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The podcast focuses on fiercely empowering women in business, as entrepreneurs and women in male-dominated industries, featuring guests who embody strength, resilience, competence, and a touch of sass as they navigate business and life.
Looking for guests who are willing to bring a wealth of experience and knowledge but also possess the strength, resilience, and sass that align with the tone of my podcast.
I want their stories and insights to provide immense value to my audience, helping me to establish a powerful podcast as a must-listen for women looking to empower themselves in business. The goal is to build competence and discover how brave women can be in business.
Welcome to Superheroes in Heels, the podcast where powerful women rise, lead, and own the room. I'm Kimberley Borgens, your host, fellow trailblazer, and unapologetic advocate for women in the world of business. With over thirty years of experience building success in a male dominant industry, I'm here to empower you to do the same. Each week, you'll hear bold conversations with inspiring guests who embody strength, resilience, a little dash of sass, and a little bit of grace. Together, we'll challenge the status quo, break through barriers, unlock your confidence, and unleash your inner superhero.
Kimberley Borgens:You ready? Let's go. Welcome to superheroes in heels. This is Kimberley Borgens, and this is the show that celebrates fearlessness, ambitiousness, trailblazing women, you know, who are making waves in business and beyond. Like I said, I'm Kimberley Borgans, your host, and today, I'm gonna dive into a very powerful topic.
Kimberley Borgens:Okay. Last episode, I talked about the superpowers that women have naturally. Right? So today, we gotta talk to the other side, ladies. We gotta talk about the krypton.
Kimberley Borgens:The kryptonite that nobody is talking about. Right? What is really holding women back in business? So that's what we're gonna talk about today. Look.
Kimberley Borgens:We know all the classic superhero stories. Right? The superhero is unstoppable. They're resilient. They're fiercely determined except for that one weakness.
Kimberley Borgens:That kryptonite. And in the world of business, women are superheroes too. Look. We are superheroes, but there's always that kryptonite. It drains our power.
Kimberley Borgens:It knocks us back. It holds us back. It keeps us from moving forward. So today, we're gonna go beyond the obvious barriers that we hear about women. We're gonna you know, the one that the hidden forces, we're gonna put a focus on those hidden forces.
Kimberley Borgens:We're gonna, you know, find out those things that undermine us even even the strongest of us in business as women. They're barriers. They're barriers that that lurk beneath the surface. Right? They shape our choices, our confidence levels, our careers.
Kimberley Borgens:And I really wanted to dig into those kryptonite things that that really do hold women back. Right? So this episode is for every woman who ever wondered, is it just me? Spoil alert. It's not.
Kimberley Borgens:Okay? There's a lot of barriers that prevent us sometimes from moving forward, based on our kryptonite. So what I did is I I kind of put together some kryptonite thoughts, some things that might be holding us back. And I wanna first acknowledge the visible obstacles that women face in business all the time. We have the headlines that we see all the time, gender bias.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? Lack of representation and role models that women have. Work life balance or imbalance as the case may be. Imposter syndrome, limited networks, the unequal pay. Those are the the real, they're persistent, and they shape the landscape of opportunity for women in the business world.
Kimberley Borgens:But as challenging as they are, today, I'm gonna talk about things that are more equally powerful, but less discussed. And those are the barriers that are within us, which is basically our hidden kryptonite. So I wanted to talk about that today here on superheroes in heels because with every superhero, there's always a nemesis. Right? There's a villain.
Kimberley Borgens:There's a kryptonite. So let's talk about those because what I want you to do is move past them in your business to help you to grow, to build more stronger, business that is that are helping you make the kind of money, the kind of impact, the kind of life that, you know, you've been dreaming of. So let's talk about it. What is this hidden kryptonite for you? Right?
