Published on 12, July, 2020
I am trying to figure out if working through the diagnosis process is worth while. I am in my mid 40’s diagnosed as dyslexic when I was a child along with a bunch late development esp reading and writing and limited social capability. Recently my employer told me that I need to change how I interact with people as I was to direct and blunt. I took this badly. On the positive side I am a very good data analyst and can do tasks few other seam unable to grasp. I have taken and re taken the online questions, tired or awake or stressed or relaxed and each time it comes out with a score that tells me I should see a specialist, so should I speak to my doctor or just carry on ?
help or advice would be really good.
thanks
Do you work for the civil service? If so I strongly advise yes seek diagnosis.
Yes, public service tends to be quite supportive once identified in their employees.
maybe i just had a bad line manager then. They tend to emphasise tack and diplomacy over directness. My bluntness was constantly aggravating my line manager and his vagueness constantly confusing me.
academia has been a better employer to me so far. Even if getting in is very hard
Civil service is known for it
example. we had a program at work i expressed an interest in. he said it probably wasn't suitable for me but we'd discuss it at out next meeting. before then there was a q&a session to find out more about this program. I went and it turns out it wasn't a good fit for me. but he found out from his line manager that I'd been their and chewed me out for wasting time going. I believed we had agreed it wasn't a closed issue and we were keeping it under review so it made sense for me to go but as far as he was concerned it was a closed issue and I had no business being there.
A lot is down to personality. My boss is lovely. On the plus side he is a real people person, heart of gold and very diplomatic. On the down side, I find his work approach woolly and very vague at times. I end so many conversations with him not at all sure what he's asking for.
But, I think we've learned that opposites can produce the goods though and have a real respect for each other. He knows to paint me a big picture. I'll then seek clarification as to what he wants (I sort of metaphorically sit on him until I get the precision I'm looking for, lol) and then trot off to dig around in the weeds of the stats to find his answers or design new processes to make things work. And no, I'm polite but I don't pull my punches when a thing is flawed.
It's just become a standing joke now that we tackle things from different angles. He's says if I ever leave, he's leaving with me.
I think the point is here that this is a question of attitude. There's a lot to be said for frankness. A good manager should know that you don't want your team to be all the same as you, but complement the skills you don't have. An assessment should give you protection, but so would some naturally good leadership.