Laura Gowers of This is Dyslexia On How To Create More Inclusive Workplaces

An Interview With Rachel Kline

Understand why you want to do something. As a leader, it’s important to truly understand why you want to do something. It’s useful to personally reflect on your values and understand if your idea is right for your employees and your customers. This can then feed into your company mission and ethos. A cookie cutter approach is not as effective, and I would advise taking time to reflect on this early on in your business.

Creating inclusive workplaces is crucial for any organization that wants to get the most out of its talent. This means creating an environment where everyone feels like they belong, has equal opportunities, is empowered to do their best work, and feels comfortable making requests and contributing ideas. In this series, we asked prominent HR and business leaders about the steps they take to create more inclusive workplaces. As a part of this series, we had the pleasure of interviewing Laura Gowers.

Laura Gowers is founder of This is Dyslexia, an award winning Dyslexia consultancy company that provides assessment, coaching and workshops to help support professionals. Laura is dedicated to helping individuals with Dyslexia understand their unique strengths and through assessments and coaching, she aims to unlock their potential, enabling them to thrive in the workplace.

Laura is focused on driving positive change in the workplace by advocating for greater awareness and understanding of Dyslexia. Her mission is to ensure that individuals with Dyslexia receive the support they need, allowing them to contribute their unique talents to the professional world. She aims to break down barriers and foster inclusive environments where individuals with Dyslexia can reach their full potential. www.thisisdyslexia.co.uk

Thank you so much for your time! I know that you are a very busy person. Before we drive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’ and how you got started?

In my early twenties I trained as a teacher and over the course of 22 years, held a range of different roles within schools. I started as a classroom teacher and progressed to being part of the senior leadership team and SENCo (Special Educational Needs Coordinator). It was this role that made me focus on my strengths of supporting neurodivergent learners in the classroom.

After much thought, I made the decision to train as a specialist teacher and assessor of Dyslexia. I knew that although I had a job that required me to work in excess of 50 hours every week, I just had to find the time to complete this demanding qualification.

I spent the next 2 years honing my skills and founded This is Dyslexia, where I support both children and adults. As my business grew, I discovered that I was having an increase in adults getting in touch to find out more about Dyslexia. This led to the development of a coaching and training program which allowed me to focus on supporting adults who have received a late diagnosis.

It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I made many mistakes in the early days of my business. Jumping from teaching to owning a business has been a steep learning curve. Initially I followed many successful entrepreneurs on social media and attempted to recreate their business models or buy every offer they put out. I soon realized that I needed to create my own path and be confident in my decisions. I now don’t buy from people unless they are offering something that is in my business strategy for the year. It has taken a while to lose the shiny object syndrome and an aspect of business that I am now comfortable with is staying in my own lane and not comparing myself to others.

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

There are so many people that I am thankful for who have all made an impression within the tapestry of my career. Firstly, and foremost I am extremely grateful to have a husband who has offered support and guidance throughout many late nights working. He has encouraged me to grow and has inspired me to make business decisions based around what I am passionate about.

I have always been fortunate enough to have wonderful colleagues who have offered encouragement and support. I am hugely thankful for all their support over the years.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

One of my favorite motivational life quotes is ‘Don’t let yesterday take up too much of today. — Will Rogers. This quote is important to me as I spent many years in my early career worrying about what had already happened. With age, I have learnt to reframe this and not dwell on the past; instead choosing to focus and put my energies on the future.

Thinking back on your own career, what would you tell your younger self?

I would tell my younger self not to worry about the future as much and to focus on the present. I would encourage her to be bold and make the changes that will inspire her rather than choosing the safe option. I would guide her to trust the process.

Let’s now move to the central part of our interview. What systems do you have to ensure your workplace is as inclusive as possible?

I am fortunate enough to have studied inclusivity and institutional development at university and within this, I was encouraged to reflect on all aspects of inclusive design. This has allowed me to guide my current practice of supporting neurodivergent individuals. I am a firm believer in compassionate and trauma informed leadership and aim for this to shine through all processes within the business. As a small business, I am able to closely monitor the inclusive language and practices we use. As we grow, it’s important to me that employee voice is taken into consideration and have policies that are equitable. I believe that an inclusive workplace supports productivity and creates a culture where all employees can thrive.

