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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 Borgans, 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. Hello, and welcome to the very first episode of Superheroes in Heels. I'm Kimberley Borgans, and I'm thrilled to have you here as we embark on this journey together. Do you know what it's like to walk into a room and feel like you don't fit in?
Kimberley Borgens:I do. As a strong, bold woman in a male dominant industry, that has happened to me many times. And this podcast is designed to help shift that feeling for anyone who has ever felt like they don't fit into their industry, a boardroom, or even out networking. Look. I'm here to inspire, inform, and maybe even challenge you a little bit with your thinking, whether you're striving to become a leader in your industry, grow a business, or simply navigate life with just a little bit of resilience and a lot of grace.
Kimberley Borgens:In today's inaugural episode, I wanted to share a little bit about my story, a little bit about why it is that I started this podcast. So let's get to the nitty gritty. I got married to my high school sweetheart at 18. At 19, we had a son. And at 20, he left and took all the money from the bank account.
Kimberley Borgens:At the time, I was a part time pizza delivery driver. K? But then I found myself homeless, living in my car with a toddler, no marketable skills, no no really good place to go. K? So I ended up on welfare.
Kimberley Borgens:And I don't know about you, but that is not a system that wants you to move forward. I'm telling you. I was on the system for four years, but I worked my tail end off to get off of that system to be self sufficient in a system that didn't really want you to be self sufficient. Now I went to college, and I double majored. I double majored in administration of justice and business management.
Kimberley Borgens:And when I was done, I ended up where I met this gentleman while I was at at the police academy. I met this gentleman who worked for a private investigator. And after several years, we decided to go ahead and merge our brains together and create a business. And I have helped to build a thriving business in a male dominant industry in private security and private investigations, growing to over more than 70 employees and earning my place as the CEO of the company. But more than that, I really learned how to walk into any room with confidence, with authority, and, yes, even some grace.
Kimberley Borgens:So today, we're gonna talk about what does that mean for you. What does it mean for you to know what your role is in your business as the CEO of your business, as a top leader in your industry? How can you leverage command presence? We'll dig really deep into that. And then lead with, you know, having that capability, knowing that you're capable in any world that you walk into, any room that you walk into, any space that you walk into.
Kimberley Borgens:You know, there we do have this world that often expects less from us and then attempts to hold us back from thriving in that same world of business. And what I wanna do is shift that. I wanna mix that up. I wanna stand beside you. I wanna walk alongside you as you two journey into that world and owning your role as the CEO or the top leader or, you know, the employee just as the mom, the head of your household, whatever that is for you, ladies, it is time to take our power back.
Kimberley Borgens:It is time to step into the role that we were designed to step into. So you ready to start this journey with me? Well, let me take you back a little bit so that you have a clear understanding. Like I said, thirty three years ago, I stepped into my chosen field and felt like I was stepping into a battlefield. Like, I get it.
Kimberley Borgens:Like, I was raised with four sisters. I I didn't there were no girls. I mean, there were no boys who were in our household. My parents got divorced when I was 13. And so in my teenage years, it was just my mom and my sisters.
Kimberley Borgens:And then going out into the world and getting married right out of high school, like, I didn't know how to navigate the world of men. I really didn't. But I didn't know that, just so you know. Sometimes ignorance is bliss. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:But, you know, I really got into this industry and realized after we got into the industry that there were very few women in leadership roles in private security and investigations, and even fewer resources available to support female entrepreneurs. And look. Let's be real. You can call me. I'm a little bit older.
Kimberley Borgens:I have more wisdom. I was around when the Internet wasn't prevalent. We didn't have the Internet as a resource to go the way that you do now today. I am thrilled with the advance in technology. It's not always my friend, but I'm thrilled of the advancement of it.
Kimberley Borgens:But at the time when I started in business, we didn't have this. We didn't have this as a resource. I didn't have wisdom from ladies who had been in my industry. It was hard to gather that kind of information from anybody. But here I am taking it on anyway, stepping into that role in an industry that didn't have the mentors needed, and who I was learning from were all the men.
Kimberley Borgens:So when starting my business, I knew that success wouldn't come easily. I knew that it wasn't gonna come quickly. You know? And to be honest, I didn't set out to be a CEO. I know some people, like, that's their drive.
Kimberley Borgens:They get into a company. Their drive is they wanna get to the top. Heck. That was not me. Okay?
Kimberley Borgens:I was just, honestly, beginning, you know, to understand business. I I was just this person who was, you know, building a business that would allow me to have flexible hours so that I could take the time with my kids, make the money that was necessary to run a household, make sure the bills were paid. I mean, are you getting my drift? Like, I started a business for flexibility and to make sure my bills were covered. I didn't even know what grit was at the time.
