Talk it through with Aurelius
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Aurelius · Work & Leadership
Knowledge + Guidance

Should I tell my team about my disability?

You turn this over at night like it's a moral puzzle. It isn't. It's a practical question: what do you need to do your work well, and who holds the power to give it to you. Underneath, you fear people will see you differently once they know. They might. You can't control their judgment. You can control how clearly you name what you're asking for, and whether you say more than you meant to. Working inside a pod or team makes this harder. People ask questions out of care, and care can turn into pressure. Decide what you will say before anyone asks, so you are not improvising under their gaze. If accommodations or legal protections are part of this, talk to HR or a disability rights counselor — that is their job, not your pod's.

◆ How this problem reads on the two dials
GuidanceKnowledge
More coaching
A little to learn
1:1 with AureliusWith others (a Pod)
Some one-to-one
Practise with peers
This is less about information and more about a decision only you can rehearse and commit to, so guidance leads.
How the two dials adapt to you →
What’s really going on

Decide by asking what you need, not what you owe. You disclose to get a specific accommodation, or to stop carrying a secret that drains you. You do not disclose to be understood or liked. Name the need. Name the one person who can meet it. Tell them, and no one else.

🔒 What you’ll build togetherUnlock by starting
A moveWrite one sentence naming the specific accommodation or support you need — not the diagnosis, not the backstory.
A moveList who actually has the power to grant that need. Usually it is one person. Tell them, and stop there.
A moveSeparate informing from confessing. State the fact once, plainly, without apologizing for it.
A moveIf your pod or team presses for more than you chose to share, repeat what you already decided and hold the line.
A moveBefore any conversation happens, decide out loud to your pod what you will not discuss — so they know the boundary too.
PractiseThe One Sentence · a Pod of 4 · 30 min

What changes unlock by starting

  • You stop rehearsing the disclosure in your head every night.
  • You have one clear sentence ready instead of an apology.
  • Your pod knows how to support you without probing further.
  • You get the support you need without handing over more than you chose to share.
One object, two jobs: a public answer to a real problem, and — the moment you start the chat — Aurelius’s live plan for your version of it.