The Friction Map™
A Work-Fit and Role-Design Toolkit for Neurodiverse Workplaces

Description

Published by NPI Press

Overview

The Friction Map™ is a practical, non-clinical toolkit designed to identify where performance difficulties arise from mismatch between role design and work execution rather than individual deficit.

Developed within the NeuroPraxis Institute’s Initiative for Leadership, Work, and Contextual Neurodevelopment, the Friction Map™ provides organisations, leaders, and professionals with a structured way to examine how work actually functions in practice.

Rather than diagnosing traits or evaluating personality, the toolkit focuses on context, clarity, and interaction. It makes visible the often unspoken demands embedded in roles and workflows, particularly in neurodiverse environments where ambiguity, cognitive load, and informal expectations can quietly undermine performance.

What the Friction Map™ Is Designed to Do

The Friction Map™ helps users to:

• Identify where performance strain is driven by role design rather than capability
• Surface hidden cognitive and relational demands within a role
• Replace blame-based performance narratives with design-led analysis
• Support earlier, more ethical intervention before burnout or escalation
• Create shared language for discussing work-fit without diagnosis or disclosure

The toolkit assumes competence and treats friction as a systemic phenomenon rather than a personal failing.

How This Differs from Other Workplace Tools

Not a personality or strengths assessment
The Friction Map™ does not measure traits, preferences, or identity.

Not a clinical or diagnostic instrument
It does not assess mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions.

Not a compliance or DEI framework
The focus is operational clarity and execution, not values signalling.

No norms, scores, or percentiles
Individuals are not compared against population averages. Alignment is evaluated against the specific demands of a role.

This makes the Friction Map™ appropriate for real organisational settings where psychological testing is either inappropriate or undesirable.

Who Uses the Friction Map™

HR and Operational Leaders

For teams seeking structured alternatives to performance remediation frameworks. The Friction Map™ supports role audits, onboarding redesign, and expectation alignment while reducing escalation, misattribution, and turnover risk.

Managers and Founders

For those responsible for designing roles, delegating work, and supervising execution under conditions of growth, constraint, or ambiguity. The toolkit supports clearer leadership without relying on informal correction or over-supervision.

Neurodivergent Professionals

For individuals who struggle to articulate why work feels unsustainable or stalled. The Friction Map™ provides neutral, professional language for discussing execution needs without requiring diagnostic disclosure or accommodation framing.

What’s Included in the Toolkit

The Friction Map™ toolkit includes:

• The Friction Map™ Guidebook
  A structured explanation of the framework, intended use, and ethical boundaries.
• Role Reality Map™
  A guided tool for examining role demands, including outcome clarity, time ecology, ambiguity load, and training assumptions.
• Work Execution Snapshot™
  A structured reflection tool for examining how work is carried out in practice.
• Friction Zones Framework
  Clear descriptions of common interaction points where work breakdowns occur, with guidance on interpretation.
• Leader and Facilitator Notes
  Practical guidance for use in organisational, supervisory, or self-reflective contexts.
• Optional Micro-Simulation Guidance
  Instructions for short, low-stakes work samples designed to observe execution under mild pressure.

All materials are designed for repeat use across roles and contexts.

Typical Use Cases

• Reviewing a role before placing an employee on a performance plan
• Redesigning onboarding and training processes
• Supporting return-to-work or role transitions
• Clarifying expectations in newly created or evolving roles
• Supporting neurodivergent staff without requiring disclosure
• Helping leaders externalise implicit expectations

The Friction Map™ is most effective when used early, before strain becomes crisis.

Ethical and Professional Boundaries

The Friction Map™ is a work-fit and role-design tool. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, or assess mental health or neurodevelopmental conditions.

It should be used to inform design decisions, communication, and leadership practices rather than to label or categorise individuals.

Relationship to Other NPI Work

The Friction Map™ complements the ND-Informed Leadership Micro-MBA by operationalising the same systems-based approach to leadership and work design.

While the Micro-MBA builds leadership literacy and skill, the Friction Map™ provides a concrete instrument for application within roles, teams, and organisations.

Access the Friction Map™

The complete Friction Map™ toolkit is available exclusively through NPI Press.

This purchase includes lifetime access to the current edition of all materials.