A new podcast from Dr Miriam Mavia-Zajac and Matthew Bellringer
On Neat, Plausible and Wrong, we look at business psychology through the lens of neurodiversity. We’ve found that many of the ideas we rely on at work often fail in the messy real world. In each episode we take a popular theory or concept you’ve probably heard mentioned at work, and see how true it really is.
About the hosts
Consultant Chartered Psychologist Dr Miriam Mavia-Zając
Dr Miriam Mavia-Zając is a Consultant Chartered psychologist, executive coach, and published author; working at the intersection of neurodivergence, identity, and emotional truth. She helps neurodivergent individuals reclaim their brilliance without burning out and partners with organisations to challenge systems that misread difference as dysfunction. Her work spans therapy, coaching, consultation, and thought leadership, grounded in psychological depth, cultural clarity, and systemic honesty. Learn more about her at www.neurodiverseyou.com
Matthew Bellringer
Matthew Bellringer is a neurodiversity and innovation specialist, working with individuals and organisations to benefit from the value of their unconventional perspectives. Matthew provides one-to-one support for business owners and professionals, training and consultancy to organisations, and supports the development of services aimed at a neurodiverse audience. You can find out more about Matthew and their work at https://www.matthewbellringer.com “Explanations exist; they have existed for all time; there is always a well-known solution to every human problem—neat, plausible, and wrong.”
- H.L. Mencken
About Neat Plausible & Wrong - Episode 1
On this episode of Neat, Plausible and Wrong, Dr. Miriam and Matthew talk about the idea behind the show and why we wanted to do it in the first place.
Maslow’s Hierarchy Of Needs - Episode 2
Dr. Miriam and Matthew talk about this highly influential theory of motivation. By the end of the episode, you’ll have an idea of where the hierarchy still makes sense, and some other, more neurodiversity-friendly models of motivation you can use instead. —
Personality Types - Episode 3
This episode of Neat, Plausible and Wrong is about how personality types are used in the workplace. In it, Dr. Miriam and Matthew talk about all of your most or least favourite, like the MBTI, the Big Five, and DISC. We’ll talk about:
- Why we shouldn’t use personality tools for recruitment or team planning
- How much “personality” is a fixed, stable thing at all
- What we could to to fix these, but probably won’t be allowed to
After you’ve listened, you’ll be able to approach personality typing tools in a way that supports neurodiversity and affirms lived experience.
Visual Thinking - Episode 4
This episode of Neat, Plausible and Wrong is about Visual Thinking. In it, Dr. Miriam and Matthew talk about how it shows up at work, particularly as something that’s very much associated with a neurodivergent strength. We talk about:
- What people actually mean by “visual thinking”
- The difference between thinking visually, and remembering visually
- Other thinking styles that we use instead
After you’ve listened, you’ll have an idea of the strengths of visual thinking, how to use it well, and what to do if we’re not particularly visual thinkers ourselves.
Change Resistance - Episode 5
This episode of Neat, Plausible and Wrong is about change resistance. In it, Dr. Miriam and Matthew talk about the idea that people within an organisation are resisting change, largely because people are simply afraid of any form of change. During the conversation we cover:
- The rational reasons we have for avoiding change
- How the idea of change resistance is used to take actions from a single, narrow perspective
- Why missing out on the emotional aspects of change is a huge mistake
After you’ve listened, you’ll have some ways of differentiating a general aversion to change from real objections. You’ll also have some better models for creating change than simply pushing through people’s resistance to it.
Resilience - Episode 6
This episode of Neat, Plausible and Wrong is about the idea of resilience at work. In it, Dr. Miriam and Matthew talk about how it’s used by and against different people. Amongst other things we talk about:
- How the idea of resilience is often misapplied, even weaponised
- When resilience is used to excuse a dysfunctional system
- How neurodivergent people are impacted when the idea of resilience is used this way
After you’ve listened, you’ll have an understanding of how thinking about the whole process of what we’re doing can help avoid the pitfalls of resilience.
Productivity - Episode 7
This episode of Neat, Plausible and Wrong is about productivity. In it, Dr. Miriam and Matthew talk about why productivity is a tricky thing to describe and an even tricker thing to do. Amongst other things we explore:
- The assumptions we make about productivity and how they can get in the way
- Why measuring productivity is so difficult
- Just how different productivity can look for different people
After you’ve listened, you’ll have some ideas about to help you find your own personal ways of being productive. The
Undo podcast Matthew mentions in the intro - https://undo.fm/sherlock/
