A hot topic for the workplace is flexibility. Flexible schedules, flexible work styles, flexible approaches to problem-solving… flexibility is great. But here’s the thing, if you are an overly flexible manager without any boundaries, you may be setting yourself for failure, and maybe a little chaos.
If you’re going to be flexible, you have to be crystal clear about your non-negotiables. Boundaries aren’t the opposite of flexibility, they are what make flexibility actually work. Think of it like this: you can bend, stretch, and pivot all you want, but if there’s no floor under your feet, eventually you’re going to fall flat on your face.
Boundaries are your foundation. They help your team succeed by giving them guardrails for how you expect them to behave. They’re the things your team should never ignore: honesty, accountability, respect, trust. You can be flexible about how someone approaches a project, when they take their lunch break, or even how they communicate, but you can’t be flexible about core values. Without those guardrails, flexibility becomes permission for people to push limits in ways you never intended.
As a manager, setting boundaries doesn’t make you rigid. It makes you smart. It makes your team understand what’s expected and supports their success. It makes mistakes forgivable and conflicts resolvable. And frankly, it keeps people from taking advantage of your good nature which, trust me, intentionally or unintentionally, happens more often than you think.
So, if you’re the “I’m flexible with everything!” type, take a step back. Ask yourself: what are the things I will not compromise on? Communicate those loudly, clearly, and often. Then, go ahead and be flexible everywhere else. Because flexibility without boundaries is like giving someone the keys to a car without telling them how to drive. And we all know how that ends. If you are like me, you end up in your neighbors lawn because you thought you had to really stomp on that gas pedal.
Here’s the thing: you don’t have to do it alone. If you want your team to really understand your non-negotiables or the culture you’re trying to create, reach out, let’s talk through how you remove that chaos. Clarity + communication = consistency. And consistency is what turns your flexibility into a superpower instead of a mess.