Kimberley Borgens:I was too naive. I was also too naive to not know what I didn't know.
Kimberley Borgens:I don't know about you, but man, oh, man, there are
Kimberley Borgens:so many things that I didn't know that I didn't know along the way. So part of this podcast is to help you find things to, to learn about and to know so that you could go, oh, I didn't realize. Because I think that's a huge journey by itself, and a lot of people often will take that as not a a big deal, but I personally believe that it is. You know, I had to learn how to embrace challenges. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:Not see the setbacks as failures. I had to prove that I had resilience, Right? And I could innovate. What was that innovation? Right?
Kimberley Borgens:I didn't even know. And but all of that can shift the tides of which way we're gonna go in business. And there was also many I don't know about you, but financial, you know, hurdles to jump. There's steep learning curves that you have to, you know, get around. And to have a seat at the table that many people don't think that you deserve, Let me tell you, persistence pays off.
Kimberley Borgens:So let me get you started there. But I will share with you one of the defining moments for me was learning how to navigate those rooms. Right? When I was the only woman in the room, you know, you know, those boardrooms filled with men who've been in the industry longer than I've been even been alive. The comments that I would get when I would go to mixers.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? Oh, are you still working in your husband's business? Or what are you doing these days with that little business? At first, I kinda felt like I had to prove myself every single day. But I did realize that proving myself wasn't enough.
Kimberley Borgens:It wasn't. What I learned was is I had to have my own space. I had to own that space. I had to own the fact that I was a female in a male dominant industry in private security and investigations. I had to own the fact that there were gonna be men around me who were gonna tell me, no.
Kimberley Borgens:You can't do that. Well, who do you think you are? Why do you think you should come here? You don't deserve here. You're not worthy of this, or better yet, talk past me to my business partner because he's a man.
Kimberley Borgens:See, I've been there. I've heard it. I've seen it. I've experienced it. So my question for you to think about is how do you do that?
Kimberley Borgens:How do you get past all the naysayers, all the knockdowns, all the you don't deserves to be here, all the let me talk past to you, let me talk over you, let me talk around you kind of people. How do you so how do you manage that? So that's what we're gonna talk about next. We're gonna talk about command presence. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:You might be wondering what that is. So let me just tell you. Command presence isn't about being the loudest voice in the room. Right? It's not about intimidating other.
Kimberley Borgens:I know that it says command presence, like as if you're in charge. Right? It's about, you know, that confidence that you have. It's about having clarity in what you're saying and having the conviction that is your passion, that is your soul to do what it is that you're put on this earth to do. It's the ability to walk into any room, whether it's a meeting with your team, a conference full of industry leaders, or a negotiation with potential clients.
Kimberley Borgens:When you own your space and have command presence, you can become unstoppable. Let that set in. Being unshakable when people question your authority, it doesn't mean that you aren't shaking in your boots. It just means that you're standing firm in your decisions. So I learned about command presence when I attended the police academy many, many years ago.
Kimberley Borgens:And when I made the choice to start the security business, I knew that I could teach some of this to our security officers, but I didn't realize how much of a role it would play, you know, with me building a business and building credibility in my community. So command presence, let me tell you, starts with awareness, self awareness. You know, I had to know who I was as a leader. Whoo wee. Ladies, if you don't know who you are, how do you expect other people to know who you are, especially the men who want to move you out of the space?
Kimberley Borgens:You have to be so clear and concise with who you are so that nobody else can prevent you from doing what you're meant to do. Now look. Don't get me wrong. I'm a strong, bold woman. Okay?
Kimberley Borgens:I admit it. I have built myself to be a strong, bold woman. I wasn't always strong and bold. So if you think that you're too meek or too mild and you're never gonna be as strong as me, then you can choose that, or you can choose something different. I wasn't that strong person.
Kimberley Borgens:I was a quiet kid. I was an introvert. I'm still an introvert. Okay? It may not seem like that right now to you, but I absolutely am an introvert.
Kimberley Borgens:But I'm a very well socialized introvert, and I'm on a mission. And when you're on a mission and you're well socialized, any introvert can get anything done. So don't let that stop you. Okay? I will say that for you.
Kimberley Borgens:I've often heard, man, you're bossy. When in reality, I was just taking command of a situation that I had the authority to do. See, that's what command presence is about. And why are women called bossy and men called leaders? I mean, seriously, come on.
Kimberley Borgens:Can we just have that conversation another time? Because I don't have time today, but, man, that one kinda just gets a little bit under my skin. It's like, women were called bossy. Don't be so bossy. Alright?
