Charles Grimes has spent nearly 30 years as a business psychologist, helping leaders understand themselves so they could lead others well. But he’s also been trying to understand himself, with therapy, courses, and numerous self-assessment tools. But it wasn't until he was 65 — when a friend made a casual, throwaway comment — that the missing piece finally clicked into place. He had Asperger's. The diagnosis didn't feel like bad news. It felt like freedom.

"It's okay to be Charles. And that's something which I hadn't felt. And I'm 65. This is very late in life to suddenly feel it's okay to be me."

Hear Charles talk about:

• What his friend said that set the whole thing in motion and why he didn't dismiss it
• What "masking" is, and the exhausting work of hiding in plain sight for decades
• The conductor who walked into rehearsal and transformed a mediocre choir without saying a word - and what this has to do with leadership
• What fell into place when he looked back at his life through the new lens of his diagnosis
• Learning about love and connection later in life — and why he thinks it's never too late

Mentioned in this episode:

• A Question of Leadership by Charles Grimes
• The National Autistic Society — where Charles went for his formal assessment

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