Henry Cloud and John Townsend have written extensively about boundaries. In their titular book on the topic, they wrote, “We need to set mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual boundaries for our lives to help us distinguish what is our responsibility and what isn’t.” Essentially, boundaries are the things we say no to.
Boundaries also help us say yes to what is really important. When we set boundaries, we can also set priorities. Priorities are what you say yes to.
There are four things you can do to help you set boundaries and priorities. I call these the four e’s: evaluate, execute, empower, and erase.
1: Evaluate — When a potential task comes up, the first thing to do is to evaluate it. Before you assign something to yourself or your team, you must first decide if it’s something you and your team should do. The litmus test for this can be if it helps fulfill your and your team’s purpose.
2: Execute — If you decide to make something a priority, then either you or your team will say yes to it. If you say yes to it, then it is your responsibility to execute it.
3: Empower — Something might be a no for you. However, it could be a yes for your team. In this scenario, you need to empower them to do it. Before you delegate work to your team, you do need to consider their boundaries.
4: Erase — Something might be a no for you and a no for your team. In this scenario, you have no other choice but to erase it from your to-do list. Sometimes we have to say no to good things. Priorities and boundaries go hand-in-hand. You can’t have priorities if you don’t have boundaries. You can’t say yes if you don’t say no.
Think about it: Evaluate the things that you regularly do as a leader. What can you execute? What can you empower your team to do? What can you erase?
A Leader Worth Imitating, Principles 22 & 23: Boundaries & Priorities
Nick Chellsen 