The purpose of this study was to explore how a small group of white South African men going through menopause attached meaning to this major event in their lives, and also how it affected the decisions they took as leaders in the financial sector. The findings indicated that menopause symptoms in particular (physical, psychological and sexual dimensions) had a profound influence on the systemic male. A provisional substantive theory was developed – “work power trade-offs result in decreased decision-making power during the male menopause�? – and a number of recommendations were proposed