The Hot Seat:
Hot Flushes and High Stakes
She can command a boardroom, manage millions and make decisions under pressure. So why should a hot flush at 3:17 a.m. have her questioning whether she'll be at her best tomorrow?
She's ready for the boardroom. But is she ready for 3:17 a.m.?
Imagine spending 25 years building your career, mastering difficult conversations, managing complex decisions and earning your place at the leadership table. Tomorrow, you are delivering an important presentation. Your research is complete, your slides are ready and your strategy is watertight.
There is just one problem. It's 3:17 in the morning, you are wide awake, your internal thermostat has declared independence and your brain has decided this is the perfect time to rehearse every possible question the board might ask!
Welcome to The Hot Seat, our new weekly Menopause Mindset and Me comic series, where we explore the funny, frustrating and sometimes unspoken realities of navigating menopause while life, work and everyone else's expectations carry on as usual.
We often laugh about hot flushes, brain fog and sleepless nights. But behind the humour lies a more serious conversation.
What happens when a woman who has spent decades demonstrating her competence suddenly feels she must work twice as hard to conceal what her body is experiencing?
Why do we still associate professional authority with appearing permanently composed, particularly when women may be navigating significant physical and emotional changes?
Here is the contradiction. A woman can manage budgets, negotiate contracts, lead teams and make high-stakes decisions, yet still feel uncomfortable admitting that she needs a cooler room, a moment to collect her thoughts or support with disrupted sleep.
"Her experience has not disappeared. Her ambition has not diminished. So why should menopause make her feel that her credibility is suddenly negotiable?"
At NBWN, we believe these conversations deserve more than awkward silences or another instruction to simply push through. They deserve humour, cultural understanding, practical support and honest discussions about what women need to continue thriving on their own terms.
That is why we are launching The Hot Seat as a weekly conversation leading up to The Menopause Reset on Thursday 19 November, 6:00–7:30 PM (UK), with Imani Sorhaindo, Founder of KMT Rising. Together, we will explore ways to approach this stage of life through three themes: Calm, Nourish and Thrive.
NOW, LET'S TALK!
Have you ever had to deliver an important presentation, manage a difficult meeting or make a major decision after a night of little or no sleep?
Did you tell anyone what you were experiencing, or did you put on your professional face and carry on?
Share your experience in the comments. Sometimes the conversation that makes another woman laugh is also the one that helps her realise she doesn't have to navigate everything alone.
Same ambition. Different season. Still me!
Protect your credibility. Preserve your influence. Own your narrative.
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