Life is a helluva lot more empowering when you switch from a victim mindset to that of a creator…☺️

Say you have a subdivision that is gated (leader’s team rules), many homes will still have their own fencing and security systems (personal boundaries).  

This post is focused on employees at all levels the employee experience spectrum.  

Creating Safety

A sense of safety is crucial for ensuring an overall positive employee experience. While leaders have a large role to play in ensuring #psychologicalsafety, employees have a role to play, too.  

Leaders are responsible for the outer perimeter of safety. This is done by ensuring team rules are established, communicated and enforced. Employees are responsible for their boundaries of safety. This is done by ensuring your preferences and expectations (aka “boundaries”) are known by the entire team.  

Boundary Setting

Here are some thoughts on boundary setting in the workplace:

🚧 Set them: What are your boundaries? How do you prefer to work? What do you need to be successful? Think about it in terms of communication, decision making, focus/concentration, motivation tendencies, personality, risk tolerance, etc. 

🚧 Communicate them: The best time to establish boundaries are in the beginning of any relationship. This is especially true in the manager-employee relationship. In the first one-on-one, ensure there’s time to review both sets of expectations and form alignment. Teammates and stakeholders can be limited to key expectations with a reciprocal ask of their expectations of you.

🚧 Reinforce them: When a boundary is crossed, gently remind or inform that individual in private. Remember, people will treat you the way you allow them to treat you. So reinforce your boundaries early and often.  

🚧 Analyze them: Every so often ensure that you examine your boundaries. Which are holding up? Which are not? Which are getting in the way and causing an issue on the team or with a stakeholder. Be able and willing to flex a boundary. 

In Closing

Boundaries are a necessary and healthy part of human interaction. As is the case with most things, the earlier they’re establish in a relationship, the better chance you have of avoiding needless misunderstanding and frustrations. All things that result in negative employee experiences.  

What are your thoughts or experiences with boundary setting? What else can employees do on their own to establish safety in the workplace?