Kimberley Borgens:But men, it's like, oh, he's taking charge. Okay. I'm off my soapbox. Truthfully, though, I had to understand what my own strengths were, including my bossiness, right, or my authority to take control of a situation. I had to acknowledge what my weaknesses are.
Kimberley Borgens:Look. We all have them. I have weaknesses. You have weaknesses. Men have weaknesses.
Kimberley Borgens:It doesn't matter. Right? But you have to acknowledge them. You have to understand what they are. You can improve them.
Kimberley Borgens:You can build them to be a strength, but you can't do that unless you're aware of what they are. And I'm constantly redefining my skills. Right? I'm refining them, redefining them, adding new ones, throwing some out that no longer work. Like, I'm constantly looking at my skills.
Kimberley Borgens:And I also had to accept that I wasn't gonna be everybody's favorite leader. Look. I have one employee in my office, and she's great. And she's been with us for a really long time, but she calls my business partner her favorite boss. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:And that's okay. I don't have to be anybody's favorite. K? It cracks me up though when she says it. Sometimes I'll even save it back.
Kimberley Borgens:You need to go talk to your favorite boss. Right? But it's just really about, like, know who you are, and you don't have to be everybody's favorite leader. K? It's okay.
Kimberley Borgens:Being liked, that's not my goal. It's not the same to be liked as it is to be respected. My goal is to be respected in my industry. My goal is to be respected by my team. My goal is to be respected by the people I come in contact with.
Kimberley Borgens:Whether they like me or not is irrelevant to me. It's always nice to be liked. Don't get me wrong, But it's not my goal. I'm on a mission, and my mission is to work with women to make sure that women understand that they have a space that they can be in any industry that they want. So command presence.
Kimberley Borgens:You know, over the years, I've developed some strategies that have helped to cultivate what that presence is, and you can too. So keep following my podcast. Keep listening to the the guests that I bring on because as I do that, we're gonna dive into more about what are the what is command presence and how can you use command presence in your business? Command presence is a military term. Military, police, and fire often you'll hear that term within those industries.
Kimberley Borgens:You rarely hear this term in business, and I'm gonna teach you, throughout the my podcast many times what command presence is and how you can step into that. So let me share just a few things that you can do to start if you're thinking, like, what is command presence and how can I step into right now? Because I want my podcast to give you something that you can walk away with each and every time. So let me just share a few of these things. One, be prepared.
Kimberley Borgens:Like, walking into a room unprepared, it's a sure way of losing credibility. K? Whether it's knowing key points of whatever the discussion is, understanding the dynamics of the group, how do you read the room, or having a clear purpose. Look. Preparation is the key.
Kimberley Borgens:If you don't know about your business, how can you share it with anybody else? And if you can't share it with somebody else, how can you gain trust and respect from anybody? If you're wishy washy about your business, it shows up as wishy washy. And look. Fake it till you make it doesn't work here.
Kimberley Borgens:It just doesn't. And the reason it doesn't work is because fake it till you make it, that works in many situations, but not when you need to command a room and show that you have authority to be there, that you deserve to be in that space. That is not fake until you make it. That is me stepping into. That is you stepping into what you were designed to do, whatever that is.
Kimberley Borgens:So be prepared wherever you go. If you're going to a networking mixer, if you're going into a boardroom, if you're going into talking to some people, do some research, find out about it. Okay? Be prepared. The second, thing that I would like to give you is nonverbal communication speaks loudly.
Kimberley Borgens:It speaks very loud. Okay? Did you know that body language speaks so much louder than any words that you might say? Stand tall. Hold your head up high.
Kimberley Borgens:Maintain eye contact with people. Using deliberate gestures, they communicate confidence, right, before you even meet somebody. Think about this. Have you ever had someone come up to you in a room filled with people and say, I just knew I needed to meet you. You know, maybe you're the person who spots a woman across the room, and you just know you need to meet her.
Kimberley Borgens:Go do it. Go introduce yourself. I know it's happened to me. I remember the first time it happened to me. I was at a, networking mixer with our chamber of commerce, and mostly men.
Kimberley Borgens:There were some women in the room, but I was standing there in a group talking to, you know, a couple of people. And this woman comes right up to me, and she waited until I stopped talking with somebody. And she said, look. I saw you as soon as I walked into the room, and I knew I just needed to meet you. And I was like, oh, really?
Kimberley Borgens:Okay. Let's play. That's you know, my internal thought is let's play. So I said, great. So tell me a little bit about you.
Kimberley Borgens:Like, she was there to meet me, but I really was interested in her. And that's a key piece is your nonverbal communication can speak loudly enough for you that people want to meet you. If you're the wallflower, if you've got your head down, if you look like you don't really wanna talk to people, guess what? That's what you're gonna create. I don't want you to create that.
