Few Nigerian corporate leaders have heard of dyslexia. Those that have, think it is simply a difficulty learning to read and write. What COVID-19 presents is not just an opportunity to change this misperception, but to realise how relevant dyslexia is to business survival during and post a global outbreak.
When the Spanish Flu hit in 1918, at least 40 million people died globally. That’s more than 4 times the number of deaths from the first world war. It took the world one year after the flu was first identified for the last outbreak to occur, and for the pandemic to finally be over.
We were lucky then, if luck could be associated with such a crisis. The economic impact was disastrous, but only in the short-term. Local quarantine, like those enforced in Lagos, Ogun and Abuja, hurt businesses. Employees were laid off, financial hardship prevailed, businesses lost up to half of their revenue. But they recovered. In fact, there was a large positive in per capita income growth in the US States that were worst hit by the flu.
We will not be so lucky this time. Technological advances mean information is more readily available. In addition to getting more news about the outbreak, people can and will panic more, for longer. We will not return to “life as it used to be”, simply because amongst others, the anxiety from the disease will spread faster and longer than the disease itself. So, while the doors of businesses will physically open when the lockdown is over, revenue will remain threatened, not just until the last outbreak happens, maybe a year from now, but until the anxiety over a new outbreak dies down, maybe a year after that.
This is precisely why so many businesses are aggressive about going online in a bid to reach customers wherever they are. They are keen, not only to protect their revenue, but to protect their brands by demonstrating social responsibility at a time when modern humanity is at its most vulnerable. The impact of this will last well beyond COVID-19.
The world of work will never be the same. We will evolve, from this simple step of easing life and reducing business losses during quarantine, to embracing a wider world of remote working, technology-driven business models, and having to quickly adapt to a new type of discerning customer base. Is your business ready for that? How will you manage and lead your teams to deliver redefined value remotely when we continue to struggle with the basics like irregular power supply and unstable internet connection in Nigeria?
Businesses will need a new breed of leaders. Leaders that can think not just outside a box, but without a box entirely. Leaders strong in visualising a future unseen and charting novel ways to get there. Intrapreneurs that are better than average at problem solving and generating lucrative business ideas. People that can understand patterns, assess possibilities and make life-changing decisions. There’s one word to describe people like this – dyslexic.
Research documented by Ernst and Young and Made by Dyslexia in “The Value of Dyslexia”, shows that individuals with dyslexia are exceptional in reasoning, visualising, imagining, connecting, communicating and exploring. These are skills that the World Economic Forum recognised as critical for the future of work long before COVID-19 accelerated that future and brought it sharply to the present.
Dyslexia is in fact, more than just a difficulty learning to read and write. It is a different way the brain processes information and sees the world, cutting across not just reading and writing, but thinking, communication and other life skills. It is true individuals with dyslexia experience several difficulties, but emphasis is on the word difficulty, meaning these challenges can be overcome with the right support. Doing so in turns makes these individuals more resilient – another skill we need to navigate business through these times.
The good news is every company that has more than 5 members of staff has at least one individual with dyslexia already. 1 in 5 Nigerians is dyslexic. That means a company like Coca Cola with about 2,700 employees in Nigeria has at least 500 people that are potential Einsteins, Richard Bransons, Alan Sugars, Charles Schwabs, Winston Churchills and Steve Jobs’. These are all individuals with dyslexia that led innovation in the age before COVID. Dyslexics, adequately supported, can successfully lead and make sense of work and business post-COVID-19.
The bad news is most corporate leaders have never heard of dyslexia and have so far underestimated the hidden superpowers walking the corridors of their offices. Now is the time to change that. Now is the time to identify, support and empower them. Conduct a diagnostic assessment; make reasonable adjustments that allow them to thrive, then watch them position your business for success in the imminent future world of work.
It’s not that Nigerian businesses are doomed by COVID-19; it’s just that they won’t survive it unless they embrace their hidden superpowers – the dyslexics that are already on their payroll. If you happen to be dyslexic and reading this, this is the time for you to take up the mantle. Start with The Dyslexic’s Guide to Enhancing Cognitive Ability during a Pandemic (link below). If you’re not dyslexic, read it anyway. Afterall, what’s good for dyslexia is good for all.
Olayide Odediran
Odediran is a Director at Dyslexia Nigeria where she focuses on dyslexia in adults and in the workplace.
+234 (1) 632 7384, +234 (0) 902 544 6486, +234 (0) 810 753 1682, or by visiting Dyslexia Nigeria at 30B2 Remi Fani-Kayode Street, GRA, Ikeja, Lagos.
