UIP- Episode 17: Boundaries as Strategy
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[00:00:00] This is unapologetically in Power, the podcast for ambitious women who are done performing and ready to lead from their unapologetic truth. I am Jennifer Damaskos and here. We don't play small in this space. We dismantle burnout, reclaim your energy and activate the unapologetic leader you are always meant to be, so you can lead, earn, and live from your unapologetic self.
We've spent the last two [00:01:00] episodes uncovering the hidden architecture of burnout. First, the identity shadows that quietly drive your decisions, and then the power leaks that silently drain your energy and profit. But here's the next piece. Even once you see the shadows and patch the leaks, you still need a framework that keeps the drains from coming back.
That framework is strategic boundaries, not just personal boundaries, not just say no more often or protect your calendar. I'm talking about boundaries as business strategy, the intentional structures that protect your energy, expand your capacity, and position you as the leader of your business rather than the manager of everyone else's expectations.
Boundaries aren't just about defense, they're about design. [00:02:00] And when you build them with intention, they become one of the most powerful strategies for scaling your business without scaling your burnout. So I used to think boundaries were about saying, no, to the client request outside of scope, and to the late night email that could wait until morning.
No to the endless quick calls that derailed my day. But here's what I learned the hard way. Boundaries aren't walls, they're architecture. The wake up call came during what I now call my golden handcuffs quarter. On paper, it looked like success. More clients than I'd ever had, consistent revenue, a calendar that was full.
But instead of feeling proud, I felt trapped. Here's what my life looked like, available from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM because that's what entrepreneurs do. [00:03:00] Answering client texts on weekends, because I don't want them to think I'm not committed taking every client who could pay, regardless of whether they were a good fit.
Over delivering on every project because I was afraid of disappointing anyone. I had left corporate to create freedom, but without clear boundaries, I had simply built a new version of the same cage.
The breaking point came when a client texted me at 7:00 PM on a Friday demanding changes to work. We'd completed months earlier. My first instinct was to drop everything and fix it. My second instinct was the deeper truth. I wasn't running my business. My clients were. That's when I reframed boundaries from being about rejection.
To being about architectural design [00:04:00] boundaries weren't just what I said no to. They were what I was saying yes to my energy, my creativity, my leadership, my vision when I began implementing what I now call strategic boundary architecture. The change was immediate. My days became spacious enough for strategy again.
My clients respected the lines I set, and in fact appreciated the clarity. I attracted more aligned opportunities because my message and my time had focus boundaries didn't cost me growth. They gave me back my freedom and positioned me as a leader instead of an employee my own business. Here's what the research reveals about boundaries as business strategy.
Harvard Business Review of 2023, leaders with strong boundary systems [00:05:00] are 53% more effective at strategic decision making, and 67% less likely to experience burnout McKinsey's women in the workplace 2023. Women leaders with clear boundaries are 2.3 times more likely to advance in their careers and report higher overall satisfaction.
Stanford research on decision fatigue. Leaders without boundaries experience a 23% decline in cognitive performance. By day's end, meaning weaker boundaries equals weaker strategy. Gallup 2023 Teams led by boundary Clear Leaders report higher engagement, productivity, and retention. Dr. Brene Brown's work says, clear boundaries, [00:06:00] increase trust and reduce conflict making leaders feel more competent, not less accommodating.
The key insight here is boundaries. Don't just protect your time. They actually increase your authority, your impact, and your long-term success. Here are six categories where boundaries shift everything. The first being time boundaries, ones look like back-to-back calls. Evening work. No time for vision.
Strategic boundaries look like dedicated CEO time, clear work hours, buffer days for creativity. Your second boundary client boundaries. Weak ones are saying yes to wrong fit clients and having an endless scope creep. [00:07:00] Strategic ones look like aligned client criteria, clear scopes of work, respectful expectations.
The third boundary is money boundaries. Weak ones are discounting over-delivering, avoiding difficult money conversations. Strategic money boundaries look like pricing that reflects value. Firm payment terms charging for all work. The fourth boundary team boundaries. Weak ones are doing delegated work yourself and absorbing drama.
Strategic ones look like role clarity, accountability systems leadership instead of management. The fifth boundary [00:08:00] emotional boundaries. Weak ones look like carrying everyone else's stress and rescuing instead of leading. Strategic emotional boundaries look like holding space without holding responsibility, prioritizing your own nervous system.
And the last one, visibility boundaries. Weak ones look like diluting your message, saying yes to every platform over explaining. Strategic boundaries is owning your voice unapologetically.
Choosing depth over breadth, aligning with values. When you treat boundaries as strategy instead of self-care, everything changes. So the practical, here's your practical strategic boundary blueprint for today. [00:09:00] Yay. Step one, boundary leak assessment. So where do you feel the most resentful in your business?
Which tasks or relationships drain you fastest? Where do you most often override your own rules?
The next step we need to look at is our cost benefit reflection. So what is this leak costing you in time, energy, or missed opportunities? What would be possible if you reclaimed that capacity?
Then we strategically reframe this instead of asking what do I need to say no to ask? What am I saying yes to when I hold this boundary? The next step is the [00:10:00] architecture plan. So you choose one boundary to implement this week. You define it clearly, you communicate it with confidence, you enforce it at least once, and the last step is your boundary check-in.
So notice the energy you gain. Notice how others respond. Refine the boundary if needed. You'll be surprised how much freedom and power you reclaim from just one line drawn with intention and this is exactly why Rise module two, reveal includes comprehensive boundary work because shadows create the burnout, leak, strain, the power, but boundaries.
Boundaries, protect your transformation and make it sustainable. So inside module two, we go [00:11:00] deep into boundary architecture. It's building boundaries that reinforce your future self. The emotional leadership method, holding boundaries without guilt or apology energy reallocation framework channeling reclaimed capacity into growth boundary communication scripts.
So boundaries are respected without defensiveness. Team boundary training. Teaching your team to uphold boundaries alongside you because you can't scale chaos. You can only scale. Clarity and boundaries so let me ask you, where is your business craving boundaries right now? What would change if you designed your business to protect your energy instead of drain it?
How much more powerful would every yes feel if it was intentional, aligned, [00:12:00] and sustainable? The longer you delay building boundaries, the more the leaks return. But the moment you implement them as strategy, you reclaim your role as the CEO of your business and the creator of your future.
And if you're ready for the tools, frameworks, and community that help you architect the right boundaries for your leadership rise, enrollment is open now. This is unapologetically in power. I'm Jennifer Damaskos, and your boundaries are not walls. They are the architecture of your freedom.
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