If you had asked me during my school days about dyslexia, I would have described it as a list of things I wasn’t naturally good at. Spelling tests were a dread, reading dense text under time pressure felt overwhelming, and I was constantly aware that my brain didn’t seem to process written information at the same speed as the people sitting next to me. Yet because I was performing very well academically, it was never explored further.
It wasn’t until university that I was officially assessed. Getting that diagnosis didn’t suddenly change who I was, but it gave me something invaluable: clarity. For the first time, I had a vocabulary for how my brain actually worked.
Yet, stepping into the corporate world, my instinct was still to apologise. For years, I found myself dropping in half-jokes: “Ignore my spelling,” or “Sorry, I just need a bit longer to look through this.”
However, as time progressed, something shifted. I stopped looking at dyslexia as something I had to compensate for. Understanding that the real value in technology sales lies in strategic vision, creative problem-solving, and human connection, I stopped looking at dyslexia as something to compensate for and recognised it for what it truly is: one of my greatest professional strengths.
The Myth of the “Disorganised” Mind
If it’s ever relevant to share with stakeholders, the response is often a surprised: “You’re dyslexic? But you’re so organised!”
My immediate reply: “That’s exactly why I’m so organised.”
Because processing linear walls of text or frantic verbal instructions can feel draining, I have developed highly visual, structured ways of working. I don’t manage customer accounts through dense, endless spreadsheets or convoluted email threads. Instead, I map everything out visually – using tools like Miro to lay out complex project architectures, MEDDPICC, account plans, and stakeholder landscapes.
What started as a coping mechanism for my own brain quickly became a superpower for my entire sales approach. In sales and account management, clarity is everything. When you bring a customer, a technical team, and account leaders around a visual map where every dependency, objective, and action is laid out plainly, ambiguity disappears. Non-dyslexic colleagues often tell me, “This makes so much sense—can we do this on every project?”
Embracing Tools that Free the Brain to Think
Thriving with dyslexia in tech isn’t about trying to force your brain into a neurotypical mold – it’s about leaning into tools that free you up to do your best thinking.
In customer meetings, I used to worry about taking exhaustive, verbatim notes while simultaneously trying to lead a strategic conversation. Today, AI notetaking platforms like Gong have been a total game-changer. Knowing a conversation is captured means I can be 100% engaged, present, and strategic on the call, knowing I can dive back into key timestamps later to extract specific details. Meaning my strengths lead the customer conversations.
Miro has become an indispensable digital canvas for me. It gives me a boundless, visual environment to step back, connect complex architectural dependencies, and map out long-term strategic account plans across multi-year horizons. Instead of feeling confined by traditional documents, Miro allows me to translate big-picture ideas into dynamic blueprints – something for teams to align on and build a shared strategic vision.
Meeting People Where They Are
If there is one thing I’ve learned working across a wide range of accounts, it’s that our customers and partners are just as neurodiverse as we are.
If we can build a culture where we adapt to different cognitive styles internally, we become far better at connecting with, understanding, and delivering value to our customers externally.
When we present dense, text-heavy slides and expect people to read them on the spot, or when we arrive at a meeting without sharing materials in advance, we unintentionally create barriers. Sharing pre-reads ahead of time, using accessible formatting and dyslexia-friendly typography, and communicating visually isn’t just an accommodation for neurodivergent individuals – it is simply better communication for everyone.
My Advice to Early-Career Professionals
If you have recently been diagnosed, or if you feel hesitant about disclosing dyslexia in a corporate environment, my advice is simple:
- Lead with your strengths: Don’t focus on the mechanics. Highlight what you bring to the table – the ability to see the bigger picture, spot non-obvious patterns, empathy, connecting concepts where others can’t. All of these are fantastic skill sets – especially in sales!
- Own your operating style: Figure out what works for you, lean in and own it! Communicate your preferred ways of collaborating early with your manager and team. People are remarkably receptive when you show them how your methods drive clearer outcomes.
- Remember where true value lies: In an era of AI and smart assistive tools, spelling and formatting are solved problems. Your unique perspective, creativity, and distinct way of seeing the world are things technology can never replicate.
Dyslexia isn’t an obstacle to overcome – it’s a distinct, high-value way of thinking that the technology sector needs more of.
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