Kimberley Borgens:It's those internal beliefs, those social conditioning things that that come about, the emotional patterns that we have, the neurological wiring, right, that quietly holds women back. And, you know, I learned a lot of this when I did, when I was a facilitator at a personal development company. So we talked a lot about belief systems, busting up belief systems, replacing them with new systems so that your your brain, can focus better and, you know, notice because most of our belief systems are are formed by the times we're eight years old. Well, I don't know about you, but if you check out eight year olds, how many of those are business minded entrepreneurs, career focused people. They're not.
Kimberley Borgens:They're going to school. They're playing in the schoolyard. They're playing video games. They're interacting with their friends, and that's how we were when we were eight years old when most of our beliefs were formed. And so as adults, we have to remember that some of those belief systems might be holding us back.
Kimberley Borgens:And when I worked in the seminars for for years, it was really taking those old belief systems and making them more of an adult. Right? Taking it away from the eight year old child that had made all those belief systems. Like, I'm not smart enough. I don't get good grades.
Kimberley Borgens:The kids at school don't like me. Who's gonna like me now? Right? I feel rejected. All of those things that we learned when we were eight years old or before, right, kind of sneak their way into our businesses, our adult life, and all of those things.
Kimberley Borgens:And so today, I'm gonna talk about some of those as the kryptonite of you moving forward in business, you stepping into the role that you're meant to be, that you having everything that your heart desires in your business and your life. And that's the kryptonite I wanna talk about today. So let's start with the first one. So I put together, like, 10 ways your own kryptonite might show up in real life. So the first one I would say the first one is what I would call responsibility reflex.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? This is the instinct to take on all the responsibility. Okay, ladies? We you know, we do it. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:We take on all the responsibilities, like, work, at home, in our emotional lives, with with other people. You know, women are often socialized to be caregivers, the nurturers, and the fixers. Alright. Come on. I know some of y'all are out there, and you're like, yeah.
Kimberley Borgens:And because it comes naturally to us as women, it's often expected of us to do all the responsibility things. But when you're always stepping up, it can mean stepping back from your own ambitions. Right? I don't want you to take on so much responsibility, especially look. I know there's single moms out there.
Kimberley Borgens:The responsibility is yours. I get it. But there's things that you can do. There's people you can bring into your life. There's teachers that you can get to help you along the way.
Kimberley Borgens:If you're married, how many of you women take on all the responsibilities of getting all the chores done? Maybe you don't do all the chores, but it's always your responsibility to make sure it gets done. Come on. I'm right there with you. I totally get it.
Kimberley Borgens:Okay? The responsibility reflex leaves us stretched thin. It makes us feel exhausted, and it we have little bandwidth for strategic growth. I don't know about you, but I want more strategic growth. I wanna be able to do the things that I say that I wanna do.
Kimberley Borgens:And it's not selfish to put yourself first. It's strategic. So think about it for just a moment. Is the responsibility reflex your kryptonite? It could be, but there's more.
Kimberley Borgens:Think about it. Have you ever been told to tone it down, not be so loud, or, you know, like, hey. Could you, like, not talk in this meeting? Like, don't be so don't be too much kryptonite. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:The the be too much conditioning that happens out there. Societal expectations tell women to be ambitious, to be confident, to be bold. Right? And then they say, you need to mute that down. The result now women, what we do is we self censor.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? We shrink from opportunities. We drain, right, on our authentic self expression because people don't wanna see the real me. People don't wanna oh, look. I'm an I'm a no drama kinda gal.
Kimberley Borgens:Okay? I admit it. But there's a point when you say it's not about drama. It's about, look, I need you to listen. I need to be heard.
Kimberley Borgens:I need to feel like I can just be me. Being you look. I'm bold. Okay? Can we just say it?
Kimberley Borgens:But let me tell you, I wasn't always bold. I I remember being told, look. I I love to sing as a child. I still love to sing. But as a child, I really love to sing.
Kimberley Borgens:And my dad would make these comments to me, and he would say, they get paid to sing, so be quiet. Or you don't make any money at that, so be quiet. I and and I don't think that he did it on purpose. Right? But it was muting my boldness, muting the things that I love to do.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? And what I wanna say to you is don't let people mute you. I sing. I love to sing. I sing in the car.