Based on your experience and success, what are your top five tips for creating more inclusive workplaces?

1 . Understand why you want to do something. As a leader, it’s important to truly understand why you want to do something. It’s useful to personally reflect on your values and understand if your idea is right for your employees and your customers. This can then feed into your company mission and ethos. A cookie cutter approach is not as effective, and I would advise taking time to reflect on this early on in your business.

2 . Know your team. I firmly believe that it is vital to know your team. Don’t assume you are doing something to support a colleague if you haven’t had a conversation with them regarding the support that helps them. I support many neurodivergent individuals, and this is a common complaint that I hear. Employers need to understand that not everyone has the same experiences and what works for someone will not be the most inclusive practice for another.

3 . Communicate clearly. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback on your policies and don’t feel scared to ask an individual what will help them. So many employers are afraid to do this as they don’t want to use the wrong language and offend anyone. I think it’s safe to say that if you have this thought and are naturally compassionate, you are not likely to offend, and your employees are going to respect you for considering their view.

4 . Create inclusive policies and practices as part of your core everyday offer. Don’t promise things that you cannot deliver on a day-to-day basis. There is nothing as infuriating to an employee as something that is agreed upon but then not implemented daily. I also think it is important to consider inclusive policies for all areas of your business from the initial recruitment process through to the exit communications.

5 . Review and regularly update. Make sure that you schedule regular meetings with a range of staff in different roles within your organisation. Review the strategies, tweak these as required and if elements are not working form a working party to discuss how it could be developed. When making any changes, it is important to ensure that staff are empowered to offer their voice in a supportive environment.

Can you share 3 or 4 of the most common mistakes you have seen businesses make while trying to become more inclusive? What should one keep in mind to avoid that?

1.It is quite common to see some businesses offer lip service to inclusive practice. You can see that the lived experience of staff is not the same as suggested in the policies that have been created. Often the policies have been created by an external professional with little understanding of the day-to-day operations of the business. The best policies are often created with a wide section of different stakeholders and include a consultation before implementation.

2.It is not possible to copy another business when creating an inclusive policy as what works for one company and their employees is not going to be same as another. Carefully create your inclusive policy based on your company mission and values.

3.I have seen some organizations rush to get their DEI efforts in place. I think it is so important to view the process as a marathon and not a sprint. A companywide ethos takes time and consistency to embed.

How do you measure the effectiveness of your DEI efforts?

Regular informal meetings are held where everyone is encouraged to give their views. These provide a suitable platform for discussions. Alongside this, it is also useful to gather individual feedback through the use of staff surveys. These can be submitted confidentially to enable everyone to feel confident to give their true opinion.

You can also measure specific aspects of a business such as productivity, wellbeing, concerns raised etc. It’s important to be proactive when people do need support to enable them to feel valued.

Are there other organizations you admire for their approach to DEI? Can you please explain why?

There are many organizations' within the UK who have a DEI approach embedded within their DNA. I think these organizations value cultural change and do not follow a model of peaks and troughs which can be seen by some well-meaning organizations in response to national or world events. Companies that continually seek opportunities to seek connection and make colleagues feel valued and supported are often most successful.

What do you do to address Proximity Bias? How do you ensure remote workers are treated the same as onsite workers and have equal access to opportunities?

It’s important to recognize that proximity bias exists and rather than trying to brush this aside, it’s necessary to recognize and put steps in place to solve it. I believe it’s vital to review metrics to allow you to determine success and to recognize that remote workers are as productive as staff working within an office. With the right training, tools and leadership, I am of the mind that there is no difference in productivity and that there should be the same benefits for all workers.

We are very blessed to have some of the biggest names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have a private lunch with, and why? He or she might just see this.

I admire Lisa Johnson and value how she faced adversity through her childhood and in her career but leads with integrity. She experienced bullying as a child and even as a successful businesswoman there have been many instances of online trolls which must have been difficult for her to deal with. Despite all of this, Lisa is a strong, successful and passionate individual who has high values and will not waver from her morals even if this means making difficult decisions.

How can our readers further follow your work?

You can learn about me at https://www.thisisdyslexia.co.uk

You can follow me at https://www.instagram.com/this_is_dyslexia

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!