Kimberley Borgens:I want you to be purposeful when you get out and you're with people and allow that nonverbal communication that you don't often pay attention to. Let it speak for you in such a way that you can speak to people. And the third thing around command presence here is have clarity of vision. Have some clarity. People follow leaders who know where they are going.
Kimberley Borgens:K? I made a point of you know, I made it a point to articulate the words that I was saying, to articulate the vision clearly, to align my decisions with what my purpose is, what my values are. And when you're clear and you're concise, it makes it easier for people to make a quick decision to follow you. If you're not clear, if they don't know why they should follow you, if they don't see any value in following you, they're not going to. They wanna find people that they can follow that they know are gonna lead them someplace.
Kimberley Borgens:Look. We're leading people in everything that we're doing. My question to you is where do you wanna lead them? Own your space. Have that vision of where you wanna lead people.
Kimberley Borgens:Make sure that your nonverbal communication speaks loudly in your best interest and always be prepared when you get out. Command presence isn't something that you're born with. I get it. It's cultivated. It's grown.
Kimberley Borgens:It's constantly being improved upon by everything that you do. Trust me. If you step into it, it will transform the way that you lead. It will transform the way that you build your business. It will transform the way that you get your next promotion in your job.
Kimberley Borgens:It will transform how your kids respond to you. Look. I know that it's not something easy. Command presence, it might be a whole new term for you. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:But can you have such a presence about who you are in this moment that commands people to pay attention, that commands people to say, I wanna be like her, or commands people to say, oh, that's a little questionable. Right? I wanna be the person that you follow. I wanna be the person who you said, you know what? That one tip you gave today, Kimberley , made a big difference.
Kimberley Borgens:That's what I want for you too. So you have to have command presence where you walk into any room with authority. So let's move into the next segment of it. How about knowing your role? You have command presence, and I told you, you have to know what you stand for.
Kimberley Borgens:You have to know what your strengths are, what your weaknesses are. Right? So the same thing is knowing your role. What is your CEO mindset? Whether you're a CEO, whether you work in an industry and you're not a CEO, you're an administrative assistant, I don't care.
Kimberley Borgens:You can act like a CEO of your life. You can act like the CEO, the head of your household. You can act like the CEO, the head of your job. Whatever that is, put on your hat that says, I know my role, and I am here because my role is important. Don't underestimate.
Kimberley Borgens:Look. I didn't become the CEO first. You know, my my business partner who, by the way, another story for later, who just happens to also be my husband. We started a business together, and then we got married later. But this man used to call me his toots.
Kimberley Borgens:Okay? I was the person going back and forth, back and forth, getting things done, making the phone calls, running to the bank, doing all the stuff, all the administrative work that you need to do when you start a business while he did the footwork out in the field. That's how it started. I'm not ashamed to say that. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:So there has to be a turning point, though, for you to say, I know that my role is important no matter how insignificant it seems. It is not insignificant, and neither are you. You're not insignificant. You know, as my business grew, then I could wear different hats. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:You know, think about it. I have a a picture that I did, and it has, like, 10 hats on top of it of my head. Right? And all 10 hats were up there because they were the mom hat, the wife hat, the the sister hat, the daughter hat. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:And it was also the business owner hat and the job employee hat. And look. I worked for the first ten plus years starting a business. I worked for other people at the same time. I worked in retail.
Kimberley Borgens:Okay? I worked in the women's clothing section of a retail store. Right? Because here's the reality is in business, when you're starting a business, you don't wanna have the funds. Most people don't have the funds.
Kimberley Borgens:Some do. Some get the funds. Some, you know, have all kinds of investors and some that wasn't me. Okay? And it's not most of us.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? But we still had a business to run and a household to run. So the business isn't making a whole lot of money, and any money it is making, you're putting back into the business for the business to grow it. So can we be just be real here on this? Lord had mercy.
Kimberley Borgens:So I had jobs. I was a Pampered Chef consultant for, ten years where I would go and and stand in front of women. And let me tell you, that was the first start of my speaking career. Whoo. My knees are knocking.
Kimberley Borgens:Okay? I was shaking. People could see it in front of the room. Like, my voice would be cracking. Look.
Kimberley Borgens:Just because you're a bold woman, if you don't have that skill set and you don't have that experience, it's gonna feel awkward and it's not gonna be fun at first. Okay? You gotta get through the bumps. Right? I worked for a, personal development company.
Kimberley Borgens:I was one of the facilitators at a five day intensive busting down belief systems and helping people, you know, rebuild that up. Like, I did that also for over five years, over a thousand people coming through, you know, every year. And so, you know, I worked and busted my booty, right, to to have the income necessary to take care of my family and allow a business to utilize its funds when it first started out and, you know, keep investing back into the business. I'm not afraid of work. Have you figured that out?