Kimberley Borgens:My kids sing. Right? Nobody has to be on key. I don't care. Although, sometimes I care.
Kimberley Borgens:But if you're confident, if you're bold look. I'm an introvert. I know people don't believe it because I'm bold and I'm confident and I I have expectations. Right? I have a standard, But that doesn't mean that I'm always quiet.
Kimberley Borgens:It also doesn't mean that I'm always loud. I know when to be quiet. Let me tell you. This bold woman who has confidence can sit in a room and not say a word, but man, oh, man, can she gather information? Right?
Kimberley Borgens:So think about for you, if you've ever been toned down, right, or told to tone it down or not be so loud. Right? And sometimes I do to my husband. I'm like, because a man just gets so excited. He gets so loud, and I'm like, the whole room can hear you.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? We're just having a conversation, and the whole room hears you. Right? But it's not me telling him to tone down. It's me saying the volume needs to come down just a little bit.
Kimberley Borgens:There's a difference. So don't let people say that you're too much. And if you're still doing that, is that the kryptonite that you're holding on to? Is that the one that's knocking you down? I don't wanna be too bold because people won't like me.
Kimberley Borgens:I'll be rejected. They're gonna say I'm too much. Don't let that kryptonite hold you back. Alright. The third kryptonite that could be you, that might be the thing that's holding you back.
Kimberley Borgens:Sorry about that. Okay. As many people wait for approval, many women especially are waiting for approval to claim their space. Whether it's speaking up at a meeting. Hello?
Kimberley Borgens:Right? Asking for a raise, giving yourself a raise. Right? As entrepreneurs, I'm telling you, y'all don't pay yourself enough. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:How about launching that big idea? What you're doing is you're waiting it's permission based identity. You're waiting for permission that stems from a lifetime of being rewarded for compliance. I'll give you an a when you do these answers correct. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:Think about in school. Look. We have been raised on reward for compliance. I'll give you this candy when you get that done. You get your room clean.
Kimberley Borgens:I'll take you to McDonald's. Right? I remember for me when we were younger, McDonald's wasn't as big and, you know, all over the place as it is now, But we would have to go and get shots because, you know, kid vaccines, but we also traveled to other countries, so we had to get shots for those, you know, because we lived in other countries and things. And the the the thing that it was was I will take you to McDonald's if you don't cry when you get your shots. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:And at that time, like, McDonald's was a big deal. Right? It was a real treat. We didn't go very often. It was, like, only once in a blue moon.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? And so we've been conditioned throughout life for being rewarded for compliance, for staying within the rules, within the boundaries, without causing trouble, right, without crying. Right? But great leaders don't wait for permission. If this is your kryptonite, you gotta learn to create your own permission, especially as an entrepreneur.
Kimberley Borgens:Now there are rules that states, local, federal governments all put together for you. Right? There are laws that you have to adhere to. Okay? Or you end up in jail.
Kimberley Borgens:That's not what I'm talking about. What I'm talking about is, can you create something different than your competition? Can you do something better? Can you raise your prices? Can you can you be more you in your permission based identity?
Kimberley Borgens:Right? Stop be having a permission based identity and start creating the identity that you desire, that you want to be. You know, superheroes and heels here is about my identity. This is about me and the people that I wanna connect with, and I'll be having more guests on soon, now that my big project is wrapping up. So, you know, but great leaders don't wait for permission.
Kimberley Borgens:They create it. Right? And I know y'all have heard this saying. Right? Don't wait to ask for permission.
Kimberley Borgens:You can ask for for forgiveness instead. So ask for forgiveness versus waiting for permission. It's one way you can do it. Now be careful. Okay?
Kimberley Borgens:Don't steal people's stuff. Right? Create, you know, your own uniqueness. But how would your career change, or how would your business change if you stopped waiting? I mean, seriously.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? Is that your kryptonite? Are you waiting for permission all the time? If you're waiting for permission, I give it to you today. Okay?
