I nearly got run off the road this morning. On my left, the driver kept straying over the center line into the right lane.
“Stay in your lane,” is what I wanted to shout. Crossing the line is not only annoying, but it can also be dangerous. “Stay in your lane” could be a mantra for leaders about the importance of boundaries in business.
As a leader, you have several roles related to boundaries in the workplace:
- Set and maintain good boundaries for yourself
- Establish and articulate boundaries for the team
- Monitor and maintain team boundaries
- Respond and repair when boundaries are violated.
Your first job is to have clear boundaries for yourself, both personally and professionally. Your management of boundaries serves as the model for boundaries within your team. Once you manage your own boundaries successfully you are equipped to manage boundaries within your team.
Two things to keep in mind when setting boundaries: make them few and make them important. Too many boundaries create confusion, exhaustion and opportunities for conflict. Your role as the leader is to monitor the team’s process and progress; and to issue warnings if it appears boundary violations are imminent. Recognizing potential problems ahead of time can help the team to make boundary adjustments, rather than responding to damage when a boundary is violated.
The first step in setting good boundaries, whether for yourself or your team, is awareness. Know what is essential for you or the team to function at your best and what are the absolute deal breakers. For your personal boundaries, identify what energizes you, what drains your energy and what takes you off track. Encourage the team to make the same assessment for themselves individually and for the team as a unit.
Communicate boundaries within your team in ways that are clear and respectful. When individuals express their boundaries, they don’t need to defend, debate, or detail their feelings. For the team, boundaries should be negotiated and agreed upon by consensus, understanding that as the leader, you may need to negotiate the middle ground between competing priorities.
Once you’ve created a boundary, view it like a lane marker. It keeps things moving safely in the right direction and separates what is acceptable from what is not. When multiple lines of traffic are flowing in the same direction, it’s important that any intention to change lanes is clearly signaled. Where the lane splits into two lanes or widens to accommodate a curve or a turn, do it with intention, clarity, and consistency.
As the leader, you may need to act like the Department of Highway Safety to make sure that the lane markers are clearly visible or to see if new lanes need to be drawn.
Make sure that team members stay in their lane or make changes safely. When you do, the whole team arrives at your destination without delays or crashes.