You always get what you create and what you allow

We change our behavior when the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of changing. Consequences give us the pain that motivates us to change. —Dr. Henry Cloud

In the real estate business, a boundary is a property line that defines ownership, control, and responsibility. It sets limits on the activities allowed on the property. In the same way, organizational boundaries, and how they are shaped and defined, can lead to leadership success or failure. When leaders set suitable and hale and hearty expectations that are aligned with people’s behavior, companies and their employees grow vigorously and healthily. Boundaries give form, and form is a requisite in putting together anything that flourishes. Talented leaders can bring themselves to the next level or turn stressed circumstances around if they set the essential boundaries, which usually take some proactive focus.

The book Boundaries for Leaders by clinical psychologist Dr. Henry Cloud describes how effective leaders lay down the prospects and perimeters to generate the results they want from their people and from themselves. Starting with an articulate account of how the human brain actually works, the author then relates those workings of the brain to the most crucial facets of a leader’s work: managing teams, coaching direct reports, and inspiring an organization with formidable principles and an enlightened culture.

The tome shares seven leadership boundaries that make leadership work or not work, and show how they set the tone and climate for performance: the vision, focus, attention and activities that create forward movement; the emotional climate of the organization and its culture; the unity and connectedness of the organization and the teams; the thinking and beliefs of the organization; the amount and kinds of control and empowerment that people have; the performance and development of their teams and direct reports; and the leadership of oneself, which entails establishing one’s own boundaries. Here are some valuable takeaways from Cloud’s work:

“Performance values” are key in building teams. These are the ideals of a group that impact purposely on results, where you must identify the behaviors that are going to bring those values to completion and make solemn agreements to live those behaviors out and hold each other accountable. But key here is defining the right values. If a hospital, for example, wants to be known as the safest hospital in the city, then one value would be precision and zero mistakes. And there would be a lot of behaviors that could make that come true. There would be zero tolerance for risky behavior that could lead to a mistake.

A leader without self-boundaries is a dangerous threat to the vision of an organization. The highest leaders are the stewards of the company’s vision and they are expected to get what they “create or allow to happen.” They are in charge of themselves — managing their own egos and morale. Several self-boundaries are important but one of the more important aspects is the recognition of “patterns” in the organization, and being able to lead oneself enough to step in and address those patterns when they occur is a major part of the work. If the leader does not do that, those patterns become fixed in the DNA and the identity of the organization and its vision is put in danger of being lost. Thus, the leader must watch the leader, as what happens to him becomes part of the organization.

Prioritizing time, money and staff for the right activities is done intentionally. Several things are key here: the process of moving from key goals and objectives to defining what the team’s outlook will be, aligning the roles and responsibilities of the members of the teams with the desired outcomes, defining the activities that will drive the results, measuring the drivers in those specific roles, and pruning the “good things” that are taking resources away from the “best things,” stuff that belongs to yesterday, those that are “sick and not going to get well,” and things that are already dead and are just taking up space.

The personal and interpersonal sides of leadership are every bit as important as vision and execution. All these happen with and through people. The people side of it all makes vision and execution happen. So, you must focus on who the people are, what they are doing, how they are doing it, and what you are doing to help them do it better. People are the energy that drives it all, and leaders must be bringing that energy to fruition in ways that are usable and effective. After all, leadership is about harnessing energy, and it takes good boundaries to make that happen.

Leadership is about turning a vision into reality. It’s about producing real results in a real world. When leaders lead in ways that people’s brains can follow, good results follow as well.  The leaders who get results are helping people to get their brains to work.

A leader builds and maintains a “positive emotional climate.” It is crucial that employees can bring more freely their brains, gifts, energy and hearts to their workplaces. Leaders have to pay attention to the beliefs, experiences and emotions of the people who work for them or live in their home.  The position of leader carries more emotional and psychological weight than one can imagine. 

 â€¢ A leader’s responsibility is to preserve relationships and get results. It can be achieved by keeping the employees connected in proximity and frequency, where “face to face” time with co-workers is promoted and used as a tool to keep everyone well informed.

A leader is a cheerleader. He provides optimism and gets results by focusing the team on what they can control and giving them the freedom to pursue clear goals.

A leader prohibits distractions and toxic behavior. He disallows individual agendas, silos, or divisions. He encourages members of an executive team to look “horizontally” across the organization instead of “vertically,” concerned only with looking out for the needs of their particular division or departments.

Whenever a leader threatens with anger or guilt, it shuts down the parts of the brain that perform.  It activates the reactive fight or flight.  “People will push against you and fight or move away.  Neither is what you want,” Cloud states.  Yelling at kids to get something done or scare them won’t work.  “Your kid’s brain is shutting down,” he adds. You can have clear expectations without being harsh, critical or demeaning.

A leader requires continuous feedback. He seeks counsel from outsiders so there is an inflow of new ideas and perspectives.

As a leader dealing with a serious illness, you must communicate early with your people and customers. Do this while you take care of your health. This was what Google CEO Larry Page did exactly. He revealed that he’d been diagnosed with vocal cord paralysis, a rare nerve condition in the throat that affected his ability to speak, which he contracted 14 years ago. The ailment caused him to miss some important company events and investor calls. What Page did was a sharp contrast to how the late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs’ medical condition was handled. For a long time, no one knew what was wrong with him, and people started to speculate. For a company that wants to be in control of its own narrative, be the first to tell the real deal, since when you’re not telling the story, then other people will tell it for you. Rather than let rumors spread, Page took control. In a Google+ post he explained the diagnosis, how he got sick and what the future holds for both his health and his involvement at Google.

As a leader, you cannot control what other people say and do, but you can control how you react and make your own choices, and how to go about executing your choices. Boundaries help put relationships into a future that is healthy, caring, and nurturing. Cloud explains, “Physical boundaries help you determine who may touch you and under what circumstances. Mental boundaries give you the freedom to have your own thoughts and opinions. Emotional boundaries help you deal with your own emotions and disengage from the harmful, manipulative emotions of others.”  Boundaries for Leaders reminds you that as a leader, “you always get what you create and what you allow.”

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