Breaking the Stigma: It's Okay for Women Leaders to Ask for Help

As women, we are taught that it is our responsibility to handle things around the home, which makes it difficult for us to move forward in our businesses and our careers due to lack of time and energy. But let me ask you this - do our male counterparts hesitate to ask for help around the home when they bear more responsibility in their work? The reality is that no one can do it all alone - even exceptional women leaders who pride themselves on their incredible ability to multi-task and juggle all the things.

It takes courage and strength to admit when you need help, and for female leaders, this is especially important. Breaking through the stigma of asking for help is a key part of our success. Asking for help does not make us less capable, but instead gives us the tools and support necessary to hit our goals and create the life we truly want.

The Impact of Stigma on Women Leaders

Let's face it - there is a stigma around asking for help and it can women leaders feel like they are not capable or strong enough to handle all the responsibilities they should be able to handle. Asking for help simply makes us feel as though we are burdening others with OUR problems. As a result, many women leaders avoid asking for help, which leads to burnout, stress, exhaustion, and overall defeat.

I see this especially when women play around with the idea of asking for help at home. They worry what others will think if someone else does their laundry, cleans their home, prepares their meals, or ... gasp ... cares for their children.

Quick story for you... a man once asked me why I even bothered having children if I didn't want to be the one to raise them. I'm also frequently asked who stays with my children when I travel, and if it bothers me that my husband is the primary parent. I assure you if our roles were the other way around, he would not be getting those same questions.

Women leaders who are not willing to ask for support at home may face challenges in getting recognition they deserve for their God-given talents. Women who are not willing to ask for help in their businesses will face challenges as their business begins to grow, because even though women leaders are exceptional, we are still human - and we were not meant to everything alone.

Where and When to Ask for Help

There are several areas, both at home and in business, that women leaders can (and should) ask for help. That help can come from your partner, a family member, a neighbor, or you can hire someone to come in and take care of the tasks that you don't want to do. Here's a few ways women leaders can ask for help:

How do you know it's the right time to ask for help? Simple. You're stressed, overwhelmed, burnt out, and you're ready to experience growth (personal or professional!) without any of those things holding you back.

→ At Home: Ask for Help With the Cleaning

I will tell you that most of the highly successful women leaders inside of the Be in the Room community are no longer the ones who take care of deep cleaning their homes. If cleaning is your passion and you WANT to be the one who does it, by all means, you do you. But, if cleaning is a task you dread and you'd rather be focused on something else, there is no shame in having someone else come in and help.

→ In Business: A General VA

As the exceptional women leader you are, I know you can DO a lot of things, juggle a lot of tasks, and handle more than the average person. There are several tasks that you CAN do inside of your business, but that doesn't mean you SHOULD be doing all of them. Think of it this way - every tasks you take off your plate is time and energy you can spend focused on something else. That energy can go towards growth strategies, product/service development, brainstorming your next big idea, or put back into spending time with your family. What you do with that time is truly up to you, but hiring someone to take general day-to-day tasks off your plate is a smart move.

→ At Home: Grocery Shopping/Meal Prep

In our household, we use a really fantastic grocery service. Every six months, we place an order and our freezer is stocked with everything we need for family meals until our next order. Places like Walmart Delivery and Instacart exist so that you can save time in the grocery store even on your weekly items. I spend little to no time in the grocery store (and typically, my husband is the one to runs when we do need something.) I know there are tons of other meal prep services out there like Blue Apron and HelloFresh. There's also the option of hiring a chef to come in and do your weekly meal prep. No matter what you decide, taking something this massive off your daily to-do list opens up a massive amount of time for you to focus on what truly matters most to YOU.

→ In Business: Experts in Areas You Are Not

I'm a sales expert and a business growth strategist. I'm not overly organized, and I don't like looking at all the details that go into making big ideas happen. I have a team for that. My business literally could not grow without my team and their expertise. I hired a marketing strategist to handle marketing - and I don't micromanage her. I hired a director of ops to handle SOPs and organization within the business - and I don't micromanage her. Hire experts to handle the areas of your business that are not your zone of genius - and trust them to handle it, because it's their zone of genius. When you hire people you trust, you will save massive amounts of time and you can grow faster.

→ At Home: Help with the Kids

You can be a good mom and not be the one who drops your kids off at school every day. You can be a good mom and not be the one who takes them to every sports practice. You can be a good mom and not be the one who packs their lunches, helps with their homework, and spends every second of every day with them. I've already mentioned that in our household, I run two businesses, and my husband is the primary parent. Some of the members in our community have help from family, they have hire in-home childcare, they send their kids to daycare, or they count on their partners to be the one who runs the kids to all the places and makes sure they have a lunch packed. You can be a good mom and still have time to focus on your business.

→ In Business: Invest in a New Software

Yep, help doesn't always have to come in the form of a human. You can also invest in software that will make your life easier. I invest in software for myself, and for my team when they need it. I no longer write my social media content - I voice everything into a software that transcribes it for me and I simply make minor edits and go. My marketing strategist uses several AI tools to help her crank out content faster, and our direct sales team uses software to help organize, track, and manage leads without the use of google docs and Trello boards (which has cut out a tremendous amount of manual work.) >>> We've recently partnered with this software developer to create an amazing experience for women running businesses who need this kind of support. Connect with us to request a demo.

The Benefits of Asking for Help

Asking for help is key for women leaders to experience growth and fulfillment. It's how we create the time learn new skills. It's how we create the time and energy to focus on the things that we care about most. It's how we allow our minds the time and space to come up with new ideas. It's how we create space to connect with other amazing women leaders who will help us propel our businesses, careers, personal lives to the next level.

When you free up time and energy, you set the stage for more. You give yourself permission to have more, accomplish more, and to experience true fulfillment doing the things you love to do. Asking for help shows that you have the courage to know that you don't have to do it all alone. There are people who will support you in your journey.

The stigma of asking for help can impact women leaders and prevent them from reaching their full potential. By breaking the stigma, by being willing to ask for the same support our male counterparts are willing to ask for, women leaders can truly thrive.