Kimberley Borgens:But let me tell you, there's been a time when that impostor syndrome popped in. I don't know about you ladies, but I've experienced it at least once. Right? And had to remind myself that I wasn't lazy when I was sitting down and relaxing. Okay?
Kimberley Borgens:I just happen to put, like, twenty years and squished it down into ten to begin with. And I don't expect everybody else to do that, but I hear a lot of people say, and I'm kind of off on a rant for a second, but I hear a lot of people say, like, quit your job and start a business. I'm not a believer in that. I am not. You gotta be able to do your business and be able to take care of yourself and your family.
Kimberley Borgens:And if that means that you work a job and have a business on the side until you can build it up enough that it can replace that income, I am all for that. I cheer that on every single day. Okay? I will not be the person who says, you know, quit your job and move on. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:That's not me. I wanna know I want you to know that you can do whatever it takes as necessary for you based on the lifestyle that you wanna have. My decisions don't have to be your decisions, but some of my hints, tips, and ideas could be. Right? So, yes, I did all the tasks.
Kimberley Borgens:I wore all the hats. I did all of that stuff. Right? Because if I didn't do it myself, right, it wasn't gonna get done. Alright.
Kimberley Borgens:How many of you other ladies are out there going, like, I have to have control of everything. I have to make sure that it's done and it's done right and it's done the way that I want it to be done. And nobody else can do it as good as me, and I don't have time to teach somebody because it's easier for me to just get it done and not have to worry about trying to teach somebody else to do it. I know some of you are going like, that was a mouthful. And then some of y'all are going, hey.
Kimberley Borgens:Don't talk about me like that. I know. I've been there, done that. Right? You have to know what your role is.
Kimberley Borgens:But here's the truth. Being the CEO, it's about delegating. It's about strategy. It's about trusting the people that you've hired, that you brought in, whether it's virtual or live. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:Oh, and, boy, that can be a hard one. I had to learn to let go of that control. I had to let go of the control of every little detail of what was happening. All the stuff that I was responsible for, but I had to let go of some of that so I could stay focused on the bigger picture. And then I had to put the right people in place, and don't get me wrong there.
Kimberley Borgens:Sometimes we hire actors, phenomenal actors. They look like they sound like they will be the best employee ever, and then they prove themselves wrong. They stop acting, and you realize, oh, that was a bad hire. Okay. Now I gotta course correct this.
Kimberley Borgens:And it's okay because my focus is on the bigger picture, and we continue to keep going and going and going to find people that are better than me. I had to learn I had to make sure that I made the shift from micromanaging, which by the way, I'm pretty bad at. I am not a good micromanager. So much so it cracked me up just a few years ago. I had an employee who decided she was going to quit.
Kimberley Borgens:And the reason that she had basically told me is because, you know, I wasn't there to hold her hand through every everyday activities, her daily activities, all the things that needed to do. And when I asked her, like, wait. Why? Are you saying that you wanted me to micromanage you? And she said, well, yeah.
Kimberley Borgens:And I said, I can't do that. Number one, I'm not good at. Number two, I hired you, and I was holding you capable of what I hired you to do. And she kinda looked at me, and she was a little shocked. And she said, oh, well, thank you for thinking of me as capable.
Kimberley Borgens:But the reality was she wanted to be micromanaged because she'd been where she grew up in her industry. Clearly, she had been micromanaged in the past, and that's her comfort zone. K? I wished her the best, and she moved on. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:I cannot micromanage people. I I just am not good at it. I don't wanna be good at it. It is not a skill that I wanna perfect, and you shouldn't either. I hire people because they're capable.
Kimberley Borgens:I ask questions all the time. I say to my team, so how would you solve this? What would you do in this search sick you know, this circumstance, this situation? And I let them tell me. And I can't tell you how many times they've come up with a better solution than I have or they're right in alignment with mine as well.
Kimberley Borgens:So if I can hire capable people, so can you. In order to do that, however, you have to know your role. You need to understand what your business needs from you at every stage of its growth. And in the early years, like I said, I was involved in everything from marketing, operations, customer service, anything else that came up. K?
Kimberley Borgens:All the dirty work, hardly any of the fun. But as the company expanded, my role evolved. I'd beaker. I had to start becoming the face of the business. Look.
Kimberley Borgens:For the first fifteen, twenty years in business, I was the silent partner. I wasn't the bold person out in front of everybody, but let me tell you, I got stuff done, and so can you. You know, if you're a a leader who's struggling to let go, let go of that control, that that that space of always needing to be right or having to do it your way, I encourage you to ask yourself some questions. Are you spending times on tasks that could be handled by somebody else? You think about that.
