Beyond Boundaries Blog:
Unlocking Potential at the
Edge of Possibilities
I used to dream about work every night. I'd solve problems in my sleep, then wake up tired and not able to think straight.
The strange part was that I thought I was doing a great job.
My team was really happy. Everyone was getting along well with one another. And I was the one in the background ru...
"The numbers look good, so why does my team look like they hate me?"
I hear some version of that from leaders a lot. They're pushing hard because that's the job. The targets are getting hit. And the team is getting quieter and more tired.
A lot of us were taught that we have to pick one. Push for ...
One of my biggest strengths as a leader has also been one of my biggest blind spots.
I can see the big picture. I can see where we're heading and every step it'll take to get there. So I give everyone the training and the information they need, and then I expect them to get on with it.
What I have...
A while back, I asked ChatGPT how to handle a situation with someone in my team.
The advice I got was pretty helpful. It gave me simple steps and some really good questions to ask. But it never asked me a single question about me.
If I didn't know better, I would have walked into that meeting quie...
"I've already told them."
I hear that from leaders all the time. And what I'd love to know is, what did you ask them?
Last week I wrote about the habits we already know we have. This week it's the conversation that keeps coming back. Same person, same issue, and a few weeks later you're saying it ...
"I know I'm doing it. It's just what I always do."
I hear some version of that from experienced leaders all the time. Smart, reflective people who've read the books and done the courses. They can describe their habit in detail, down to exactly when it shows up, and it still runs.
If that sounds fami...
There's a version of being a good leader that looks a lot like being available. Answering every message. Picking up the part of a project that's stalled. Stepping in the moment someone's stuck rather than watching them sit in it a while longer. It feels like care. For a long time, I called it care t...
You've named the trap three times this month. Rescuing a struggling team member because it feels good to have the answers. Redoing someone's work because it feels good to be right. Getting defensive the second you're challenged because being questioned feels like being attacked.
Three different mom...
You know the moment. Someone challenges a decision in a meeting, or pushes back on something you thought was already settled, and before they've even finished their sentence you're explaining why you're right. Your voice goes up half a notch. The explanation runs a bit longer than it needed to. And ...
For years I told myself I had high standards. The truth was simpler and less flattering: I was correcting everything before anyone else got the chance to.
A report would land on my desk and I'd rewrite half of it before it even went out. We'd be in a meeting, someone would make a call, and I'd quie...
You care about your team. You're available, you're hands-on, and when someone comes to you with a problem, you help. That's not the issue.
The issue is what "helping" has quietly turned into. If you're the one who ends up solving most of the problems your team brings you, you're not leading them...
There's a specific kind of tired that has nothing to do with hours worked. You walk out of a team meeting having filled every gap, smoothed every tension, done the thinking your people should have done themselves. You had the conversation that needed having, but you softened it enough that you're no...