Fiona McKay, Menopause Influencer Talks About The Importance Of Personal Brand for Women Leaders In All Stages Of Menopause

When I joined Réland Logan on The Luxe Leap podcast, we tackled a subject that rarely makes it into serious leadership conversations: what menopause does to your personal brand, how to protect it and how it needs serious attention.

When Menopause Collides with Your Personal Brand

Personal branding isn’t about logos or colour palettes. It’s about the perception of your authority, your edge, your promotability in the rooms where decisions are made.

Menopause can interfere with that. Not because women lose their capability, but because shifts in confidence, hesitation in decision-making, and changes in communication style can alter how consistency, authority, and credibility are perceived in the workplace and perceived in you.

That shift matters. It influences negotiation appetite, risk tolerance, and readiness for progression. And if left unaddressed, it costs careers and companies.

The Reinvention Myth

Too many women are told menopause is the time to “reinvent” themselves. I reject that narrative.

You don’t need to reinvent. You need to re-equip and I've written and spoken about this extensively about this very issue both on TV and in the mainstream media. and on stages in my keynote speeches.

Through my executive coaching and the NOPAUSE™ Method, I work with women to refine their tools: to sharpen communication, sustain executive edge, and protect the professional presence that they’ve already earned and spent decades building.

This isn’t about becoming someone new. It’s about continuing to scale the identity, reputation, and career you’ve built.

Disclosure: A Strategic Decision

One of the most pressing questions women ask me is: “Should I disclose my menopause at work?”

Disclosure isn’t binary, it’s strategic. Mishandled, it can weaken brand perception. Managed well, it can strengthen trust, resilience, and credibility. So it's a choice, but with a caveat, one that needs serious consideration and attention and it's a very personal decision that must not be taken lightly.

In the podcast, I shared why disclosure must be treated like any other boardroom decision: assess the risks, choose your language carefully, and protect your route ahead. This is where professional menopause coaching and executive strategy intersect.

Why Professional Menopause Coaching Matters:

Menopause is not a pause in ambition. It’s a recalibration point but it's also a stepping off point in many women's leadership careers.

Executive coaching gives women leaders the frameworks to:

• Protect brand and authority through visible transition.

• Sustain influence and impact.

• Ensure performance, promotability and progression remain intact.

For organisations, that translates directly to retention, performance, and pipeline continuity, outcomes that boards, investors, and shareholders cannot afford to ignore around menopause at work.

Top Takeaways from The Luxe Leap Podcast

What I valued most about this conversation with Réland is that it wasn’t diluted into wellbeing talk. It was about legacy, leadership, and business growth. Many listeners of The Luxe Leap podcast are female founders in the US which is a huge growth market with nearly half all all US businesses now being started by women where these women .

They are not only own their brand, they are the brand and when menopause arrives without a plan it can be both derailing and very detrimental to women's businesses, incomes and influence without the correct professional and personal brand strategy in place.

And this conversation was really critical to our US audience as we launched The Menopause Maze in the US in 2024.

Menopause may disrupt brand perception. But with the right tools and strategies, it becomes a moment of leverage, not liability.

Because brands don’t pause. Careers don’t pause. And neither should you.

Listen and watch to the full episode here:

Your Next Steps:

Take the NOPAUSE™ Scorecard — see exactly where menopause might be quietly costing you performance, promotability, and progression.

Work with me directly — through the NOPAUSE™ Method, I help current and aspiring C-suite women leaders maintain boardroom authority and scale their careers so they can achieve their boldest and bravest business growth and lead and live without limits all with NOPAUSE™ through menopause.

Fiona McKay is the multi-award winning CEO of The Menopause Maze™ and is also known in the media as The Menopause Career Coach™. She has been awarded the coveted titles of Career Coach of The Year 2025, Business Advisor of The Year 2025, The Most Influential Women's Health and Career Support Business Women and Menopause Champion of The Year.

She is the Menopause Career Coach C-suite women and workplaces go to when they want to achieve their biggest career and boldest business growth goals so they can lead limitlessly through all stages of menopause.

She is a featured strategic menopause career and business coach in The Guardian, The Independent, OK Magazine and as a menopause business and boardroom expert on live TV including BBC News and ITV News.

You can connect with Fiona at: fmckay@themenopausemaze.com.

Fiona is also available for keynote speaking, panel chairing and conference hosting at menopause awareness month events, women's leadership and business conferences and for fronting brand campaigns as a leading menopause influencer.