Set boundaries for yourself

September 2, 2021
Reading Time: 2 minutes
Home 9 +Good Newsletter 9 Set boundaries for yourself

This week, while scrolling Instagram, a quote from Adam Grant stopped me in my tracks: 

Bad bosses mistake visibility for value. They reward face time over impact.

Good bosses know reputation isn’t a proxy for results. They reward performance over presence.

Great bosses know quality work depends of quality of life. They offer flexibility as a right, not a reward. 

Wow. Yes. All of that. 

Our team is unique. As we’ve shared before, we work entirely asynchronously and have structured our whole company to accommodate extremely flexible schedules. 

We know you probably don’t have quite that same level of freedom. 

But here’s the deal:

You deserve a schedule that works for your life, not a life that constantly bends to the will of your work schedule. 

This gets complicated for nonprofit leaders because we love what we do. We’re making lives better. We’re having an impact. We’re changing the world. So we should bend over backwards to accommodate our work. We should respond at all hours. We should be available. Right? 

I lived in this posture for years—and all I got was exhaustion, frustration, and a severe case of workaholism. Turns out it’s healthy to pause. Turns out people respect you more when you set boundaries. And turns out you really do need a life outside of work—even when that work is good and meaningful and beloved.

So the question is how? 

How do you set boundaries for yourself?

And, if you’re a leader, how do you cultivate a culture of trust and freedom for your team? How do you become one of Adam Grant’s “great bosses” who offers flexibility as a right, not a reward? 

Our team is still learning. And I am definitely still learning. But here are a few questions to get you started: 

Your work is awesome. But think how much more awesome it would be if you got to do it on your own terms. 

Allison Kooser

Allison is Chief Storyteller at Swell+Good, where she partners with amazing organizations to help them bring their stories to life. She is an avid traveler, an expert takeout orderer, and a big believer in curiosity and kindness. She tries to learn something new every day, and she reads, writes, and paddleboards more than the average human.
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