To lead others effectively, leaders need to learn how to take care of themselves first. A balanced diet and enough sleep are only a part of the picture. Self-care starts with healthy boundaries.
Leaders take on too much for many different reasons:
🔹 A belief that a true leader should be indispensable, and the more they will take on, the more people will need them.
🔹 For a new leader, it might be a way to prove to be worthy of the promotion.
🔹 Or it could be an honest desire to help their teammates.
No matter the reason, the result of constantly saying YES is a manager’s burnout and passive, demotivated team.
As a repeated offender of saying YES, I can testify that to start saying NO is not that easy. Here are a few suggestions that might help:
✨ Yes, but… is a much easier way to establish boundaries instead of hard NO. Yes, but not right now; yes, but only after I finish that. By saying YES BUT, you create expectations that you are ready to step up, but right now, you have something requiring your immediate attention.
✨ Eye for an eye approach (but in a very peaceful way). “I can help if you are ready to take something else from my plate”. Delegating tasks to your direct reports is a sign of trust and a possibility for a team member to grow.
✨ No, because… This one is the hardest one for me, as I still need to say the harsh word “NO”. But you might be surprised how understanding people can be if they were given a reasonable explanation why you can’t help.