Your difference is your superpower
We’re halfway through helping deliver the Virgin StartUp Momentum programme - the UK’s first accelerator designed for dyslexic founders - and it’s proving something we’ve seen in every boardroom and brainstorm: difference isn’t a distraction. It’s the engine of innovation.
Every week, we watch founders who once questioned the way they think start to realise it’s their edge. They visualise what others can’t yet see. They link ideas across industries. They reframe challenges into opportunities. They communicate with clarity because they’ve had to find new ways to be understood. And they experiment relentlessly, because that’s how they’ve learned to move forward in a world that wasn’t built for how they think.
At GuessWorks, we’ve been proud to help design and deliver this programme - translating those natural traits into strategy, tools, and experiments founders can use to grow their businesses. But the lessons coming out of Momentum go far beyond the startup world.
What we’re seeing each week mirrors what’s true inside every organisation: the people who think differently are the ones shaping the future. Whether they have a diagnosis or just a tendency to colour outside the lines, they’re often the ones spotting what’s next while everyone else is optimising what’s now.
Momentum focuses on Dyslexic Thinking - six skills that every business needs more of: visualising, imagining, communicating, reasoning, connecting and exploring. But these aren’t just founder traits. They’re leadership superpowers. They’re the skills that help teams navigate change, challenge the status quo, and build cultures that evolve instead of eroding.
And yet, so many systems inside organisations are built to flatten those perspectives. They reward consistency over curiosity, and alignment over originality. It’s safer that way - tidier meetings, predictable outputs, fewer debates. But when you remove the friction, you lose the spark.
What we’re learning through Momentum is that difference only becomes a superpower when people are allowed to use it. The founders in this programme aren’t just succeeding because they think differently - they’re succeeding because they’ve found a space where that difference is recognised, valued, and designed into the work.
Because in a world changing this fast, sameness isn’t safety - it’s risk.
If there’s one thing this halfway point in Momentum has reinforced, it’s that difference drives progress. The leaders, teams, and organisations who thrive in the next decade won’t be the ones who perfect the old systems; they’ll be the ones who reimagine them for how people actually think.
And if that’s the work you’re doing too - you’re in the right kind of mess.
Cheat sheet
How leaders and teams can turn difference into advantage:
Spot the sparks.
Pay attention to the people who see things differently. The ones who ask awkward questions, draw unexpected connections, or take the conversation in a direction you didn’t plan for. Every challenge to the status quo is data you can use.
Redefine 'fit'.
If everyone thinks the same way, you’ve built an echo chamber, not a team. “Culture fit” has quietly become one of the biggest blockers of innovation - it’s code for comfort. Great teams aren’t cohesive because they’re identical; they’re cohesive because they have a shared purpose and complementary differences. Hire for tension you can manage, not harmony that keeps you still.
Design for real brains.
Most systems are built for imaginary people - the ones who love back-to-back meetings, process heavy documents flawlessly, and never need a minute to think. Real humans aren’t like that. Real brains need clarity, space, and options. Leaders who design for difference build flexibility into the basics: how information is shared, how meetings run, how success is measured. They use tools and rhythms that help people focus on the work, not fight the system.
Back bravery.
In every organisation, there are people quietly testing new ideas, trying small experiments, or questioning whether “the way we’ve always done it” still works. They don’t need permission - they need protection. When you back brave ideas early, you build a culture where innovation is everyone’s job, not a department. Reward the people who question, test, and reimagine, even when their ideas don’t land the first time. That’s how you build psychological safety and creative momentum at the same time.