5.5 We’re great people people and leaders

The final reason why dyslexic thinkers make great entrepreneurs is we are 'people' people. Great leaders, team builders, empathisers, the Dyslexic Thinking skill of Connecting.

Another skill that sets dyslexic entrepreneurs apart is their ability to motivate, lead and inspire people. This is born out of strong connecting skills and heightened emotional intelligence. Being aware of our weaknesses and the need to focus on our strengths, we also become expert delegators. This in turn builds and empowers great teams who are all encouraged to lean into their strengths. Something we all love to do.

Dyslexic thinkers recognise that their kryptonite will be someone else's superpower and vice versa. By having this greater understanding of ourselves and others’ superpowers we're able to create brilliant teams that grow companies faster. And when it comes to communicating with our customers, our high level of emotional intelligence, empathy and passion means we can put ourselves in their shoes to get greater understanding of what they need and how to reach and inspire them. This builds brands and products that truly connect with the customer in a powerful and authentic way.

Let's hear again from Richard Branson talking about the Dyslexic Thinking skill of Connecting in this brilliant clip.

I think dyslexics are particularly good at surrounding themselves with good people because they are not necessarily good at everything. And if somebody thinks, 'Oh, I know everything, I’m really good at everything', they're apt to talk down on people whereas I think dyslexics are much better listeners and much better at drawing on other people. And as a result, I think they're better leaders. By learning from other people, you're going to be able to achieve much more than thinking you know everything yourself because there are so many gems of ideas that you can pick up.

It’s a skill shared by US Shark, Barbara Corcoran, too. She explains her Connecting skill and the impact it had on her business.

I've always been great with people. You know, you get a couple of other little treats when you're dyslexic. One is you're naturally enormously empathetic. That's a great people building skill. And teams, I mean, unless you want a business of one just you making shoes or something, you have to be good with people. You build business on people. There's nothing else really. And so if you can spot a person, identify their talent very quickly because you're empathetic and sympathetic, you can build a huge business on the skills of so many different people with different skills and so teamsmanship and the ability to lead a team and pick the right people and motivate them the right way is all part of what you get.

I think, with the downside of being dyslexic, not being good with books or numbers or digits, but you could hire people for that stuff. That's the boring stuff anyway. You don't want to be doing that all day. You get to do the fun stuff with the people and the creative stuff with the design and the daydreaming and visualising where you want to go. I mean that's all the fun part of building a business. I got more A students working for my company that are great with numbers, great with digits. They could do it.

The best card for me on Shark Tank is my empathy. I can slip right into the entrepreneur’s shoes and I can also see through a phoney right away. I can see what doesn't fit the picture, so to speak. I am not even quite sure why it's not registering, but I've learned to trust my gut because I get a whole picture, whole feeling, and I either go or I don't. So no, it's a shortcut on Shark Tank if you have that ability, no doubt about it.

Here are the three key takeaways from this section. One, dyslexics are great delegators and brilliant at surrounding ourselves with the right team. Two, our ability to lean into our own strengths and to empower teams to do the same creates highly motivated, empowered teams. Three, our people skills and empathy enable us to stand in the customer's shoes and to really understand what they need. And this builds great authentic businesses.