HOW CAN EXECUTIVE COACHING KEEP OUR CAREERS ON TRACK DURING PERI/MENOPAUSE?

Read Anna's experience of menopause symptoms such as brain fog and how they can impact your career.

www.allertoncoaching.com

Perimenopause began for me when I was 38. It was lockdown, I was on maternity leave with a new baby and a two-year old toddler.

For quite some time I didn’t recognise what was happening to me and put it down to the unchartered territory we all found ourselves experiencing back in 2020. I returned to work at the end of that year and quickly saw the more severe and debilitating symptoms present themselves.

RED FLAGS

After three months back at work I was feeling like a shell of my former self. I became increasingly concerned with my brain function and ability to undertake simple tasks. (This wasn’t a helpful combination as a Live TV Producer and Sports Journalist!). I was forgetting names, dates, recall of information was a challenge and my confidence nose-dived as a result. Was I going mad or experiencing early onset?

On reflection I masked a lot of how I was feeling by allowing people to impose on my boundaries and by taking on more tasks. There was a real lack of joy in a career I had dedicated 17 years to building and nurturing. The self-doubt was loud and constant.

Heavy flooding left me feeling drained, vulnerable and exposed. The fear of forgetting something important always hung over me. Palpitations, anxiety and insomnia went hand in hand.

WHAT THE HECK IS PERIMENOPAUSE?

My reality needed addressing because I was stuck and felt like a hamster on a wheel. Fortunately, a colleague reached out to explore how I was feeling and shared about perimenopause. This was the first time I had heard of it. It was like a lightbulb going on.

Tired of just muddling on –I was determined to take action and treat my symptoms. Despite being told too many times that I was “too young”, I stuck with it and after 10 months of repeated appointments, tests, and misdiagnosis - I convinced my GP to refer me to an expert whose treatment plan changed everything.

REFLECTIONS

While all of that was going on my career crumbled. Many workplaces are not suitably set up with strategy and policy to support women experiencing perimenopause and menopause. Many are not aware of the private battles that go on away from work that women are taking on. Newson Health reports up to 60% of workplaces offer no support for staff while 41% say they’ve seen the subject treated as a joke at work.

Keen to put my experience into something meaningful - I left my journalism career, retrained as an Executive Coach and four years later run a purpose-led and impactful Consulting and Coaching company.

Women need a safe space to be heard and supported in their careers during this time. Up to 1 million have already change or quit roles because of this. 1 in 10 that will leave the workforce. All while women over the age of 50 are the fastest growing demographic of the UK workforce.

Menopause is not a one size fits all and therefore I favour the more individualised approach when supporting my organisational and 1:1 clients. My practise is designed to go deeper than policy alone to provide a more personalised service tailored to specific needs.

An Executive Coach is not going to tell you how to do things. They won’t offer opinion or instructions on how to achieve a solution. Menopausal women know their own minds. They don’t appreciate (or need) someone telling them what to do with their careers.

Coaching offers a space to reconnect and deepen your own self-awareness and professional goals with a professional thinking partner. It provides an environment where women can pause and reconnect with their values, passions, ambitions, and non-negotiables. Exploring the meaning and why to feelings can unlock a path forward.

At times, it supports you to confront issues they may find difficult or are avoiding. It challenges you and holds accountability. But in all the deep exploration and reflection, there is action to help serve individuals in the best possible way. For midlife women, this can support you to take positive steps forward in your career.

Menopause hits at time when many women are in senior roles or pushing on and into that next big promotion. Our list of responsibilities is bigger than ever with families, relationships, and caring roles. Our experience and ability to do all this has not been removed by our hormones. It’s all still in there and coaching helps you to reconnect while strategically planning for your individual success.

For organisations it’s a tool to help retain top talent, boost performance and productivity while supporting quotas for gender diversity.  

For more info, contact Anna at anna@allertoncoaching.com