I’ve spent most of my career in male-dominated spaces, tech, CPG, marketing, leadership. And honestly that wasn’t the issue.

My own head trash was.

• I walked into meetings carrying impostor syndrome like a backpack full of bricks
• I quieted myself in rooms where I should’ve been bold
• I overprepared, overperformed, and still wondered if I deserved to be there
• And worst of all, I didn’t ask for help because I thought it made me look weak

It took me way too long to understand something simple:

Women don’t need to be tougher. We need stronger peer groups.

My turning point came the first time I walked into a Women Presidents’ Organization (WPO) meeting. I was suddenly surrounded by women who weren’t shrinking themselves. They weren’t apologizing for being ambitious. And they certainly weren’t pretending life was perfect.

They shared.
They supported.
They challenged each other, with honesty, compassion, and zero ego.

And I realized… I had been trying to do everything alone for one reason: fear.

Here are a few ways we hold ourselves back (yes, I’ve done all of these):

• Thinking we have to be perfect before we’re “ready”
• Waiting to be invited instead of stepping forward
• Carrying every failure like it’s a personal flaw
• Believing we need to “do it all” to earn success
• Avoiding hard conversations to keep the peace
• Staying small to avoid being seen as “too much”

Sound familiar?

Here’s the wild part: today I work with some of the most brilliant, powerhouse women you can imagine.

Women running 8-figure companies.
Women leading high-growth start-ups.
Women changing their industries.
Women scaling teams with courage and clarity.
Women building wealth, raising families, rewriting generational stories.

And guess what? Not a single one of them did it alone.

Here’s the truth every woman leader needs to hear:

Your peer group determines your ceiling. And they can raise you up. Your community shapes your confidence. And gives you perspective you never saw. Your circle influences your courage.

You can’t scale a business if you’re shrinking yourself  and you can’t lead boldly if you’re doing everything alone. Simply stated, you can’t grow into your next chapter without women who say, “I see you. Keep going.”

The women you surround yourself with aren’t a luxury. They’re a strategy.

If we want more women leading companies, building wealth, and transforming industries, we have to stop trying to carry the whole world by ourselves.

It’s time to let other women stand with us, because that’s where the real power is.

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