3 Dashboard Hacks to Help Menopausal Leaders Reclaim Clarity and Impact
- Brainz Magazine
- Jun 10
- 6 min read
Bianka is a Dramatherapist and Systemic Leadership Consultant with extensive experience in empowering female leaders through innovative therapeutic techniques and leadership strategies. She created bravely.B to support female leaders navigating the complexities of menopause effectively and maintain their leadership edge.
She was halfway to her hairdresser appointment when it hit her: she had no idea where she was going. A familiar route, a regular routine, and suddenly her mind went blank. She pulled over to try to orient herself, figuring out where she was and where she was going. "Luckily," she laughed later, "I didn’t end up at the dentist."
For many menopausal leaders, moments like this are more common than they’d like to admit, and it’s the kind of story I hear a lot. Women who have always been sharp, organised, and "on it", and proud of it, suddenly find themselves lost (literally and figuratively). The sense of disorientation isn’t just inconvenient; it’s unsettling. And for those of us in leadership, it hits us where it hurts most: our identity, our credibility, our confidence. Executive function, memory, and focus take a hit, and for neurodiverse women, the impact can be even more intense. This intersection of executive function, hormonal transition, and cognitive overload needs to be part of our evolving understanding of leadership; yet, it remains under-discussed.
The hidden strain of menopausal leadership
Many women only begin to explore an ADHD or autism diagnosis during perimenopause. The hormonal shifts often dial up the intensity of symptoms they’ve been masking their whole lives, things like working memory challenges, emotional overwhelm, or sensory sensitivities. According to some studies, late-diagnosed ADHD in women is sharply rising, and menopause is a common turning point for identification.
A 2021 study by The Lancet Psychiatry highlighted how ADHD is significantly underdiagnosed in adult women, and hormonal changes can exacerbate symptoms, leading many to seek diagnosis for the first time.
The mask of high performance (and what it costs)
Female leaders are often masters of masking. We’ve learned how to sound confident even when we’re not. We fill the gaps with extra effort, longer hours, and relentless planning. But that comes at a cost, emotionally, cognitively, and physically.
Menopause throws all of this into sharp relief. We forget names mid-meeting. We double-book ourselves. We lose track of the point we were making mid-sentence. The old strategies we developed over years to keep us moving forward no longer work.
We start to feel like imposters in our own roles.
What’s needed isn’t more or better masking. That will only make us feel more exhausted, anxious, and disconnected from our impact. We need to give ourselves space to explore a new way to lead, one that recognizes the very real shifts in our brains and bodies and offers tools that work with us, not against us. This is where we can creatively adapt AI to work for us as a tool to help recalibrate leadership back to a place of awareness and agency.
3 dashboard hacks for menopausal leaders to lead with clarity and calm
One description that resonates with most neurodivergent leaders I have worked with is of there being "too many tabs open in my brain, and I can’t remember what they are." This is a sign that what’s needed is more than a daily to-do list. This is where interactive dashboards come in. Think of dashboards as external executive function systems, visual, trackable, and tailor-made to reduce cognitive load. They help you stay present, plan ahead, and reclaim calm and clarity, especially when those internal systems aren’t quite firing on all cylinders.
Here are three dashboard hacks I use and recommend. I designed these with menopausal and neurodivergent leaders in mind. These aren’t just crib sheets; they’re interactive, trackable dashboards that help leaders understand how they function best. Each comes with a purpose, layout guidance (including emojis), and an AI prompt to get you started. They blend the physical (journaling, energy mapping) with tech tools (AI, Trello, Notion, Sheets) to reduce cognitive load and boost clarity.
If you’re new to tools like Notion or Trello, don’t worry; these dashboards work just as well on paper, Post-its, or your favorite planner.
1. The daily crib dashboard: Your executive assistant for the day ahead
This is a personal, visual dashboard showing your day’s key events, expected energy levels, priority tasks, self-care reminders, and a grounding affirmation. You can create this in a Google Sheet, Trello board, Notion template, or simply sketch it in a journal. If you’re using an AI tool, this is also a good space to park your daily ‘brain dump’ and use it to help you get grounded and organised for the day ahead.