Kimberley Borgens:Are you focused on short term fixes instead of long term goals? Like, I gotta fix this. I gotta fix this instead of going, here's where I need to go. How can I fix this and get better to where I need to go? Do you trust your team whether that's live or virtual?
Kimberley Borgens:Whether that's a coach, consultant, mentor, an assistant, whatever that team is for you. Do you trust your team to succeed without constant oversight? Look. I I've gotten to the point where I tell people I'm no longer employable. You can't hire me because I will come into your business, and I will show you what you're doing incorrectly and what you need to do better and how and I just I don't think I could be employable anymore.
Kimberley Borgens:Employable to somebody else. Right? Because I know my role. And my role isn't about doing less. It's about doing what matters most.
Kimberley Borgens:So when you can think about that for your business, for your your job, for your life, with your family, like, even my kids, like, god bless them. My kids know I wasn't their friend. My my youngest son, I have four wonderfully rotten children. That's how I I used to describe them when they were young. They are all adults.
Kimberley Borgens:All have grown up and moved out of the home. My husband and I are empty nesters now, but we have four wonderfully rotten children. And and, you know, one of my sons, my youngest son, he he cracked me up because in high school, he was challenged. He was challenged in high school. He was popular.
Kimberley Borgens:He was, you know, mister social butterfly everywhere. Everybody knew him, all of those things. Well, he was playing around a bit and didn't quite have enough credits to graduate because he wasn't getting some things done. And the school called me up and had a meeting with me and said, hey. This is the situation.
Kimberley Borgens:He needs to graduate, but he's not gonna make it. We only have, you know, two months left of school, and he's short about x amount of credits. And I said, well, what would it take for him to get caught up to that? And they're like, oh, he's not gonna he's not gonna get that done. I'm like, I didn't ask that question.
Kimberley Borgens:Can you tell me please what it is that will take for him to be able to catch up to that? Well, they said, well, he's gonna have to do online school. In order to do online school, he's gonna have to do x amount of, you know, hours. He's gonna have to come in at lunchtime and do online school. He's gonna have to do it at home at night.
Kimberley Borgens:He's gonna have to do some on the weekend. I said, okay. Great. Can you get us set up for the two classes he needs to get the credit for? And they just kinda looked at me, and they said, well, are you gonna talk to him?
Kimberley Borgens:I'm like, I don't need to talk to him. He's not my he's not my best friend. Right? He has a responsibility, and he's gonna get these things done. And and so that was the case.
Kimberley Borgens:And for a month, that young man took every break, every meal break, every time he was at home. He was doing online school to catch up on those credits that he was short so that he can graduate. Okay. I was not his favorite person. I was not my husband's favorite person either.
Kimberley Borgens:Because one day, one weekend, he had school to do. He had classes to finish. He wasn't done catching up. I mean, this was just a short period of time. A one month, a little over a month, is what it took for him to get all that done.
Kimberley Borgens:And my husband says, I'm gonna take the kids to the movie theater. I'm like, nope. He's like, what do you mean no? I said, he has online schooling to do. He needs to get that done first, and she hasn't cleaned her room because these are our two youngest.
Kimberley Borgens:And my husband says, well, you can't tell me what to do. I can take my kids. I'm like, yes. You can. You absolutely can.
Kimberley Borgens:You can absolutely take the kids to go see a movie and have fun. I said, I'm not stopping you from doing that. But I will say this, is they have their responsibilities, and they committed to doing those things with me. And if you're gonna take them and they don't do those things, how are you supporting their commitments? He huffed and he puffed and grumbled for a couple of days, but they did not go out.
Kimberley Borgens:They got all their stuff done. And on graduation, my son gets up in front of he went to a private school, and they had a baccalaureate, and they got to have a speech to their family members, their parents, and all of that at the baccalaureate, which was great and everything else. But when my son got up to speak, what he said was, dad, you're like my best friend. Oh, and and to this day, they are. Pretty much best friends even to this day.
Kimberley Borgens:You're like my best friends. We go, and we do things together. We have fun. And then he says, but mom, you're not my best friend. But I wouldn't be here without you.
Kimberley Borgens:And in my mind, I'm like, yeah. You wouldn't have been born without me. Yeah. You wouldn't be graduating without me. And, yeah, you know, that thing where, oh, you just wanted to ring their This was my child.
Kimberley Borgens:And and it was really just funny. You know, at the time, it was very hurtful to me. I thought, man, I worked hard because as a good mom, that's what I'm supposed to do. I'm supposed to work that hard to make sure that my kids succeed in life. And this young man made it really challenging, and he could sit here and call his dad, his best friend, and he could sit there and say to his mom, you're not my best friend.
