One of the most frequent topics in conversations with managers is the limits that everyone comes up against at some point. Boundaries are important to all of us – they let us distinguish things from one another, finish one thing, start another; they are also self-protection. But boundaries show us again and again how stretchable our limits are. Most people want clear boundaries – to know where they stand. But also to then overcome and redefine them.

One of the basic questions of management and self-management should therefore always be whether we are dealing with real limits or supposed ones, pseudo-limits. Accepting boundaries where they appear is often a tragedy in people’s lives. My suggestion is to deal with the thought that borders are never where you accept them to be, but that they are much further away than you suspect and imagine.

I emphasize: to deal with the thought… Maybe you put it aside, with or without reasons, without changing anything in your life and that’s fine then. Whether you want to explore your limits and even exceed them, each and everyone must decide for themselves. There will probably never be a majority that does so, except in emergency and coercive situations. The minority, however, that does, sets the new standards, points out the new horizons and proves that crossing boundaries is also part of the essence of human beings. Encouraging these people to do this, challenging them and supporting them in the process is what I consider to be one of the finest leadership tasks, and not just for young people.

We humans want clear boundaries to know where we stand. But also to overcome them, to redefine them. Most people seem to be permanently pushed to the limits of their capabilities. Not only stress, but anxiety and the feeling of being at the limit, the feeling of being constantly overtaxed, determine the daily lives of many employees as well as those of their bosses. This pressure seems to be felt regardless of whether someone is ultimately successful or not.

The experience of limits – perceived and real, externally determined and self-imposed – touches the core of human performance and achievement. It determines one’s attitude toward the economy as a whole and toward the organization for which one works. More than that, I believe it also determines the way we live our lives.

This is one of the most important leadership issues today, and it is a key to work-life integration. Ultimately, experience and confrontation with boundaries determine basic questions of human existence. While it is possible to overwork people, it is more difficult than most believe, precisely because people can accomplish much more than they and others believe possible.

In my experience, contrary to popular belief, it is actually quite common for people to accomplish great things that no one including themselves would have thought possible or believed possible. This is one of the most impressive manifestations of being human, and therefore I feel it is a duty and responsibility as a management teacher to pointing this out. To persist in the negative, to keep people down, is a professional and personal failure program and ultimately inhumane.

As a boss and a leader, who are particularly fond of drawing attention to potentials and opportunities, you may not always be welcome everywhere. But in relation to what you can bring about in those who take up the opportunities, it doesn’t matter much. It’s part of being a leader.

Experiencing limits – perceived and real, externally imposed and self-imposed – touches the core of human performance and being human.

Best wishes

Fredmund Malik

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