Guest Post: Setting and Maintaining Boundaries with Others by Mark Sachs

The ability for us to set boundaries and limits with others effectively has a huge impact on our ability to do our best work.  Examples of setting boundaries are telling people “no” when it is appropriate and telling others what is acceptable to you.  Effectively setting and maintaining boundaries helps you take better care of yourself, maintain self-respect, and increase your ability to control your work and your life.

The inability to set and maintain boundaries effectively with others often results in projects not being completed to plan, on time and on budget; people allowing others to take advantage of them, and miscommunication.

To help organizations prevent these pitfalls to productivity I have developed the highly interactive and experiential workshop, Getting What You Want:  Setting and Maintaining Boundaries with Others. Participants in this workshop will learn:

• What a boundary is 
• Examples of setting effective boundaries  
• Why it is often difficult for us to set and maintain boundaries 
• What you can do to help set and maintain boundaries, and five simple, essential steps to doing it effectively 

The workshop also provides participants with a 10-page boundaries handbook.

Time is provided for the opportunity to discuss with others, in a confidential setting, any boundary issues you are facing and to receive feedback from the facilitator and others about how you may best work through these situations.

The workshop also provides an opportunity for you to start to take action on setting or enforcing a boundary. 

People who are interested in making changes to set and maintain boundaries often require encouragement beyond the initial workshop.  In addition to the half or full-day workshop, at no additional cost, participants can take advantage of individual telephone consultations with the facilitator for two weeks following the training.  These consultations can include celebrating any successes or receiving coaching about any difficulties in setting a specific boundary.     

The workshop has been presented to both private and public sector organizations including NASA, FEMA, FDA, IRS, and Department of Agriculture. 

See what others had to say about this highly interactive and valuable workshop:

• The interaction and openness was great.  Mark let the conversation flow while not diverging from the core topic.  Very well done.
• I liked how we worked in small groups and we talked about real issues we were dealing with.
• It was helpful to see movie clips of boundaries issues and discuss them. 
• The boundaries handbook we were given had lots of helpful information.  I also liked the boundaries affirmations card he gave to us.  

If you or your organization is interested in learning more about setting and maintaining boundaries then this insightful and informative workshop is a great way to start!

About the Facilitator:

Mark Sachs is an organization consultant and executive coach. His areas of specialization include increasing communication among staff, developing effective teams, assessing organizational effectiveness, and managing change.  He has an MS in Organization Development from the American University/NTL Institute, and BA and MA degrees in Sociology from Rutgers University.  He is also a graduate of Coach University.  

Mark may be reached at ma.sachs@verizon.net, 301-588-3858, and www.markasachs.com