Kimberley Borgens:You've got permission. Even if you don't think you need it from me. But I'm telling you as a woman entrepreneur, don't let that one be your kryptonite. Take that one on. Okay?
Kimberley Borgens:Number four, the loyalty trap. Right? Loyalty is a superpower, but it can also be a trap. Right? When it stops you from pursuing new opportunities or leaving unhealthy environments, then it becomes a trap.
Kimberley Borgens:And I don't want you to get trapped in anything. Okay? Overcommitment, fear of letting other people down, the reluctance to change, all of those things can stunt professional evolution. And it's okay to outgrow roles. It's okay to outgrow teams.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? It's even okay to outgrow your dreams. You had one dream. It was put into place, and now you've decided you're gonna do something different. Let me tell you.
Kimberley Borgens:You can outgrow all of that, and it's okay. So the loyalty trap can be a superpower, but when it stops you from pursuing those new opportunities or leaving those unhealthy environments, overcommitting, fear of letting other people down, your reluctance to change, all of that is the trap. Don't let that kryptonite trap you. The competence curse. Alright.
Kimberley Borgens:Let's talk about this kryptonite. Being hyper competent sounds great until it leads for you to never delegate. It leads you to talking too much for burning out. Right? Women are often relied upon for doing things right.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? And this can make it hard to step back, ask for help, trust other people. Come on, ladies. We need help. Alright?
Kimberley Borgens:Whoo. Boy. Oh, boy. We cannot build strong long term businesses without the support of other people. And we get into that space or I'm confident.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? I can do this. I can I can handle this on my own? I do it better. I do it faster.
Kimberley Borgens:Yeah. That's not a badge of honor, ladies. It's not. The confidence curse drains your energy, leaving little room for strategic leadership. We don't want this.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? If we don't let go, we don't get better. If we don't let go of having to be the person who knows everything, who does everything, We don't build multimillion dollar businesses. That's for doggone sure. Alright?
Kimberley Borgens:You're gonna get by just enough. You're gonna make ends meet maybe, but you're never gonna feel like you have more and you have enough. There's my 2¢ on that. Okay. The next kryptonite is emotional labor overload.
Kimberley Borgens:Women often shoulder the invisible work of managing emotions, smoothing over conflicts, nurturing team morale. Right? That emotional labor is rarely recognized that women do. But let me tell you, it's exhausting. Exhausting.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? And it's a major workplace kryptonite. Don't create that in your business. Don't let that happen in the workplace around you. When emotional labor isn't shared, you know, equally amongst everybody that's there, it really limits innovation and strategic thinking.
Kimberley Borgens:And that kryptonite can hold you back. When you're taking on so much information, so much energy, so much emotions of the team that you're working with, whether that's virtual team, whether that's your family who doesn't support you, right, you want to make sure that you're not just shouldering all the the emotional baggage of everybody else. You're not smoothing over over conflicts. What you're doing is working through the conflicts. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:You don't have to be the one to to nurture the whole team morale. You can ask somebody else to do it. Hey. How would how how could we do this today? And let somebody else answer.
Kimberley Borgens:You don't have to have all the answers, ladies, on this. Don't let that be your kryptonite. Number seven is the fear of being seen failing. Okay. With so few women in top positions in major corporations, it feels like the few that are there are representing all women.
Kimberley Borgens:And the pressure to never fail can breed what's that word? Oh, perfectionism or risk aversion. Right? But the truth really is is that failure is part of growth. We all fail.
Kimberley Borgens:All of us. And what I mean by fail is we just don't hit the mark. See, when we went to school, it was pass or fail. Right? You go to school, you learn these lessons, and you either pass the test or you fail the test.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? I can tell you, I did both. My I'll I'll tell you. Let's see what grade was it. Eighth grade.
Kimberley Borgens:No. It was ninth grade. Ninth grade history. I had a history teacher, mister k. And what mister k would do is he would have you read the history book, and then you would take a test.
