Boundaries for Leaders: Results, Relationships, and Being Ridiculously in Charge

by Henry Cloud

When I say “isolated” I’m talking about the unnecessary risks leaders take when they don’t seek out any form of support or input and are shielded. And I would go further and say that leaders need more input and more support than the kind that is available inside the organization or from the board of directors. Most leaders have a mentor or a boss inside the company who acts as an important sounding board, but that is still a “closed system.” What I’m talking about is outside support and input—support from people who can be objective, who don’t have a vested interest in outcomes, other than their care for the leader and his personal and professional growth. That should be their one interest—wanting to help the leader do well for himself and for whomever his stakeholders are. Sometimes these inputs are needed to help a leader refuel or develop, stay motivated, get through a valley, or overcome obstacles. Sometimes they are needed to protect the leader from his own worst instincts. At other times, they provide new ways of doing things in the business or new models of leading for a particular circumstance. Leaders need outside voices to provide emotional and functional support, not just so they can avoid mistakes but also so they can grow as leaders.