When memory, focus, and task-switching are compromised, seeing your day in one place lowers stress and boosts your ability to adapt. It honors your energy rhythms, not just your workload. Including a one-sentence affirmation or intention will help direct your focus for the day ahead.
I suggest the following dashboard sections:
Morning Priorities
Predicted energy highs/lows (you can color-code these to make them more accessible and appealing)
Top 3 work goals
Movement & hydration tracker
Emotional tone check-in
One-sentence affirmation or intention
AI Prompt to get you started:
“Design a daily dashboard for me that includes: top 3 priorities, likely energy dips (based on a typical workday), reminders for hydration and breaks, and a motivational affirmation. Present it as a structured table or Trello-style card layout.”
2. The meeting memory dashboard: Prepping for authentic presence
This prep board gives you a quick-glance memory map before meetings: who’s there, what was said last time, what you want to contribute, and any key questions or risks to raise. Think of it as a relational GPS when brain fog hits mid-conversation.
Meetings are where brain fog gets most visible and disruptive, forgotten names, blank moments, or losing track of the thread. This dashboard helps you show up prepared without over-preparing. Integrating these and using AI to consolidate various meeting information can help create an invaluable program narrative to help you stay grounded in various fast-paced environments.
The sections below are some basic dashboard components (one per meeting) you can build on and tailor to your needs:
Attendees & roles
Previous agreements or unresolved points
My contributions/updates
Key questions to ask
Risks/challenges to flag
Follow-up actions
AI Prompt to get you started:
“Create a visual meeting prep dashboard for [insert topic]. Include key attendees and roles, previous discussion points, updates I should share, 3 intelligent-sounding questions I could ask, and any risks or decisions to track. Format in a table or board.”
3. The confidence catch-up dashboard: Reflect, reframe, reclaim your leadership story
This weekly reflection dashboard is my personal favorite and the one I have used the longest. I designed it to capture actual impact, not just what didn’t get done. It tracks achievements, strengths, strategies, and growth. Pair it with journaling or a feedback log for maximum impact.
Menopausal self-doubt is real, and neurodivergent masking can hide even our own progress from ourselves. This dashboard builds evidence of effectiveness, helping you shift from “What’s wrong with me?” to “Look what I handled.” This dashboard can help replace endless lists and guilt-driven reviews with real evidence of impact.
Suggested dashboard sections:
Weekly wins
Strengths used
Challenges handled
What I’d tweak next time
Leadership growth moments
Reflections/intention for next week
AI Prompt to get you started:
“Summarize my past week using this dashboard structure: 1) What I achieved, 2) Strengths I used, 3) Challenges I handled, 4) One thing I’d change, 5) Leadership lessons, and 6) One-word focus for next week. Present it in a visual table.”
These dashboards are not about perfect systems; they’re about externalizing your brilliance, so your leadership isn’t dependent on short-term memory, hormonal balance, or how many hours of sleep you had.
They help ensure that our leadership isn’t about masking. It’s about evolving. These dashboards are more than tools; they’re companions on your journey back to clarity, confidence, and calm. Try blending journaling and tech to create your own rhythm. One small dashboard. Three minutes a day. A lot less brain fog. And no need to pull over on the way to the hairdresser.
Read more from Bianka Kuhn-Thompson
Bianka Kuhn-Thompson, Dramatherapist and Systemic Leadership Consultant
Bianka is a distinguished Dramatherapist and Systemic Leadership Consultant dedicated to enhancing leadership resilience among female professionals. With a deep understanding of mental health, menopause, ADHD, and trauma-informed practice, Bianka empowers women to navigate professional challenges effectively. Through bravely.B, she offers unique, creative approaches to profoundly reduce stress, foster well-being, and develop protective strategies against professional challenges.
