womanthismonth.com | NOVEMBER 2026 OPINION 132 Picture a manager we’ll call Hassan. It’s Wednesday afternoon. He’s in his sixth meeting of the day and his phone keeps lighting up with WhatsApp groups he stopped reading hours ago. A proposal comes across his desk and he signs it. Had it arrived at nine that morning, he’d have sent it back with questions. By Sunday, the whole team knows it was a mistake. Hassan isn’t careless and he isn’t short on talent. His brain was simply running on empty. We maintain everything except the engine In Bahrain, companies spend generously on systems, strategy days and leadership programmes. What they rarely address are the skills underpinning all of that: attention, working memory, processing speed and reasoning. Most of us assume these are fixed. You’re either sharp or you’re not. In my work, I see something different. These skills can be assessed and they can be trained, much like a muscle. Your brain’s management team I often describe executive function as the brain’s in-house management team. It plans, sets priorities, keeps information in mind and puts the brakes on impulsive reactions. Give it too much to do and it starts cutting corners, like any overstretched team. Back-to-back meetings, constant pings and jumping between tasks all draw on the same small reserve. Most people don’t notice it emptying. They just find themselves reading the same email three times, forgetting what was agreed an hour ago or snapping at a colleague over nothing. A tired brain doesn’t stop making decisions. It makes them differently, leaning on habit and whatever is easiest right now. Over months, that shows up as avoidable errors, flat leadership, burnout and good people resigning. What actually helps Guard the hours when you think best and save the big decisions for them rather than the tail end of a long day. Stop multitasking; work in proper blocks and check messages in batches because every switch costs more than it seems. Take real breaks rather than spending 10 minutes scrolling at your desk. And strengthen the underlying skills on purpose through structured cognitive training instead of hoping they’ll hold up under pressure. If you lead a team, start with yourself. People copy what their manager does far more than what their manager says. Not long ago, the chairman of an established company came to see me. For years, he had run board meetings without taking a single note. Lately, he found his mind drifting within the first 15 minutes. It wasn’t a lack of experience or commitment. It was a sign that his attention needed the same deliberate care he gives his business. Where this is heading A handful of organisations are already treating cognitive fitness the way they treat physical health: assessing it, training it and building it into the working week. The pay-off is people who think more clearly, adapt faster and hold steady when things get tense. Go back to Hassan. Same Wednesday, same workload. This time he’s protected his mornings, stepped away from his desk at lunch and spent the past few months sharpening the skills he relies on most. The proposal comes in and he asks the question that matters. Your servers get upgrades every year. The brains running your business deserve at least the same attention. Fifi Kiwan, Founder & CEO of Brain Wave, is a Behaviour Consultant and Certified ADHD Coach with 18 years’ experience supporting communication, behaviour and cognitive development for families and professionals. Train the Brain That Runs Your Business
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