Kimberley Borgens:And did it hurt in that moment? Absolutely. But I was so grateful for not being his best friend because he got things done. He still had respect for me later. And to this day, we we laugh about this.
Kimberley Borgens:Okay? We laugh about his college years now. I mean, his high school years, especially because the boy, I went to the principal's office more times than anybody else. But what I'm saying is is you have to know your role. If you don't know your role, then people get confused.
Kimberley Borgens:My son was not confused what my role was as his mom, was to make sure that he succeeded, make sure that he did what he said he was going to do. And trust me, he's done it for me too. I've given him permission to do that as well. So you know your role. You have to know that role.
Kimberley Borgens:You have to know what that is for you. So know your role. Let go of, you know, having it look pretty, do the best that you possibly can, and and own that space, of your role and let other people do their part. Right? They have to do their part.
Kimberley Borgens:Your job is to manage. Your job is to lead. Your job is to make sure that things get done, hold the vision of the company, get the strategies out there, and know what your money is saying. K? So know your role.
Kimberley Borgens:The other thing I wanna bring out is you have to solve problems for women in leadership. Right? It's important that we are solving problems for women in leadership. One of the things that I have always been passionate about is empowering other women who are navigating male dominant industries. Look.
Kimberley Borgens:I'll empower women in any industry, but especially in male dominant industries, whether they're building businesses, they're advancing their careers, they're striving to make their voices heard and just be seen somewhere. Right? Think about that for yourself no matter where you are. Are those are the things that are that are helping you, or are those the things that are holding you back? You know, I've seen firsthand the challenges that women face, feeling isolated, battling the stereotypes, and constantly having to prove their worth and that they deserve to be there.
Kimberley Borgens:These are real barriers, not to mention the money, right, making the same as our counterparts. K. But let me tell you, these are not mountains that we can't get over. My goal is to share strategies from myself and from other superhero women that are out there who have worked in their space and in their industries and help others rise above these same barriers. I want this for you, for the next generation to leave the legacy even past you.
Kimberley Borgens:How are you leading so that other people are watching you? So what's the problem that I saw? Well, I give women the tools to develop confidence, command presence, and resilience so that you can lead without compromise. You can build business without losing your sense of self. I help women reframe challenges as opportunities.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? Build networks that support their success. Course correct things that need to be course corrected. And trust me, I haven't done this all by myself at all. So how have I tackled these things?
Kimberley Borgens:Mentorships. Remember I said when I first started, there wasn't a whole lot of mentorships. There wasn't a lot of women leaders in this industry. But along the way, when I found them, I took full advantage of it. I didn't take advantage of them.
Kimberley Borgens:I took advantage of the situation. Right? So now there's there's mentorship out there offering guidance to women so that it helps them to navigate leadership roles with clarity and confidence. These are some ways that I've been able to tackle my own challenges. How about practical strategies?
Kimberley Borgens:You know, sharing tips for negotiating, managing teams, making your voice heard in meetings. How about decision making skills? Right? These are things that have helped. And then community building, building communities.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? Encouraging women to support one another. I can't tell you how many times it hasn't been the men who put me down the most. It's been the women who say, who do you think you are? Oh, watch her.
Kimberley Borgens:She thinks she's all that. I got it from some of my own sisters. Right? My goal here is to encourage women to support one another. Share our resources, ladies, and celebrate each other's victories.
Kimberley Borgens:Be the biggest cheerleaders for all the women in the room. I don't care if she's your competition. Lift her up. Look. I love my competition.
Kimberley Borgens:Why? Because I know what I need to be better than. Right? So think about it like that. Share the victories.
Kimberley Borgens:Share the excitement that women are moving up in the world. Leadership isn't just about achieving success. It's also paving the way for other women, other six to succeed as well along the way. So here's what I'm gonna say. Put on your shoes with confidence and come on this journey with me in this podcast.
Kimberley Borgens:I hope that you'll, you know, subscribe to the podcast and be a part of this journey with me. And I wanna wrap up this this segment with this episode about talking about grace. So I talked about this in the beginning to have some grace, so I wanna talk about it. In an industry where assertiveness is often equated with aggression, I found that leading with grace is my secret weapon. Grace isn't about being passive or soft or being, you know, a pushover.
Kimberley Borgens:Grace is about being poised. It's about being thoughtful and empathetic to the situation and the people, listening without interrupting, feeling without being so emotional that you lose control of your thinking strategies, and standing strong in who you are with authority in your business and believing that you are meant to be there. So I'd like to share a few ways that I lead with grace. By listening more than I speak and truly hearing what my team and my clients or what people are saying, not interrupting and waiting for them to end so that you can ask questions. You wait till the end.
