People Who Want Boundaries

If you want management to get out of your way so you can do the job, it may throw you off when you encounter a team or an individual that prefers the opposite.

And yet they exist. Some people prefer boundaries, especially in workplaces that stress employment at will and where discipline seems to be arbitrary. "Tell me," they say, "what you want and don't want so I'll know if I'm near the edge of a cliff."

These are not unimaginative or stupid people. In many cases, they are merely responding to the system and the more authority you give them, the more threatened they feel. Clarify the boundaries, let them know what it takes to get fired, and you'll see a positive change because right now they may sense that anything will get them fired.