Navigating Perimenopause While Leading Projects: What I’ve Learned

Pip Rudhall Hyett
Nov 15
3 min read

navigating perimenopause in the work place

There are seasons in life that demand a different kind of leadership. For many women, perimenopause arrives right at the peak of their career — when the stakes are high, the teams are large, and the work is often complex.

It’s a quiet tension: still being deeply capable, but noticing shifts in energy, focus, or emotional bandwidth that change how the work feels day to day.

And when you’re also responsible for steering multi-layered projects, making decisions across moving parts, or holding governance structures together — those shifts matter.

Here’s what I’ve learned about delivering strong, people-first projects while also navigating the evolving landscape of perimenopause.

1) Don’t confuse capacity with capability

The core principles of delivery — scope, time, cost, quality — assume a certain level of consistent output. But hormonal changes can affect daily capacity in ways that aren’t always linear or visible. Click to read more in the Ministry for Women’s overview on supporting menopause in the workplace:

Rather than trying to replicate your previous pace, it becomes important to revisit how you manage workload distribution, risk tolerance, and stakeholder expectations.

This doesn’t mean lowering the bar. It means designing your project environment to better support focus, prioritisation, and clarity of effort — especially when energy fluctuates.

2) Clarity is your greatest asset

When internal noise increases — whether from disrupted sleep, cognitive shifts, or simply mental load — external clarity becomes essential.

The smoother the communication pathways, the cleaner the decision-making structure, the clearer the scope — the more mental space you preserve. It’s no longer just about keeping your team aligned; it’s about reducing ambiguity at every level so progress remains possible, even when you’re not feeling 100%.

Project frameworks that reinforce direction, manage escalation early, and prevent decision drift become not just helpful — but necessary.

3) Governance works best when it holds you, too

When you’re in a high-output, high-responsibility role, it can be tempting to carry the emotional weight of every moving piece. During perimenopause, when emotional regulation can feel harder, this takes a toll. Click to read more from Sarah Connor’s insights on menopause in the workplace

Strong governance structures aren’t just about accountability — they’re about support. They create shared ownership. They define boundaries. And they give you space to lead without carrying everything alone.

By leaning into governance that includes clear delegation, regular review, and shared decision authority, you reduce reliance on personal stamina and instead build collective momentum.

4) Build environments where trust can grow

Perimenopause often sharpens your sensitivity to friction — whether interpersonal or structural. That sensitivity can be a gift in project work, especially when it’s used to surface misalignment early and gently.

Successful delivery rarely hinges on agreement. It hinges on trust. And trust is built through consistency, transparency, and creating room for difference without fear of derailment.

As a project lead, your ability to set that tone — calmly and confidently — is one of the most powerful tools you have. Especially when your own internal landscape is shifting.

5) Self-leadership creates more resilient projects

Ultimately, how you lead yourself shapes the quality of your delivery. In times of transition, self-leadership means being honest about your own constraints, protecting time for strategic thinking, and making space for reflection.

In project terms, this might look like strengthening planning rhythms, being more deliberate with stakeholder engagement, or protecting margins so you can course-correct without crisis.

It’s not about doing less — it’s about doing differently. With more intention. More clarity. And more awareness of the human system that underpins every project.

Leading well through change Perimenopause isn’t a limitation — but it is a condition worth designing around. It asks for a rebalancing of how we think about productivity, planning, and personal sustainability.

In project management, where everything is interconnected and pace is often prioritised over process, this rebalancing can actually improve delivery. It forces us to ask better questions, build stronger frameworks, and lead with more empathy.

If you're navigating this season yourself — know that the skills you’re developing now will make your projects better, not worse. More thoughtful. More durable. More human.

And that’s leadership worth showing up for.