Kimberley Borgens:Read the history to chapter and then take a test at the end of the week. You read the chapter, you take the test. The man hardly talked in class. Okay. Let me just tell you.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? I am not a read and remember kinda gal. I'm more auditory or kinesthetic versus, you know, that that visual learner. And so I would read the chapter, and I did. I did my homework.
Kimberley Borgens:I read the chapter. I would read the chapter twice. I would read the chapter three times. And every single week, I failed his test. Every single week, no matter what, I failed his test.
Kimberley Borgens:Well, if you failed the test, he would make you write the chapter and turn it into him. And, let me just say, I'd write the chapter. I turn it into him. I still would fail the test. I had girlfriends coming over, and we would have write the chapter parties.
Kimberley Borgens:And we would hand it into him. I'd write the first part of the chapter, and they would have different handwriting. The man never said a word, never cared. He's like, okay. Great.
Kimberley Borgens:I think he threw them in the trash later. Whatever. He gave them back to me. I don't even remember. It was ninth grade.
Kimberley Borgens:It's been a minute. But I I failed every single test throughout my whole ninth grade in history. And, it wasn't until towards the end of the the the semester with him that I finally said, I'm not writing any more chapters. I'd practically written the whole book. Okay?
Kimberley Borgens:So he sent me to the principal's office. Right? See, we we fail, and now we have a consequence of going to the principal's office and being told whatever. Right? Luckily, I was also a principal's aid.
Kimberley Borgens:So I go I showed up, and I'm sitting at his bench, and he's like, Smiley, what are you doing in here? And I said, well, I kinda got sent to the office today because I told mister k, no. He said, come talk to me. So we did some things. I went to the counselor's office.
Kimberley Borgens:They did some, you know, testing and everything else and that's when we discovered. I just don't remember what I read. Okay. No problem. I talk a lot more.
Kimberley Borgens:So but what I'm saying is it's it it is absolutely normal for us all to fail. We are not meant to pass every test. We are not meant to have, everything perfect. We will have setbacks. The the challenge comes is are you willing to learn from that setback?
Kimberley Borgens:Are you willing to learn from that failing? And I tell you the story with mister k because I learned when I said no to mister k. I learned through the counselors that this system doesn't work for me. Right? So imagine be going to the police academy and having to read all of the penal code and vehicle code sections and learning them and having tests about them in the police academy that I never would have been able to pass any of those had I not learned in ninth grade that that's not the way for me to study.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? I took that penal code. I would read it into I got a little back then, it was just these these little, like, this tall little, you know, transcriber microphones and these little cassette tapes. Right? They were tiny little cassette tapes.
Kimberley Borgens:K. I'm aging myself a little bit. Right? But that's we didn't have cell phones. We didn't have the Internet.
Kimberley Borgens:We didn't have all this stuff to be able to study the way that we do now, how to make those mistakes differently. Right? And so what I would do is I had to read it onto this audio file in essence so that I could listen back to it so that I could learn the penal codes and the vehicle codes. Okay? We have to fail.
Kimberley Borgens:We have to have setbacks. We have to have lessons in order for us to learn the new things that we have to do to improve, to make better, to increase our odds at everything else. And if you have this as a failing where I can't move forward because I don't want people to see me as failing, it will be a kryptonite forever. Failure is part of growth. And the more that we normalize setbacks and the more that we talk about them, we really can get to unleash the real progress of learning the lessons.
Kimberley Borgens:Look. If you make a mistake, you don't have to publicize it on social media. What you have to do is learn from that mistake, and then you can start publicizing how you're doing better. You can use it later as a quick story. I didn't go around and tell everybody I was failing mister k's class.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? My mom knew. She's like, you need to study more. My mom would see how much time and energy and effort I was putting into his class. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:Other classes were I'm not putting hardly any energy into. Like math. I loved math. I didn't have to work hard in math. Okay?
