What if the stage of life most women are quietly suffering through is actually their leadership superpower? In this episode, Janine sits down with Karen Stein — executive coach, keynote speaker, author of Be Your Own Leadership Coach, and certified Menopause Champion — for an honest, commercial, and deeply needed conversation about menopause in the workplace.

With over 500 million women of menopausal age currently in the workforce, and 80% experiencing symptoms that affect how they think, feel, and function, Karen argues this is not a personal issue to leave at the office door. It's a leadership issue — and a business one.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• Why the most urgent thing leaders need to bring right now is calmness, hope, and possibility — especially in a world of complexity and uncertainty
• The philosophy behind Karen's book Be Your Own Leadership Coach — and why she wrote it so that anyone (regardless of access or budget) can carry coaching strategies in their "virtual backpack" every day
• What it really means to lead with kindness — and why mattering is more powerful than belonging
• The truth about midlife cognition — why your fifties are actually your cognitive peak (despite what advertising tells you)
• Karen's "Mad About Menopause" framework — covering mindset, community, and education — and how she's bringing men into this conversation too
• Her group coaching program Peri Pathways and the remarkable confidence shifts she's witnessed in participants
• The powerful reframe: your lived experience is not a liability — it's your positioning, your wisdom, and your competitive edge
• Practical advice for any woman quietly navigating this stage of life: how to move from feeling invisible and fearful to feeling connected, clear, and confident

Resources mentioned:

• 📖 Be Your Own Leadership Coach by Karen Stein
• Karen's group coaching program: Peri Pathways

Karen is a Menopause Champion, and Certified Menopause and Executive Coach, focused on normalising menopause at work. She is passionate about being "M.A.D" about menopause to make a difference in the workplace. Karen supports organisations to address a critical, often overlooked life stage impacting wellbeing, leadership, engagement and retention. She draws on her depth of leadership experience formerly as a partner of 24 years at Deloitte, and her Masters in Coaching Psychology to help leaders and teams build menopause-aware, inclusive and sustainable workplaces.

Most importantly, she supports those working through perimenopause and menopause to thrive through their careers as their best or better selves. Karen does so through her MenoMindset Executive Coaching program, her PeriPathways Group Coaching Program and her MAD about Menopause keynotes and workshops.

Links :

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karen-stein-coaching/

www.karensteincoaching.com

karensteincoaching@gmail.com

Special offer $100 discount on all of my menopause related programs (coaching, keynotes and workshops) until 30 June 2026 by mentioning "Janine Garner" when making a booking.

Mentioned in this episode:

Apply to our Elevate Mastermind

Elevate Mastermind