Beyond Boundaries Blog:
Unlocking Potential at the
Edge of Possibilities
"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...
Edge of Possibilities | Liz Murray | Leadership Reading time: 6 minutes
The pillar that makes every other leadership skill work
Three weeks ago, we talked about the skill most people ignore, the one that doesn't show up on a scorecard. Two weeks ago, we named the specific moments it shows up in. L...
Edge of Possibilities | Liz Murray | Leadership Reading time: 5 minutes
You already know the theory. Listen more, react less. It's easy to nod along to that in a workshop. It's a different thing entirely when someone's in front of you, frustrated, maybe even accusing you of something that isn't fai...
The truth about emotional intelligence at work
Low emotional intelligence doesn't announce itself. Nobody stands up in a meeting and says "I can't take feedback" or "I need to be right more than I need to be effective." It sh...
Edge of Possibilities | Liz Murray | Leadership Reading time: 6 minutes
You got here on competence. You solve problems faster than most people in the room, you make the calls nobody else wants to make, and on paper, you're doing everything right.
So why does it feel like something's still not land...
By Liz Murray | Edge of Possibilities
There is a type of leader I recognise immediately.
They move through the day competently. Meetings run. Decisions get made. The team sees someone steady and capable. To the people around them, everything looks fine.
Underneath? It's different. There's a ve...