Supporting a Senior Leader
with ADHD in Transition
Issue
When Anna (not her real name) stepped into a demanding senior role, her calendar was already a battlefield—back-to-back meetings, overflowing inbox, and a neurodiverse team looking to her for clarity.
On top of this, she had just received a late ADHD diagnosis, which helped explain years of struggle (especially since perimenopause) with overwhelm and self-doubt—but also left her wondering if she could keep up the pace without burning out.
She described feeling like she was “always two steps behind and three steps ahead—never in the present moment.” Imposter syndrome was constant, and her team had begun to notice the strain.
Approach
In our coaching sessions, we started with the 3 A’s Framework to bring both relief and structure to her situation, and she also benefited from profiling both her and her team’s strengths and preferred ways of working (We used DiSC and Strengths Profile).
Awareness – She learnt to pause and notice and name what was actually happening: the racing thoughts, the “not good enough” story, and the toll of decision fatigue. Simply noticing these patterns gave her more choice. We also focussed on her strengths and noticing her inner critic.
Accept – Through mindfulness and self-compassion, she began to accept how her mind works without shame. She could grieve the years of masking and pushing herself beyond her limits, whilst also giving herself permission to do things differently now.
Agency – We built new ways of working for Anna and her team linking practical scaffolding to values-based decision frameworks. This helped to cut through overwhelm and helped her prioritise.
We also introduced short reset breaks in long meetings, and practised and developed new communication habits tailored to support both her and her neurodiverse team. This included getting clearer about her boundaries and trying to work smarter with her focus and energy ebb and flow. I also introduced accountability tools so she could stay focused without relying solely on willpower.
Outcome
Over 10 sessions, Anna shifted from survival mode to leading with intention through aligning to her values. She began delegating with confidence, creating space to think strategically instead of reacting to every fire.
Her team noticed the difference—communication became clearer, boundaries less fuzzy, and trust grew.
Most importantly, she found a way to integrate her ADHD into her leadership identity, rather than seeing it as something to “fix.”
She told me:
“I finally feel like I can lead without pretending—this is me, and most of the time, it works.”
“When self-awareness meets self-compassion, sustainable leadership becomes possible.”