Dyslexia - My Superpower

Dyslexia - My Superpower

Dyslexia; a word that for most of my life has followed me like a judgement, nagging and negative, waiting to strike at any moment I commit my thoughts to page or screen. It has dogged me in education, personal life, and of course work. Yet I have now learnt to shrug off any shame, and instead celebrate it as a superpower that makes me, well, me. Here’s how, and why.

Only in the last ten years have I begun to realise that my dyslexia has positively shaped my life and career. Dyslexia is about much more than spelling. It’s also associated with strengths including a strong imagination, narrative reasoning and three-dimensional thinking qualities. Those qualities are the building blocks of my success, they have taken me to where I am today.

Dyslexia is so often seen as a curse. It’s alternative name, ‘word blindness’ makes it clearly sound like a disability. That can be a challenge, not least since, like many people with dyslexia, when I am processing challenges it can look like I am staring into space or not paying attention. In fact I am processing in my own way. It’s a way that has seen me blaze a trail rebuilding the construction industry through digitisation. I work as a digital leader using modelling and innovative techniques combined with a technique called three-dimensional thinking. 3D thinking and multi-sensory processing enable me to make connections that others simply may not be able to see (now who’s blind?). I’d love to claim to be unique in this, but in reality many people with dyslexia demonstrate better skills when it comes to?manipulating 3D objects in their minds. It’s one of the reasons so many of the world’s top architects and fashion designers are dyslexic.

Digital transformation has many facets and is not a straight line; every business has different challenges that it must adapt to or overcome. This can be a complex challenge with many unable to see the wood for the trees which is precisely where your business may benefit from your dyslexic employees and their ability to understand patterns, evaluate possibilities, andmake decisions through understanding, dismantling,?and simplifying complex concepts or ideas. (84% of dyslexics are above average in reasoning).

The ability to conceptualise, simplify, and innovate within your business can make the difference between success and failure. These skills are only set to grow in demand with the rise of digitalization, AI, and automation.

I have always been told I am a good teacher and tend to have a great relationship with my peers. People with dyslexia often have high levels of empathy, the ability to “read the situation”, and a strong sense of understanding of what is happening for other people in that situation. This is a superpower skill when it comes to leadership, and empowering high-performance teams.

I write this piece to help bring awareness of dyslexia, and to empower people with dyslexia to see it as a?superpower. We should support and celebrate these incredible strengths, imagination, creativity, and problem-solving. They are the underlying skills that define success for business in times of digital disruption and dramatic evolution.

We need to support the education system and grow the understanding of employers, being more flexible in the criteria used to measure success. We still conform to legacy tests as being the dominant markers for educational success.?It was not until I moved out of this structure in my late teens that I started to sense my own success and growing confidence in my abilities.?

I was lucky that my girlfriend (I since married her; I’m dyslexic, not stupid, remember?)?sent my personal portfolio of sketches, drawings and designs to Newcastle College. To the college’s eternal credit the lecturers?had the foresight to see my potential and allowed me to enrol based on my portfolio alone. It proved the turning?point of my life where not only did I find my love for design, but found an environment that was to lead me to work in many countries as part of a diverse career that I would not change for the world. ??

Digital tools and aids have now advanced. Tools like Grammarly?have appeared, education has changed with traditional approaches making way for micro credentials, and video learning. I still think it's strange when I get the comment ”I didn’t?know you where dyslexic” because for me it's self-evident, although now something I celebrate. Yet even writing this article makes me wonder how people who didn’t know will view me, but that is not going to stop me. I have been told at various stages that I would?never be successful in education, that I wouldn’t make it as a designer, and that I couldn’t hope for senior roles. By way of reply I have excelled within education, won design awards, and become a senior partner, and equity owner in large engineering firms.

I hope this helps others like me embrace their difference and see it as a strength not a weakness and stimulates employers to look into their strengths and understand how this diversity in thinking and approach will empower their business for the future.

#dyslexia #DyslexicThinking

Eishwarya Chauhan

Additional General Manager at HBA/Hirsch Bedner Associates

10 个月

Embracing vulnerability is such a rare think, especially in the economic world where it's considered a weakness. You are brave and true, probably why you forge good relationships! Best wishes for everything you go in for.

Chris Smeaton

??? Building Smart Cities | Developing Next-Gen Digital Blueprints | Digital Twin Innovator | Leader in Digital Capability | Smart City Pioneer | Follow Me for Implementation Strategies & Technology insights

2 年

I just want to say a big thank you to everyone who reach out to me following the post of this artical to exspress how much the like it and related to a lot of the point. Also for the people who have been sharing there story’s with me, thank you and keep sharing.

回复

Well said! Cool to think that people all around the world have been directly and indirectly positively affected by your work that would not be possible without your dyslexia. Thanks for letting us harness your superpower in the studio!

Aaron Jordan

Head of Location Information, Toitū Te Whenua - LINZ; Chair - Jackbord Works

2 年

I don't know you Chris, but that's an inspiring journey you've been on. Thanks for sharing.

Rebecca Strang

Watercare Strategy & Planning Partner Representative

2 年

Beautiful story Chris Smeaton

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