3 Ways To Create Healthy Boundaries In Business
Jacob Morgan
5x Best-Selling Author, Futurist, & Keynote Speaker. Founder of Future Of Work Leaders (Global CHRO Community). Focused on Leadership, The Future of Work, & Employee Experience
This is part of LinkedIn's new Newsletter Series. To get weekly exclusive CEO interviews, and insights on leadership, the future of work, and employee experience hit the "subscribe" button above.
Being able to effectively create boundaries is a very important skill for everyone to master. But, creating boundaries can sometimes be a bit awkward and uncomfortable.
For the first few years of my career I was terrible at creating boundaries. I said yes to everything and everyone until I finally got burned out. One day I realized that I wasn't actually doing anything I needed or wanted to do, instead I was doing what other people wanted me to do!
It was time for a change. I learned how to say no to other people and things so that I could say yes to myself and the projects I wanted to work on.
There are 3 effective strategies you can use for creating boundaries.
1) Find a nice way to say "no" - You don't have to be a jerk. For example, when someone asks me to do something that I don't want to do, I might respond with something like, "Thanks so much for the opportunity, I really appreciate you thinking of me for the project but unfortunately I'm not a good fit, best of luck with it though!"
2) Don't fill the space - This is especially crucial in the world of sales. Oftentimes we tell someone how much something costs and then we get so uncomfortable that we start filling the space with noise. For example, "I'd be happy to help with you project, this is something I charge $10k for." .... silence.... "But, I'm happy to do it for $8k for you." .....silence...."How much do you want to pay for it?" Say what you need to say and then shut up! Let the silence linger.
3) Don't bend the rules - If you set up certain policies or rules for yourself then stick to them. If you don't do work with friends or family members then stick to that rule. If you don't do work for free, then stick to that. If you don't offer discounts...then don't! Of course, there are exceptions to every rule, but you get the idea.
My lovely wife Blake Morgan, made a video about this which you can see below.
If you want more content like this then make sure to subscribe to the Be Your Own Boss Podcast Youtube Channel where we teach you how you can be your own boss.
If you want to catch some of our behind the scenes stuff you can also follow us on Instagram!
Blake and I made lots of mistakes during our entrepreneurial journeys and learned things the hard way, but you don’t have to.
Whether you are considering going off on your own or you already have, this will be a valuable resource for you. Download our PDF on the 7 things you need to master if you want to be a successful entrepreneur.
__________________________________________________________________________
If you enjoyed the article and want more content like this here’s what you can do:
- Subscribe to The BYOB Podcast Newsletter to get notified when a new episode comes out (once a week).
- Subscribe to our Youtube channel where we talk about these things in much more detail including sharing our personal stories.
- You can also connect with us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Youtube, and Linkedin.
- If you're interested in sponsoring or have suggestions for the show, you can send us an email at [email protected].
Passionate about helping professionals develop self-awareness, build personal bandwidth, and pursue meaningful change.??
9 个月I used to be commuting all across the country, attending sales meetings and accompanying our account managers. I wanted them to feel supported and was always a pushover when it came to "Jeff, they can only meet in a city 1,000 miles from home on Friday afternoon." I would consistently say "yes". Then I set boundaries, okay, I will accept meetings anywhere, anytime, as long as I leave my home airport no earlier than 8 am on Monday and am back at my home airport at 6 pm on Friday. What happened? They still asked me for meetings, to make exceptions, and, I accepted. It was only until I learned to not only set the boundaries but police them, that I got the space and boundary I desired.
Dad | Husband | Ghostwriter/Ghostblogger | Area Facility Manager II @Fermilab
4 年Boundaries are a difficult thing to get right, I think I read in the 4-Hour Work Week, maybe someplace else, that "every yes, is a no to something else". That took me a little bit to process until I was exhausted doing things for others and I was suffering. This is a great reminder read, thanks for posting, Marcus
Great article! The 3 tips speak to an underlying desire to avoid conflict/people-please due to the perceived negative consequences (someone will think poorly of me/disapproval etc). Boundary-setting becomes easier when we become more comfortable with potential disapproval.
Thank you for writing about this topic! As a coach who focuses my coaching practice on those who are burned out, a lack of boundaries is one of the most common issues contributing to burnout. I have written a book about creating AND enforcing boundaries effectively.