From Learning Differently to Leading Differently - Seeing Structure When Others See Chaos

Learning to Build the Map

When I was younger, dyslexia felt like a wall I couldn't climb. I watched classmates read effortlessly while I decoded every sentence like a puzzle. In a profession built on precision - where one missed word in a policy can rewrite accountability - dyslexia wasn't just inconvenient. It was terrifying.

But here's what time and perspective have taught me: dyslexia wasn't my disadvantage. It was my training.

While others memorized, I learned to analyzed.

While others followed the map, I learned to build it.

The Pattern to Success

Because I had to work harder to process information, my brain naturally began searching for patterns, systems, and shortcuts that made complex things make sense. That skill - the ability to see the structure beneath the surface - became my superpower. I may not have read as fast, but I saw connections faster. I could map out entire workflows in my head, spot inefficiencies that others accepted as "normal", and reorganized chaos into clarity.

The same pattern-seeking ability now drives everything I do as a consultant and leader. Whether it's building an APP team, resolving salary inequities, or redesigning coverage models, my dyslexic brain immediately starts asking. "What's the underlying structure here? What's not being said? Where is the real break in the system?"

And often, the answer isn't in the obvious data - it's in the gaps.

Listening in Pictures, Not Paragraphs

Dyslexia forced me to listen differently, to questions differently, and to think in pictures rather than paragraphs. When you can't rely on linear reading, you develop spatial reasoning. You learn to "see" ideas - how pieces interact, how decisions ripple through systems, how one gap in communication can cost a department weeks of productivity.

This visual, system-based mindset became the foundation of my leadership. It's why I can look at complex workflows and reframe it in minutes. It's why I've been able to bridge the gap between APPs, radiologists, and administrators - because I don't just hear their words, I see their worlds colliding.

Architect of Systems

So, yes - my dyslexia makes me reread emails three times. It makes writing policy drafts a little slower. But it also makes me a strategist, a connector, and an architect of systems that actually work.

The truth is, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Different is Not Less

If you've ever been told that your way of thinking is "different", I want you to know: different is not less. It's often the very thing that lets you see what no one else can.

What once made me feel small now drives the biggest thing I've built.

• Marcelene Forbus RPA (CBRPA), RT (R)(ARRT)