Kimberley Borgens:But history? Whoo. Math was easy. It's numbers to me. The numbers make sense.
Kimberley Borgens:Well, at least until you start throwing in letters. But think about that for you. Is this your kryptonite to be seen failing versus being seen as learning some lessons? Learning from those setbacks and learning from all those things. I don't know about you.
Kimberley Borgens:Maybe there's not enough role models to tell you it's okay to to not get knocked down a little bit so that you can build back up and do it better. Hopefully, I can be a role model for that. Okay. Number eight, the comparison spiral. I don't know about you guys.
Kimberley Borgens:Okay? It happens occasionally for me. I admit it. You know, you're scrolling through LinkedIn. You're seeing other people win.
Kimberley Borgens:You're on social media. She's traveling. She's got money. She's doing this. Like, all of that.
Kimberley Borgens:I get people say, I'm jealous of you, Kimberley . Jealous? Don't be jealous. Don't don't compare yourself to other people's wins. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:It's easy to fall into that trap. It's easy for that kryptonite to silently creep in, right, and fall into that silent competition or that self blame. I'm not smart enough. I'm not good enough. You know, all of those things, you need to stop it.
Kimberley Borgens:K? Don't compare yourself to me. Alright? I've been working for thirty three years to build the kind of business and the kind of life that I have. The first fifteen years sucked.
Kimberley Borgens:I'm telling you, I had setbacks. I admit, I got into that comparison mode sometimes. Right? Sometimes I see people and I'm like, how is she making money at that? I am way more smarter than that.
Kimberley Borgens:And I don't even know how she's getting clients, but she is. Right? Like, I get it. I I do that sometimes too, and I'm just like, woah. Hold up.
Kimberley Borgens:Don't do that. Look. Comparison spiral. It it erodes your confidence. It breeds isolation.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? You just wanna step back and you wanna have a self pity party. Right? But I want you to really remember, this is your very own journey. It's it.
Kimberley Borgens:It's your journey, and it's your very own journey. And the only person that needs to measure itself against anybody else is yourself. You're the only one you need to measure yourself against. Am I better today than I was yesterday? Am I better this year than I was last year?
Kimberley Borgens:Right? Am I smarter? Am I handling things better? Am I communicating better? Am I making more money?
Kimberley Borgens:And if not, hire a coach. Coach can help you get back on the stick. Alright? But get you going, but do not let this kryptonite hold you back. Do not compare yourself for other people.
Kimberley Borgens:Number nine, the identity gap. Right? Many women struggle with that gap between their ambition and the identity that they've been conditioned to hold on to. Let that sink in for a quick second. K?
Kimberley Borgens:It's a friction that can make it feel hard to and it often shows up with you not being your authentic self. Right? That's where you lead to the impostor syndrome feelings. Right? That self doubt.
Kimberley Borgens:And I did a whole podcast in the past about the impostor syndrome, so please go look at it. Right? Go listen to that one. I think it was something like, I'll remember the name in a minute. Anyway, with the impostor syndrome thing, that self doubt, those feelings, you need to stop it.
Kimberley Borgens:Okay? Bridging the gap means that you're rewriting the story of who you can be as the businesswoman, as the mom, as the wife, as the best friend. Who is it that you want to be and stop holding back your identity? Right? Stop thinking that your identity is what everybody told you you were supposed to be.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? My parents had these ideas of who I was supposed to be. Right? My grandparents had an idea of who I was supposed to be. And when I didn't fit the mold, they were disappointed.
Kimberley Borgens:But guess what? I'm not them. You're not somebody else either. Don't let somebody have that hold on you. You've been conditioned to believe that your identity is supposed to be a certain way.
Kimberley Borgens:What if you shifted that conditioning? Because you're an adult now, and you don't have to worry about those eight year old beliefs anymore, and now you can take it on. Don't let that one be your kryptonite either. Okay. Let's talk about this.
Kimberley Borgens:How many of you have the good girl mentality? Right? It's like the little ghost sitting in your in your back. Right? She drives to please, to never offend, to always say yes when somebody asks.
