Boundaries
“Who you are speaks so loudly I cannot hear what you say.” Emerson
Trust is earned, not conferred. Creating, nurturing and maintaining a healthy culture founded in trust is critical. Trust is not immutable, its fluid, constantly ebbing and flowing based on every relationship in the organization. Trust balance is vital to overall health of the company and a solid performance based culture. Boundaries are a critical element required to foster a trust based environment. Boundaries are the web within which conduct, performance, innovation, collaboration and communication reside.
Boundaries ensure your teams know your expectations. We train people how to treat us. This is true at all levels of a business. Boundaries are expectations on behavior, performance, communication and the basis for interactions. They can be written, but often are not. They are companywide and department or leader specific. Boundary infringement or breaking boundaries creates chaos, instability, ineffective leadership resulting in employee defection and ultimately can bring down any company.
Boundaries create a sense of belonging and safety which enables the employee to relax and contribute at their peak potential. The purpose of boundaries is to provide employees the opportunity to fully actualize as an individual identity while creating space for personal evolution and growth. It’s the seat of collaboration, creativity, innovation and growth. Healthy boundaries create cultures rich with potential. Healthy boundaries are a web that cradles the company, departments, teams and individual in a collective, while empowering the individual to thrive in safety and security.
Leadership is a great privilege and responsibility. Coaching leaders to master behaviors that support a healthy culture is an investment that pays dividends for years to come. Mentoring and coaching should be part of your culture. Learning, growing and evolving is a journey, not a destination. By investing in the development of your leaders, you ensure baseline outcomes such as clear healthy boundaries which results in process improvement, innovation, leader succession, retention. The natural outcome is a healthy bottom line and a thriving culture. Coaching and mentoring create a culture of continuous improvement. Healthy boundaries create a performance culture!
