Boundaries Blog — Boundaries for Leaders
Five Practices of Successful Thinkers
There are several dimensions to how successful leaders think that are important to know, but I want to focus on five especially. If you want to develop your thinking, the following practices will serve you well.
1. Know Your Cognitive Style
Your cognitive style refers to the way you process information from your environment. It has to do with how you read journal articles, how you listen to what others tell you, and how you draw conclusions based on how you observe the workplace. One key aspect of cognitive style is whether your thinking tends to be linear or nonlinear.Linear thinkers are …
Setting Boundaries at Work
While I (Dr. Cloud) was consulting with one of the biggest companies in North America, an employee told me, "We would be so much better off if my boss would set better boundaries on what goes on with individuals on our team. He plays the 'nice guy' role too much, and as a result, the team suffers."
Surprisingly, a lack of confrontation goes in the other direction as well. One vice president told me something I hear often as a consultant: "I wish my people would come clean with me. I wish they would tell me what they really think. I wish they would be more open and direct. But they are scared to do that."...
Are You Ridiculously in Charge as a Leader?
Recently I (Dr. Cloud) was discussing personnel issues with a CEO. I asked him why he thought those problems were there. He talked about some reasons, most of which had to do with the various players involved, and also the "constellations" of a few teams. But then I asked him a simple question. "And why is that?" I asked.
"What do you mean? I think it is the reasons I just said."
"I know the reasons you said, but why do those reasons exist?" I continued.
"I don't get it. What do you mean?" he asked further.
"Who is the leader? Who is in charge of the culture? Who is in charge of the ways that it is working, the fact that all of that exists?" I pushed....
This One Belief Can Predict Success
It was the Fourth of July and I (Dr. Cloud) was at a celebration that included a memorial "paddle out" on surfboards in the Pacific Ocean to honor and remember my brother-in-law, Mark. He was a Navy SEAL, a great American, husband, father, hero, brother, and a friend. Mark died on a mission in Iraq in 2008.
My ten-year-old daughter Olivia, wanted to participate in the paddle-out to honor her uncle. So, we borrowed a surfboard and began to walk out to the beach where the surfers were gathering, with me carrying the board....
Why Leaders Need to Set Boundaries in the Workplace
What do boundaries for leaders look like at work? They are made up of two essential things: what you create and what you allow. A "boundary" is a property line. It defines where your property begins and ends. If you think about your home, on your property, you can define what is going to happen there, and what is not.
As a leader in the workplace, you are in charge of the vision, the people you invite in, what the goals and purposes are going to be, what behavior is going to be allowed and what isn't. Leaders build and allow the culture. You set the agenda, and you make the rules. And what you find there, you own. It is your creation or your allowances that have made it be. Simply stated, the leaders' boundaries define and shape what is going to be and what isn't. In the end, as a leader, you are always going to get a combination of two things: what you create and what you allow....