Kimberley Borgens:You have to be the good girl. Right? Well, this good girl goes, she leaves women with blurred boundaries, with undervoiced opinions, with not being seen or heard. That's not what this podcast is about. Okay?
Kimberley Borgens:Real leadership is about voicing your opinions. It's about being clear, being direct, and sometimes even disruptive. It's okay to say, you know what? That one doesn't work for me. Help me understand because what I'm hearing you say is blank dot dot dot dot.
Kimberley Borgens:What I really need to hear is dot dot dot dot dot. Right? Like, I hear you say that I should only ask for this amount of money, but what I need to be doing is making this much money. So how can I get to this much money? Right?
Kimberley Borgens:Like, you that's disruptive. Right? Being a real leader is about being clear. It's about having, direct conversations and communication that is so clear that people understand you. You don't need permission to set boundaries.
Kimberley Borgens:You can set standards and then live into those standards. But don't just be the good girl in business. Look. I get it. I am a good girl.
Kimberley Borgens:I will do the right thing for many things. But there's a lot where you there's a lot of wiggle room. Right? I I get my my standards from my bible. Beyond that, y'all get out of the way.
Kimberley Borgens:Alright? If the bible isn't directing me specifically, then I'm gonna I'm gonna disrupt some things. I disrupt all the time. I disrupt thinking. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:I change things up in my house quite often. That's my husband. Right? Because I want shift. I want this standard now.
Kimberley Borgens:I had standards when I was younger. I have newer standards since I'm older. Right? They evolve and so must you. Don't let the kryptonite of being the good girl hold you back because you can be good.
Kimberley Borgens:You can be compassionate. You can be empathetic. You can be amazing just not having good girl syndrome. Okay? And then I just wanna wrap this up with an extra one.
Kimberley Borgens:This is a kryptonite that I've seen so many times. I am in masterminds, and this one pops up. And I'm like, I'm in your mastermind, and you didn't even ask. Okay? Oh, goodness, ladies.
Kimberley Borgens:Why do women think that they're bothering someone when they ask for support? This is kryptonite. I wanna pause here for a quick moment and really dig into this most pervasive kryptonite. K. The feeling of bothering someone when asking for help or support.
Kimberley Borgens:Ladies, from childhood, many women were taught to prioritize other people comfort over their own needs. Right? Other people's comfort is more important than yours. No. You've been socialized to believe that making, help seem like it's an imposition to you, you know, to other people.
Kimberley Borgens:Like, you need help. You can't do this. You're not smart enough. You're not strong enough. You you don't have it together.
Kimberley Borgens:You know, all these things. Right? Like, this we've been culturally conditioned to believe that we shouldn't ask for help. But when other people ask, we're all in. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:Asking for support is not a weakness, ladies. Do not let this be your kryptonite. Okay? It's a leadership skill. When women normalize asking for help, they build stronger networks.
Kimberley Borgens:People know they're not perfect. They don't have it altogether. It builds resilience. Right? It develops resilience within your business, within your body, within your mindset, and it opens doors to others so that they can do the same thing.
Kimberley Borgens:If we never ask for help, we're not showing other people that it's okay for them to ask for help. And as a businesswoman, I want my team to come and ask for help. Do I want them to solve it on their own? Absolutely. When they can.
Kimberley Borgens:But when they can't, I want them to come and ask for help. Asking for help is not a weakness. Now if you're asking for the same thing over and over and over again, that's another story. That's another topic. If you're trying to upward delegate, that's another topic altogether as well.
Kimberley Borgens:But what I'm really talking about is asking for the help that you need to learn new skills, to to, you know, learn from somebody quicker than you trying to learn on your own. When you're feeling a setback or you're having a challenge, but you won't say, hey. Has anybody else ever gone through this? You have any suggestions or tips to get through it? We have got to stop using that kryptonite, allowing that kryptonite into our world in business.
