You know that colleague who seems to have it all together?

The one who speaks brilliantly in meetings, offers insights that make everyone pause, and somehow always lands on their feet professionally.

But you've noticed something...

They never volunteer to read aloud. 

They take forever to respond to emails. 

And despite their obvious intelligence, they seem to avoid writing-heavy projects like the plague.

Meet stealth dyslexia – the master of disguise.

THE GREAT DECEPTION

Here's what a lot of people don't understand about dyslexia.

Some of the smartest people in the room are working 3X as hard to keep up.

Stealth dyslexics don't announce their struggles. 

Instead, they hide behind:

• Strong verbal skills (enabling them to talk around almost anything)

• Crafty compensation strategies (developed over decades)

• High intelligence (masking processing challenges)

The result? 

A professional who looks like they're crushing it... while secretly drowning.

SO WHAT?

Why should you care about stealth dyslexia?

Because if you recognize these patterns in yourself or someone you know,  you're looking at potential that hasn’t been tapped yet.

Think about it…

If someone can achieve what they have while working around hidden challenges, imagine what they could accomplish if they stopped faking normal?

REALITY CHECK

Stealth dyslexia at work might look like:

✓ The Strategic Avoider: Always finds reasons why someone else should handle the "detail work"

✓ The Audio Learner: Prefers phone calls over email chains, learns better from conversations than documentation

✓ The Creative Workaround Artist: Has developed elaborate systems that seem overcomplicated to others but work perfectly for them

✓ The Impostor Syndrome Champion: Despite clear intelligence and success, constantly feels like they're fooling everyone

✓ The Writing Struggler: Takes forever to compose emails, avoids documentation, or produces surprisingly poor written work despite brilliant verbal communication

FLYING UNDER THE RADAR 

Here's what happens when stealth dyslexics go unrecognized:

• Energy Drain: Constant compensation is exhausting. By 1PM, they're mentally fried while others are just hitting their stride
  

• Missed Opportunities: They avoid roles or projects that could showcase their strengths because they involve their hidden challenges
  

• Pay Gap: They don't go for promotions or higher-paying roles for fear of being exposed. This self-imposed stall prevents career advancement and keeps them earning below their true value
  

• Identity Crisis: They know they're smart, but they can't shake the feeling that something's "wrong" with them
  

• Workplace Anxiety: Every email becomes a potential landmine. Every presentation slides closer to their dreaded nightmare

THE SHIFT 

What if we all played to win instead of playing not to lose?

The dyslexic brain that struggles with traditional reading and writing often excels at:

• Creative problem-solving (finding unconventional solutions)

• Verbal processing (communicating complex ideas clearly)

• Pattern recognition (spotting connections others miss)

• Big picture thinking (while others get lost in details)

The key isn't about trying to fix what's wrong.

It’s a mindset shift where the focus becomes leveraging what's right.

YOUR MOVE LEX

If this feels familiar, here are your next moves:

1. Stop apologizing for your workarounds – they're evidence of your intelligence, not incompetence
   

2. Identify your peak performance patterns – when do you do your best thinking?
   

3. Advocate for your optimal conditions – request audio formats, schedule writing time when you're freshest, use voice-to-text tech
   

4. Change the conversation – “I’m not bad at details, I’m built for big picture thinking"

THE RIPPLE EFFECT

When stealth dyslexics step into their power:

• Projects benefit from creative solutions and the ability to see connections others miss
  

• Teams gain access to enhanced analytical thinking and complex problem-solving skills
  

• Organizations tap into the exact skills the World Economic Forum identifies as increasingly in demand
  

• Workplaces become more psychologically safe for all types of thinkers

"The Value of Dyslexia" based on analysis of World Economic Forum Future of Jobs data

MILLIONS

• More than 40 million US adults have dyslexia, but only 2 million are diagnosed

• In the UK, 6 million adults are dyslexic

• In Canada, it's 3 million

And across all these countries, most don't even know they're dyslexic.

This means there are tens of millions unidentified dyslexics walking around thinking they're "just not good at" reading, writing, or other key details.

They're exhausting themselves trying to keep up, avoiding opportunities that could showcase their strengths, and earning less than their potential.

They think they’re the problem which also wreaks havoc on their mental health.

• Cross River Therapy: Dyslexia Statistics & Facts

• Dyslexia-Reading-Well dot com: Dyslexia Statistics, Facts and Figures

• British Dyslexia Association: Dyslexia prevalence data

If this article sparked recognition in you or someone you know - share it.

Because somewhere in your network is someone who needs to stop faking normal and tap into their Zone of Power.

Let that moment be NOW.

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