Think of a company’s operations as the wheels on a bus. They keep everything moving forward. Your role is crucial ensuring it stays on track by maintaining strong relationships across teams.
Building healthy interdepartmental relationships is a unique skill, and it comes with its own challenges. One client, a leader in research ops, shared her concerns about career stagnation with me, saying:
“I feel trapped trying to make everyone happy. I’m overcommitted and they think I’m a pushover. Can you help me grow a spine?”
This situation resonated deeply with me, and it might with you as well. If your career has stalled because you’re too accommodating, this episode is for you.
I’ll show you how to transform your niceness into a strength that actually enhances your reputation. If you want others to respect you, you need to respect yourself first.
Understanding Niceness vs. Kindness in Leadership
First, let’s start by understanding the difference between ‘niceness’ and ‘kindness‘ in leadership.
Niceness often means avoiding conflict and overcommitting which can lead to burnout. Kindness, rooted in respect and honesty, benefits both you and your organization.
How can you be kind while still asserting yourself effectively? Let’s explore the art of setting boundaries.
The Power of Setting Boundaries for Effective Leadership
First, you might need to reframe how you think about boundaries. Boundaries aren’t barriers. They are essential frameworks for healthy, productive relationships. Without them, effective leadership is impossible.
Knowing what you can and can’t do protects your well-being and shows strong leadership. Making this a habit can help you advance in your career.
I’ve found that when clients create a practice for boundary setting, it can be helpful in staying firm and focused. Maybe you could establish a weekly ritual for reflection on your boundaries. This can be as simple as making two lists: one for activities that energize you and another for those that drain your energy due to a lack of boundaries.
A coach can be a great resource for helping you find and set boundaries that match your goals.
Once you know what boundaries you need and want, communicate them clearly to your team so everyone knows the rules. Don’t assume they’ll just figure it out.
Practical Boundary-Setting Examples
- Meetings going off track? Keep discussions focused by saying, ‘Let’s stick to our current agenda and schedule a follow-up for additional topics.’
- Too many requests eating into your personal time? Respond with, ‘I’m unavailable at that time. Can we schedule another slot?’
- Facing multiple top-priority projects? Say, ‘I can only focus on projects aligned with our strategic goals.’
- Overwhelmed with too many emails? Set up an automated reply that says, ‘I will respond within 24 hours. For urgent matters, please call.’
- Interrupted frequently by your team? Suggest, ‘Let’s schedule a daily 10-minute check-in for your questions so we can stay aligned and reduce bottlenecks.’
Four Steps to Strategic Boundaries
Here are four steps you can start taking today to get stronger at setting boundaries that feel ‘just right’:
- Craft Impactful Statements: Craft concise and impactful statements that will help you with boundary-setting. Write them down and practice them regularly, to make them a natural part of your vocabulary.
- Practice Pausing: Practice pausing before responding in conversations to make sure your replies are more thoughtful.
- Challenge Assumptions: Be mindful of your assumptions. You don’t have to respond to every request immediately.
- Maintain Consistency: Be consistent in communicating your boundaries. Over time, this consistency will shift perceptions from being a pushover to being firm and kind.
I know that by experimenting with these strategies, you’ll transform your kindness into a strength, paving the way for bigger things.
I’ll leave you with this question: What is one boundary you can set today that will help you feel more in control of your time and energy?
If you’re eager to take your boundary-setting skills to the next level, don’t miss episode 20, ‘How Operations Execs Master Boundary-Setting’ to learn about overcoming obstacles for personal and professional growth. You’ll find it at yourfuturerealized.com/20.
You can’t stop the chaos, but you can change the game.
