakes work is landing on time
- You progress more slowly than your work warrants, because the routine tasks tell a different story to the crisis work
- The bits that should be easy (timesheets, training records, absence reporting, statutory returns) take more out of you than the work itself
It is not a discipline problem
The same brain that holds three live work issues in working memory can struggle to file a routine training record. The same focus that carries you through a high-stakes day leaves you unable to open your laptop on the recovery days that follow. The same mind that drafts a sharp report at 11pm can freeze on the two-line reply to a stakeholder.
That is not weakness. It is wiring.
ADHD brains are built for high-stakes, high-stimulation, novel work. The parts of public sector work that look like crisis response, complex thinking, and managing the unexpected play to your strengths. The parts that look like quarterly returns, compliance reporting, and inbox triage play against them. The gap between those two performances is not about effort. It is about a brain that needs different scaffolding to bridge it.
And with the right scaffolding, that gap narrows.
Where is ADHD affecting your work?
The quickest way to find out is a free Discovery Session. 20 minutes online. I ask about your biggest professional challenge, we explore what is behind it, and we see if coaching is the right next step.
Book Your Free Discovery Session
Where coaching changes things in public sector work
Coaching does not add to your workload. It restructures it.
The work is targeted to the specific gaps ADHD creates in public sector roles:
- Reports, briefings, and clearance pipelines. Capture-and-finish systems for the routine pieces that pile up between the high-stakes moments, so the in-tray reflects the work you have actually done
- Recovery after high-stakes events, committees, and incidents. The crash that follows a demanding day needs planning rather than fighting, so the days after are not also lost to backlog
- Slow-burn task initiation. Practical techniques for starting the work that is not on fire (the quarterly returns, the compliance reports, the timesheets), because the bottleneck is almost always starting, not doing
- Performance reviews and promotion panels. Framing the consistency conversation with your line manager, evidencing the strengths you do bring, and preparing for promotion panels in a way that plays to an ADHD profile rather than against it
- Reasonable adjustments and Workplace Adjustment Passports. Practical decisions about what to ask for, how to ask for it, and what works in real public sector teams
- Disclosure. Whether to tell your line manager, your team, HR, or no one. There is no single right answer. Coaching helps you make the choice that fits your situation
- Cross-team relationships and stakeholder follow-up. Making the relationship side of the role manageable without it draining you
None of this is discipline. It is wiring. And with the right scaffolding, it changes.
If burnout has been part of where you are right now, the new piece on ADHD Burnout: Signs, Causes and Recovery may also be useful.
About Linda
I have coached adults with ADHD for 26+ years. Many of my clients have worked in central government, local government, the NHS, and other parts of the public sector.
I understand the specific weight of public service: the deadlines that come with public accountability, the audit trail, the slow institutional pace between the crisis moments, and why the routine compliance side of the job feels ten times harder than the work itself.
I have lived experience of ADHD and I am a parent of grown-up ADHDers. ICF-ACC credentialled. CALC certified (iACT). All sessions online.
ICF-ACC CALC (iACT) ADHD Directory Verified
Investment
Both programmes start with a free Discovery Session to check fit.
A focussed 6-session programme.
6 one-to-one sessions over 6 weeks to 3 months.
Every week or bi-weekly, whatever fits your life.
- 6 one-to-one coaching sessions via Zoom
- Full ADHD Toolkit Membership access throughout
- Executive Function Strength Profile
£840
£140 per session
A deeper 12-session programme.
12 one-to-one sessions over 3 to 6 months.
Every week or bi-weekly, whatever fits your life.
- 12 one-to-one coaching sessions via Zoom
- Mid-programme review after session 6
- Full ADHD Toolkit Membership access throughout
- Executive Function Strength Profile
£1,560
£130 per session
See full pricing and funding options.
Many clients are funded by their department as a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010. Details in the FAQ below.
Common questions
How does coaching work?
Three steps.
- Book a free Discovery Session. 20 minutes online. I ask about your biggest professional challenge, we explore what is behind it, and we see if coaching is the right next step. No pressure, no sales pitch. If we are not a good fit, I will tell you.
- We map your next steps. Together we identify what is actually getting in the way, and what one structural change would make the biggest difference.
- Build systems that work with your brain. If we are a good fit, we design a coaching programme around your role. Practical scaffolding for reports, recovery, slow-burn tasks, and the conversations you may need to have with your line manager.
Will my employer find out? Will it affect my career?
Coaching is private. I do not contact your line manager, your HR team, your employer, or anyone else. Whether you choose to disclose ADHD to colleagues or to your line manager is a personal decision, and we can talk it through if it is on your mind.
Will this affect my security clearance?
If your role requires clearance, no. ADHD on its own is not a barrier to SC, DV, or higher levels of vetting. Whether you tell vetting is a personal choice that depends on your circumstances, and we can talk it through if it is on your mind. If your role does not need clearance, this question does not apply to you.
I think I have ADHD but I have not been formally diagnosed. Can I still work with you?
Yes. Many of my clients come to coaching before, during, or without a formal diagnosis. A diagnosis is not required.
How is this different from the Employee Assistance Programme (EAP), Occupational Health, or my employer’s wellbeing service?
Your employer’s wellbeing service and Employee Assistance Programme are valuable, especially for acute mental health support. What they typically do not offer is ADHD-specific coaching: practical scaffolding for reports, briefings, casework, performance reviews, and the executive function challenges that affect your day-to-day work.
Can I claim this through Access to Work?
It depends on your employer.
- If you work for a local authority, the NHS, the police (as civilian staff), an arm’s length body, or another part of the public sector that is not a central government department, yes. Access to Work is a UK government scheme that can fund coaching for employees with a disability or health condition, including ADHD.
- If you are a civil servant working for a central government department or agency, no. Civil servants are not eligible for Access to Work. The government’s expectation is that your department arranges and funds your support directly. See the next question.
I am a civil servant. What funding routes apply to me?
Civil servants get support through their employer rather than Access to Work. The starting point is your line manager and your HR business partner. The internal routes that typically cover external ADHD coaching are:
- The Workplace Adjustment Passport process (the formal record of your reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010)
- Department or directorate development and L&D budgets
- Wellbeing budgets, where they exist
I currently coach civil servants whose sessions are funded by their department through HR, agreed as a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010. The conversation usually starts with HR, often via the Workplace Adjustment Passport process. I am happy to share what has worked for other clients if you would find that useful in your own conversation.
Different departments handle this differently. The conversation worth having is with your line manager and HR, framed around reasonable adjustments rather than as a request for a perk.
Can my employer pay for this through development or wellbeing budgets?
Often, yes. Many public sector employers cover external coaching within their development or wellbeing budgets, and a growing number specifically fund ADHD coaching as a reasonable adjustment under the Equality Act 2010.
I am based outside London. Does that matter?
No. All sessions are online. I work with public sector professionals across the UK, in central departments, devolved administrations, local authorities, the NHS, and arm’s length bodies.
You came into public service for the impact. Let’s build the scaffolding that lets you keep doing it.
Book Your Free Discovery Session
Coaching is not therapy and does not create a clinical record. Sessions are completely confidential. Privacy Policy
Other ways to work with me
The ADHD Toolkit Membership is my online library of assessments and short courses for adults with ADHD or AuDHD. Built from 26+ years of coaching neurodivergent professionals.