Kimberley Borgens:Ask the questions. Don't be thinking about what you wanna say next. Truly listen to people. Stay calm under pressure even when things feel chaotic because they do, and they can get chaotic. You know, think of it like this.
Kimberley Borgens:You know, this is the analogy that I use is think of it like a teeter totter. Some of you might not know what it is. So think about a board that's, you know, on a, you know, balancing. Right? One end goes up, one goes down.
Kimberley Borgens:When one end is high, the other one is low. If your emotions are high, your intellect is low. And the other way around. You know those geeks that we know? I love them to death because they handle all the techie stuff.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? But if your intellect is high, then your connection to people, your emotions are quite often low. Right? And the the whole goal here of staying calm is to allow you to even when it feels hard, you wanna keep even with your language and your strategy. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:You wanna make sure that as that teeter totter, your emotions stay balanced with your intellect because then you can make smart decisions. We're here to accomplish a goal, so stay focused on the goal. Don't let your emotions get too too high, and don't let your intellect get too high because people can't understand you when you're thinking too smart. Okay? But what is the goal?
Kimberley Borgens:Where do you wanna go? How do you wanna move forward and stay focused on that? So stay calm under that pressure. And then with grace, you wanna show appreciation for people who are making business what it is. Look.
Kimberley Borgens:I wanna show appreciation for my team. I encourage them. I say thank you. I get them cards. I buy them flowers.
Kimberley Borgens:I notice when they're having bad days. And in my staff, one of the things that I do is I just, you know, sit down like, you got a few minutes. Like, tell me what's going on for you. Like, how how is life going? And I actually just connect with them.
Kimberley Borgens:Right? Because I truly do care. But then I it also allows me to see what do I need to appreciate them more for. I haven't done it alone. Thirty three years in business.
Kimberley Borgens:I have a business partner, like I said, who is also my husband. Okay? I have a team in my office that work hard. I have a whole bunch of people out in the field that are working just as hard. Hiring them to be smarter in their spaces than I am in that space is the best thing I could do.
Kimberley Borgens:And the teachers and the mentors who have helped me figure it out along the way, I show appreciation for. I have a mentor or the one of my mentors right now, like, every time I see him, like, is there anything I can do for you? Is there anything I can get for you? Do you need anything to drink? Do you need something to eat?
Kimberley Borgens:You know? Things like that. I still like, I wanna show appreciation for everything that they're pouring into me. I wanna be able to pour back into them. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:So grace, it's the quiet power, right, that makes people want to follow you, not because they have to, right, but because they believe in you. Grace is a feminine trait that I embrace even in a male dominant business. I can be bold. I can be powerful, and I can still give grace along the way. I'm not here at any point.
Kimberley Borgens:You will never hear from me. You need to lose your womanhood. I'm here to say just the opposite. You have to have that femininity of who you are, those innate things that you are born with, that feminine space, that empathy, that encouragement, that that just that feeling. Right?
Kimberley Borgens:I have intuition. My husband has gut feelings, but he will tell you he will tell you that he trusts mine a whole lot better. I'm here to say that you can be a powerful woman on your journey to the top. You absolutely can. And you can still have compassion.
Kimberley Borgens:You can still have empathy, and you can still do it all with grace. So I wanna say thank you for joining me today for my first episode of superheroes in the heels. If there's a takeaway that I want you to leave with, really, it's leadership isn't about fitting into a mold or meeting someone else's expectations. It's about knowing your role. It's about owning your presence and leading with your unique authenticity.
Kimberley Borgens:My hope is that this podcast becomes a space where we can share ideas, where we can share strategies and stories that empower women to challenge the norms and redefine leadership. I hope you'll come back next week, and we'll dive in deeper into challenges and triumphs with entrepreneurship with some amazing women that I'll be interviewing along the way. Let's continue the conversation and discover what it means to lead with courage, resilience, and grace. So until next time, I'm Kimberley Borgans reminding you to lead boldly, be fierce, but always with grace.
Kimberley Borgens:Thanks for tuning in to Superheroes in Heels with Kimberley Borgans. If you're walking away feeling a little braver, a little bolder, and a whole lot more powerful, mission accomplished. Be sure to subscribe to the and leave a review. It helps us to reach more women who are ready to unleash their power and lead with confidence. And if you do leave a review, you might just hear your name in an upcoming episode.
Kimberley Borgens:If today's conversation lit a fire in you, share it with your network and join us inside the hive society at KimberlyBorgans.com, where powerful women gather to break barriers and rise together. Until next time, keep showing up, standing strong, and heels or not, keep embracing your inner superhero.