Establishing and Maintaining Boundaries

Your workplace probably includes a group of people that have come together to accomplish individual parts of a group task.  Working on a task involves setting parameters and establishing boundaries for how, where and when the work is going to be done and who is going to do it. 

A job description should set the basic parameters or boundaries for individual responsibilities, but these boundaries will probably need to be further defined.  Interpersonal parameters should be negotiated as well.  Both professional and interpersonal boundaries are important for leaders because they will substantially impact workplace productivity.

Factors in establishing professional boundaries include:

who gives you assignments,

to whom you report,

who gives you feedback.

Factors in setting interpersonal parameters include:

the tone people use with you and each other,

the attitude and approach others take with you and their co-workers. 

For example, some people scream or yell to get others to listen or pay attention.  As a leader, you need to decide whether or not you will tolerate this type of behavior from your staff.  And, as an individual, you will have to decide if you will allow colleagues or supervisors to scream or yell at you in the workplace.

This type of behavior can totally destroy the ability of people to perform their jobs.  To be an effective leader, you will need to be aware of how unidentified boundaries, a lack of boundaries, or rigid and unyielding boundaries impact your organization and employees.

This is where you can use the active listening skills from the communications module.  Active listening plays a big role in establishing and maintaining boundaries since this can be done through the communication loop – through speaking, listening and understanding. (Active listening is discussed in Leadership and Communication).

Every workplace and every job description is different, so the boundaries may be different. In each situation, you will need to work out the parameters of your boundaries.  Don't hesitate to ask for help if you are having difficulty. Find someone you can trust and someone who knows something about your situation and ask for help.

Once you have established boundaries, if someone transgresses your boundaries – meaning, when you feel uncomfortable – you must be willing to say you are uncomfortable and be willing to try to negotiate something else. 

Example: Someone crosses your boundaries

Your colleague Laura wants to give you a story assignment that you believe has been assigned to her.  You could begin the process of maintaining your boundaries by saying, “I'm afraid I don't understand what you are saying.  Are you asking me to take on this story?  There must be some misunderstanding because I take my assignments from Ruth.  I was under the impression that she gave this story to you.  Perhaps we should speak to Ruth jointly and clarify this.”

Example: You cross someone else’s boundaries.

You tell Laura that you are working on a story.  She replies, “I thought I was responsible for that.  Ruth assigned that to me.”  One approach is to ask Laura if you have said or done something she feels was inappropriate, and then ask her to clarify her understanding of the assignment.  If there are still questions or differences of opinions, you can approach your supervisor together.

These types of responses can get you into a larger dialogue about what occurred.  It can also bring you closer to resolving the conflict by bringing in people that have responsibility in this area, such as your supervisor.

If these types of responses do not come easily to you, practice with a friend, spouse, relative or colleague who can help you work through these types of situations.  If that doesn't work or if you need more help, consider engaging a personal coach or a career counselor.  You can always learn more from a professional in this field.