Kimberley Borgens:I know I did another topic on this one, so you can go into the past. Go to my website and, you know, find Kimberleyborgans.com, and you can find all of the episodes, under the the podcast in there. But, look, could this be the kryptonite that's holding you back from everything? Like, I've given you 10 plus the conditioning of not asking for help. So an eleventh bonus in essence, different kinds of kryptonite that could be holding you back in your business.
Kimberley Borgens:So how do you overcome these hidden kryptonites and claim your full power? Well, here's some strategies. One is seek some mentorship. Right? Seek out mentors who are challenging your thinking, who challenge, you know, what what your beliefs are, who champion your growth, right, who are willing to open doors for you.
Kimberley Borgens:Hey. Let me introduce you to so and so. She's better at that. You know, I was talking to a friend, this week, and she's was telling Matt at this idea for her business. I'm like, oh, you know who?
Kimberley Borgens:You remember this person? And she's like, yeah. And I said, they would be a great person to ask about that. She goes, oh, that's funny because I mastermind with her, and I didn't even think about asking. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:So think about that. Find people that you can open doors for or that they can open doors for you. If you're a leader, become a sponsor for other women. Volunteer with organizations to create something, you know, on your own. Maybe that's even the podcast.
Kimberley Borgens:Like I said, that could be your solution. Create a culture for change. You know, advocate for, women in the workplace that rewards risk taking, that normalizes failure, and recognizes emotional labor. Right? Share your own stories of vulnerability and resilience.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? Like on my podcast. Maybe you wanna be a guest here. Reach out. Let me know that you could be a guest.
Kimberley Borgens:You wanna be a superheroes in heels podcast guest. I would love to. Look. Normalize vulnerability. Share your experiences, especially the setbacks.
Kimberley Borgens:This builds trust. It builds connection and collective strength. And I don't know about you. I love connective, you know, collective strength. People partnering together, building a stronger, you know, DNA strand of women in business.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? Set those boundaries. Practice saying no with confidence. Boundaries are the foundation of any healthy ambition. So make sure that you're setting boundaries.
Kimberley Borgens:How about network expansion? Right? Build and nurture relationships across industries, roles, backgrounds. Don't wait for an invitation. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:Initiate connection. Get involved with people that you wanna build a stronger relationship with. Join me over at the Hive Hangout where we're building relationships. And visibility and representation. Step into opportunities to speak, to lead, to be seen.
Kimberley Borgens:Like, your your visibility matters. Right? It's not just for you. It's for everyone who comes after you and comes to see you. And most importantly, I wanna say have some self compassion and self advocacy.
Kimberley Borgens:Replace your self criticism with self compassion. Advocate for your needs. Right? Do it in pay. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:Give yourself a raise as an entrepreneur. Ask for the promotion. Get the support. Be a self advocate for yourself. And ladies, have some compassion.
Kimberley Borgens:Alright? You got a lot on your shoulders. You are a superhero after all. Okay? Don't let these kryptonite pieces hold you back.
Kimberley Borgens:Kryptonite has been holding women back in business. And just remember, it's not just external things. It's the internal emotions, the socialized conditioning. Right? When we name the barriers, we strip them of their power.
Kimberley Borgens:So now I've just given you at least 11 barriers for you to name, call out the one that has been your kryptonite, and it's time to rewrite your superhero story. Embrace your strengths, address your kryptonite, and support others on the journey too. So if you found this episode empowering, please share it with a friend, share it with a mentor or a colleague. Let's build a community where our superpowers shine and our kryptonite starts to lose its grip. Okay?
Kimberley Borgens:Remember, you're not alone. This is your invitation to step boldly, to speak loudly, to lead powerfully. Be the superhero that you are meant to be. Thanks for tuning in to superheroes and heels. Again, I'm Kimberley Borgens.
Kimberley Borgens:And until next time, keep your cape on and your kryptonite in check. And, of course, do it in a fabulous pair of shoes. Have a blessed
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