Get to know our very own, TC Chen, ECD at McCann Taiwan, as he shares his unique lived experience as a neurodiverse Creative. ​​​​​​​

Tell us about yourself - How has your unique lived experience brought you to where you are now (as an ECD at McCann Taiwan)?

In general, I think being good at finding unique solutions to problems that others can’t easily see is what makes me who I am.

This problem-solving fascination didn’t just start in my early childhood; I believe it is directly related to my Asperger’s diagnosis. For example, a key symptom for me personally with my Asperger’s Syndrome, is a tendency to not display due to my difficulties expressing myself and my inability to read other people's expressions. This pushes me to express my feelings or show that I understand people through other creative means, instead of words.

Another trait associated with Asperger’s is finding comfort in strong repetitive behavior or interest in patterns, which explains why I am pathologically obsessed with perfection in my work, like many creators! I also can't stand it if any of my personal items become disorganized, broken or unusable; I always have to think of many ways to fix problems or where I can find backups. This life of constantly solving my own problems has not only made me used to fixing issues, but has also developed an interest in seeking out solutions. I have always felt that the strongest people in the world are not the ones who make good use of their strengths, but the ones that make good use of their weaknesses.

Studies have shown that neurodiversity is a competitive advantage, especially when it comes to creativity. From your experience, what is the competitive advantage of having neurodiverse talent on your teams?

A person with a disability is likely to be an expert in problem solving, due to their diverse thinking - a perspective based on my own experience. For me, a good analogy for neurodiverse people is to reflect on the role of the mutants in the Marvel comics, X-Men, who can harness and direct their special super-powers. Besides having a unique angle of observation, more importantly, I believe that neurodiverse people are talented. I have an ongoing program in Taiwan called the MUTANT Project, which offers support to neurodiverse people in our industry and shows them how they can bring their unique talents to the marketing field.

What does inclusion mean to you? How do we continue to achieve connection, belonging and shared purpose and show up for our colleagues with disabilities?

I think it’s important that people shouldn’t be worried or intimidated about feeling or being ‘different’. Being true to yourself is key. My position may not be very objective as I have always considered myself a troubled person, and have struggled with that. But I naively believe, if everyone could appreciate that all people are different and bring valuable diverse skills, then we wouldn't have to keep talking about inclusion. Advertising is seen as a field to solve marketing problems, so we could think of the matter this way: if you can't help the people close to you, how can you solve more distant marketing problems for consumers?

What advice would you give neurodiverse MW employees? Or neurodiverse candidates looking to get into the creative industry?

Perhaps rather radically, I tend to think that big business practices have created most of the world's problems (over-consumption, environmental issues, etc.), and the advertising industry is one of their accomplices. However, being in the middle of it may allow us to be the key to solving those problems.

As I previously mentioned, neurodiverse people often have an unique way of looking at things and a totally different mindset. By constantly having to rethink or, at least, understand things in a different way, perhaps neurodiverse people are better able to help change the mindsets of others. If you change a mindset, you change the market; if you change the market, you can change the world.

I once proposed to some senior executives that I wanted to specialize in finding people with disabilities to be our creatives, given their talent for problem-solving. Some people agreed while some didn’t. I would be very proud if this day comes.

Be your own champion and celebrate your difference because it does add real value. For allies/managers.