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June 09
How do you thrive in one of the most demanding industries in the world, while quietly navigating ADHD the whole time?
Nancy Shapiro spent 33 years as a senior executive at the Recording Academy, home of the GRAMMYs, where she led all twelve regional chapters and built groundbreaking programs that changed the face of music education and artist development. But behind the scenes, she was often working twice as hard to manage distraction, emotional intensity, and the quiet self-doubt that comes with an undiagnosed ADHD brain.
In this conversation, Nancy and Tracy discuss drive, resilience, and the unique energy ADHD women bring to leadership. Nancy shares how she built a legacy in the music industry while masking for decades, what changed after her diagnosis, and why executive coaching has become a new mission in this chapter of her life. She opens up about perfectionism, relationships, the power of creative instinct, and how women like us can channel our intensity without burning out.
They also explore how ADHD can both fuel ambition and quietly sabotage it—and what happens when women finally stop performing and start living in alignment with how they’re wired. Nancy’s story is about more than music. It’s about identity, reinvention, and finally giving yourself the grace you’ve always given everyone else.
Whether you’re in the music world or not, Nancy’s story is a powerful reminder that ADHD doesn’t disqualify you from success—it’s part of what makes your brilliance so undeniable.
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"Retirement wasn’t the end. It was the beginning of something new."
- Nancy Shapiro
"I lived in a house full of ADHD. I didn’t name it that at the time, but I now realize, I was adapting and navigating that chaos every single day."
- Nancy Shapiro
"I always knew how to hold space for people. I knew how to connect artists to one another. That was my strength—not just leading, but listening."
- Nancy Shapiro
"Whether I was in a boardroom or in a school program, I was always asking: Who needs a voice? Who needs a bridge?"
- Nancy Shapiro
"The truth is I kept saying yes to change. I was never afraid to start again."
- Nancy Shapiro
"Women in leadership often think they have to be hard, sharp, perfect. But the most powerful leaders I’ve seen are the ones who lead with softness and truth."
- Nancy Shapiro
"I got to witness careers take off, lives change, artists come into their own. That’s the magic of doing work that lifts others up."
- Nancy Shapiro
- Nancy Shapiro was diagnosed with ADHD at 60 after her daughter and granddaughter were diagnosed, calling it her "duh moment" since she already knew she had it but wanted official validation when people dismissed her self-assessment.
- She struggled severely in school, barely getting by and faking sick to avoid classes, with teachers writing "turn around and shut up" in her yearbook, but excelled socially and dropped out of college quickly to marry at 19.
- After raising children, she entered the workforce at 35, interviewing for 50 jobs before getting hired, instinctively knowing she needed to find work that fit her strengths since she would quit if it was a poor match.
- Nancy landed the executive director role at the Nashville Grammys office with only five years of work experience, succeeding because the job involved people interaction, program building, and touched her heart, leading to 33 years with the organization.
- She lost her son suddenly 20 years ago, returning to work within a week because her ADHD brain couldn't handle sitting home ruminating, though she struggled with masking symptoms and memory loss while grieving.
- Through grief therapy and intentional self-care practices, she discovered that gratitude and grief can coexist, taking happiness courses at Yale and Harvard, and learning that self-care significantly helped manage her ADHD symptoms.
[01:10:00 - 01:24:24] Leadership Philosophy and Retirement Challenges
- Nancy attributes her success to building strong teams, leading with empathy, and knowing when to delegate versus when to use her strengths in talent acquisition, fundraising, and bringing people together for bigger purposes.
- She emphasizes the importance of communication about ADHD symptoms with inner circles, trusting your gut over data when appropriate, and maintaining integrity as the most crucial career element for long-term success.
- Despite wanting to relax in retirement, her entrepreneurial ADHD mind keeps generating new ideas and projects, proving unable to say no to herself even at 75, continuing workshops and coaching while staying connected to former team members.
