NextGen Know-How: The importance of boundaries in leadership (and life)

On a recent Wednesday night, I was attending a parent association meeting at my childrens’ school. These meetings have historically run long, sometimes going until 9:30 p.m. or later. I go to bed at 9:30 on weeknights, so the day after these meetings, I would wake up feeling tired and sluggish, negatively impacting the rest of my week. But I realized I have a choice in this situation. Instead of feeling obligated to stay until the end of the meeting, I created a boundary: For weeknight meetings, I would leave by 8:30 p.m. No exceptions. I let the president of the parent association know ahead of time, and at the next meeting, I collected my things at 8:30, said goodbye and headed home.

Boundaries are an essential part of leadership. Without boundaries, our days become a haze of activity without focus or accomplishing anything of value. When you don’t have boundaries, everyone else’s emergencies become your emergencies.

I like to think of it this way: Boundaries create structure. Structure creates freedom.

Boundaries allow you to focus and work at your peak. They protect your time and energy so you can work at your best. So you can be your best.

 

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