Most executives who talk about workplace inclusion speak from theory. Justin Nelson speaks from something closer to lived experience. The Managing Director and Head of the Asset Management and Financial Principals Coverage Team at JP Morgan Private Bank in Connecticut brings a personal understanding of the barriers neurodiverse individuals face, and he has turned that understanding into a working framework for financial firms trying to hire better.
A Different Starting Point
Nelson’s team oversees more than $15 billion in client assets, a scale that leaves little room for guesswork in how people are chosen and managed. Yet he insists the standard hiring funnel filters out talent before it ever gets evaluated. “For neurodiverse candidates, the biggest challenge is typically communication, their ability to interact with people,” he says. “Things that you and I probably take for granted, that makes it so easy for us to be having this conversation right here, it’s very hard for them.”
That gap between social performance and job performance, Justin Nelson JP Morgan argues, is where employers lose good candidates. He points to skills that rarely surface in a thirty minute interview. “Usually what that means is that while they may have a harder time connecting and communicating, they’re exceptional in other areas. They can be extremely creative and have amazing computational skills which far exceed the norm,” he notes.
Turning Insight Into Practice
Nelson’s advice for JP Morgan colleagues centers on structure over improvisation. Clear task assignments, tied explicitly to a larger goal, replace vague instructions that assume unstated context. “You have to assign tasks and ensure that they understand how this fits into a larger plan or set of rules,” he advises.
He also stays involved outside the bank, supporting Adelphi University’s Bridges Program and the nonprofit Broad Futures, groups working to smooth the path from school to steady employment for neurodiverse young adults. Nelson describes their role plainly, saying they help employers get educated and run programs that guide candidate selection from the ground up. See related link for additional information.
Learn more about Justin Nelson JP Morgan on https://tfn.tufts.edu/blog/news/2011/10/01/member-spotlight-justin-nelson-a98-opening-doors-to-students-at-jp-morgan/