How to Set Boundaries

How do you create boundaries at work so that you are not overwhelmed, so that you are not stressed, so that you are not working 24/7, and when you're with your friends and family all you're doing is thinking about work? How do you create boundaries so that you can focus on your key priorities and move your business forward, inspire your team to achieve all of the results that are set out in front of you, and still have a well-rounded healthy life? So the first thing you need to do is you need to get really clear on your priorities. You must know exactly what the top four or five wildly important goals are that you have for yourself as a leader and then for your team.

And when different tasks, when different projects, when different ideas come in from other people, before you say "yes", before you start working on them, you come back to your list of top priorities and see, does it fit under one of these four or five key, big goals? And if not, you decline and say, "Maybe we will work on this later." So, that is the first step. The second thing you want to do is, you need to be very comfortable at saying "no". You need to be able to say, "Not right now. This isn't what I'm working on." And you also need to be able to say "no" for your team and teach your team how to say "no". In our culture, "yes" and "I will help you" and "glad to work on that", those are the norms. But in order to be enabled to be a leader that has a healthy, well-rounded life, you must be able to say "no". And the third tactic for having boundaries is to understand your values as a human being.

So, for example, if you value movement and exercise, you need to be clear on that. If you value time with friends and family, which you definitely should, be clear on that. If you value sleep, if you value rest time, if you value time where you want to be learning and growing, if you value volunteer work, you need to be really clear on the values that you have in your life so that when you are setting those boundaries and when you are following through you know why. It's not just because you don't want to be working until 10:00 p.m. six nights a week. It's because you want to be true to your values and you also want to set an amazing example for your team. To learn more about how to be a happy leader and to dive into all of my eight steps to being a happy leader and stopping the overwhelmed, thriving personally, and achieving killer business results, go to Be A Happy Leader Book now. Grab your bonuses and pre-order the book.