Brighton leadership coach reveals how Dyslexia became the skill set behind his career

Brighton-based leadership coach, author and podcast host Lee Whitmore is releasing a deeply personal episode of the LevelUp Leadership Podcast this week, timed to coincide with Global Accessibility Awareness Day on 21st May.

The episode, titled 'SuperPower', explores what happens when a difficulty that follows you through school quietly builds the capabilities that define your career. Lee opens up about his own experience of dyslexia, how a fear of writing in front of colleagues pushed him to consistently volunteer as a presenter during corporate workshops, and how that single pattern of avoidance ended up shaping his entire professional identity as a communicator, coach and speaker.

The episode also draws on the story of Dragon's Den entrepreneur Theo Paphitis, who has spoken publicly about navigating dyslexia through school and building a business empire on the strengths that traditional education never recognised.

Lee said: 'I spent thirty-odd years thinking my difficulty with writing was something to hide. It turned out it was the pressure that built the muscle, and the muscle that built the career. I wanted to share that ahead of Global Accessibility Awareness Day because I think there are leaders and team members everywhere who are engineering around a difficulty rather than being given the space to show what they are actually capable of.'

The episode also carries a direct challenge to leaders: to examine whether they are asking for a method, such as a written report or a slide deck, when what they actually need is an outcome. Lee argues that mandating formats can quietly design out some of the strongest thinkers in a room.

'SuperPower' is available now on the LevelUp Leadership Podcast, on Spotify and YouTube. New episodes are published weekly at levelupleadership.uk.