Breaking through barriers in the workplace

Last week (3-9 Oct 2022) was #dyslexiaawarenessweek, an annual event which aims to raise more awareness around #dyslexia. This year’s theme was breaking through barriers.

We talk about workplace ‘barriers’ a lot, often with the assumption that we all know what they mean. Reflecting and considering the meaning and different connotations can help us come to a more nuanced understanding.

For me, one way of thinking about workplace barriers is through the lens of theatre and character. When I was an actor, I’d analyse a character’s journey by identifying what their ‘obstacle’ was. The obstacle is the thing that stops the character from getting what they want.

What I love about this exercise, is that you break down the character’s obstacle into ‘internal’ and ‘external’.

Example:

???????? My character’s goal is ‘I want to live in another city’

???????? So, – an internal obstacle of a character might be their fear of change. The fear stems from their father being conscripted into the army when they were a child.

???????? An external obstacle is they don’t have enough money for the train ticket, and they need to look after five younger siblings.

After this process, there are a series of actions to overcome the obstacle to achieving the goal, etc.. or perhaps there is no action, and so the character never achieves their goal

To break down barriers in the workplace, we first need to be able to identify the different types of barriers that exist (both internal and external), that hold people back, and understand how they are created. Only then can we work out how to unpick and remove them.

For adult dyslexics, these internal barriers can express themselves as:

• Poor self-esteem
• Imposter syndrome
• Self-limiting beliefs
• a lack of confidence

Where do these internal obstacles come from?

Low self-esteem in dyslexic adults has been attributed to early negative school experiences (Glazzard 2010). Early interactions with educational and medical professionals have objectified the dyslexic child as ‘dysfunctional’. One consequence of the dysfunctional label is a stigmatizing effect that can last long into adulthood.

“exclusion from the community of readers affects not just behaviour but also identities: the ‘otherness’ becomes a part of the ‘identity kit’ in the largely middle-class, print-literate cultural model of school and academic success” (Barden 2009: 294).

Solvang refers to alienation from a particular group when he suggests that “dyslexics are understood in an ‘us and them’ discourse, representing a valued social position suppressed by a labelling and pathologising medical system” (2007: 88). A result of years of academic failure is a perceived inadequacy and a reduction in young people’s self-respect ‘to the point where they ‘erase’ their ‘self’’ (Goldfus 2012: 57).

What is the impact of these experiences in adulthood?

Such experiences can lead to self-limiting beliefs that impact an adult’s ability to gain employment and, when in work, experience job satisfaction and career progression. Employees may be reluctant to put themselves forward for professional development opportunities or promotions. Candidates may not talk openly about dyslexia because of their fear of not being hired and the impact on career progression (von Schrader, Malzer, and Bruyère 2014).

How do we begin to work on these internal obstacles?

Strategy Coaching can be one transformational tool, as part of a broader approach. Coaching can support the individual to process the diagnostic label, understand their strengths and challenges, work on self-advocacy and develop practical strategies to improve confidence and self-esteem.