Your Leadership Blind Spots Might Be Undermining You—How to Set Better Boundaries at Work
You believe you're covering every base—motivating your team, setting clear expectations, and managing time off effectively. But are your actions putting out the vibe you’re intending?
Leadership blind spots don’t come from bad intentions, they stem from habits that seem helpful but slowly erode trust, boundaries, and productivity.
The strongest leaders aren’t the ones who assume they’ve got it all figured out. They’re the ones who recognize when their actions misalign with their values and course-correct before their team starts silently (or not-so-silently) resenting them.
Let’s explore six leadership blind spots that might be undermining you and how to fix them before they cause your best people to rage quit on you.
Blind Spot #1: Are You Being Transparent or Just Spilling Tea?
Every leader thinks they value transparency. But oversharing or gossip disguised as honesty can make things real weird real fast.
Transparency is about clarity and leadership, not about dragging employees into unnecessary drama or unloading personal baggage like an impromptu reality TV confessional.
❌ The mistake: Assuming that openly discussing frustrations with employees fosters trust.
✅ The fix: Keep your venting level-appropriate, share experiences without gossip, and only provide information that actually benefits your team.
🚨 Examples of Leadership Venting Gone Very Wrong:
❌ "Upper management keeps making terrible decisions—this place is a sinking ship." → Spawns negativity, not leadership. Also, who wants to work on a sinking ship??
❌ "I heard someone’s getting divorced, and she’s already dating someone new." → Unless your team moonlights as tabloid journalists (and even then), they do not need or possibly even want this info.
💡 Better Leadership Communication:
Instead of venting about workplace frustrations, say "Leadership is still looking over options. Once they make a decision, I’ll let you know and we’ll figure out how to approach [our work]."
Instead of gossiping about someone’s personal life, show some compassion and say "She’s going through some major life changes. If we need to address specific issues with her about [xyz thing falling behind], we can do that, but otherwise let’s offer support where we can."
📌 If sharing doesn’t directly help your team or clarify work-related issues, leave out the extra details because it’s just unnecessary noise.
Blind Spot #2: Are You Empowering Your Team or Leaving Them to Struggle Alone?
Leaders also know that having a team that has autonomy is important and necessary to build trust, but trusting your team doesn’t mean abandoning them when they need structured support.
❌ The mistake: Assuming employees will "figure it out" without clear guidance, check-ins, or workload adjustments.
✅ The fix: Balance trust with availability and structured accountability.
🚨 Signs You’re Trusting Too Much Without Supporting Enough:
❌ Assigning tasks without considering their full workload (not just responsibilities in your department).
❌ Only checking in casually for the hot goss or to shoot the breeze, but not offering meaningful guidance or adjustments.
❌ Shifting accountability when mishaps occur (because they absolutely will) and pinning the blame on someone else or even your employee instead of handling it as a team can leave everyone feeling unsupported. It’s no fun to be at work feeling like you’re stuck playing a solo game of hot potato.
💡 Better Leadership Strategies:
Factor all work into an employee’s bandwidth. Not just the stuff YOU assigned or even oversee. If you’re not sure, do not assume. Ask!
Help employees reprioritize when additional responsibilities pile up. There should always be time to catch up through casual conversation, but that alone is not what you there for as a leader. Check in about their new puppy but also follow up it up by asking if they are running into any barriers on their important projects.
Own Accountability and Back Up Your Team When Things Go Wrong.
Your role as a leader is to support employees and clear the path for them to succeed. Staying objective under pressure isn’t always easy, but your team will benefit when you do. Before assigning blame, take a step back to identify whether the root issue lies with an individual or a process. No matter what, start with a team-centered approach because, in the end, you and your team are on the same side.
📌 Ultimately, empowerment isn’t about stepping back completely, it’s about stepping in strategically.
Blind Spot #3: Are Your Feedback Sessions Actually Helpful, or Just Anxiety-Inducing?
If feedback sessions feel like a cutscene you’d rather skip, there’s probably a reason everyone dreads them. It may be time to re-evaluate your strategies to ensure they foster open dialogue and meaningful growth. And also, keep the awkwardness at a minimum.
❌ The mistake: Treating feedback as a one-way evaluation or criticism instead of a two-way collaboration.
✅ The fix: Make feedback an ongoing discussion instead of a periodic judgment session where employees brace themselves like contestants in an elimination round.
💡 Better Leadership Strategies:
Start with open-ended questions. "What’s working well? Any challenges I can help with?"
Brainstorm improvements together. "What adjustments would make this process smoother?"
Recognize strengths along with areas for improvement. Feedback shouldn’t only be about fixing mistakes.
Engage with respect, empathy, and dignity. If progressive discipline becomes necessary, be as clear as possible about next steps so employees aren’t blindsided. Disciplinary actions should never be about punishment; they’re an opportunity for growth and development. However, they should be used thoughtfully, ensuring that every possible support and adjustment has been explored first.
📌 The best feedback, even when hard to give or hear, should make employees feel supported not stressed and disrespected.
Blind Spot #4: Are You Protecting Your Team’s Workload—Or Just Piling On More Work?
Leaders often shield their employees from external distractions but forget that they might be the ones accidentally overloading their team.
❌ The mistake: Assigning extra projects without checking if people already have too much on their plates.
✅ The fix: Make assignments collaborative, not top-down directives with an urgency that screams "drop everything!"
🚨 Signs You’re Overloading Employees Without Realizing It:
❌ Focusing on urgency instead of actual capacity.
❌ Delegating without discussion, creating pressure instead of engagement.
❌ Misidentifying team overwhelm as a time management issue instead of a workload issue.
💡 Better Leadership Strategies:
Frame work distribution as a collaborative discussion. "While this is important and needs to get completed, I’d like to figure out how we can tackle it while balancing what you’ve already got on your plate."
Ask employees how new work fits into their current priorities. "Where does this fall in your workflow? Do we need to shift anything?"
Give employees control over how they integrate new tasks. Instead of saying "I need this ASAP," ask "What timeline works best for you?" Or "We are expected to have this completed by [x date], do you feel this is achievable or is there anything we can move around to make it happen?"
🚀 Fun side note: There will be times when work must be assigned quickly, leaving little room for discussion. But here’s the key—if you've already fostered a culture of collaboration and transparency, employees will trust your decisions even when flexibility is limited.
In those moments:
✅ Communicate clearly. "I wish we had time to plan this out, but this is a hard deadline for us. I appreciate you stepping up."
✅ Follow up afterward. "Thank you for taking on that last-minute request. It was not ideal. I have a few ideas on how we can avoid getting into a bind next time, but I wanted to hear how you think it went and any ideas you have."
✅ Use urgency sparingly. If everything is a crisis, trust erodes. Make urgency the exception, not the rule.
📌 This approach strengthens trust, minimizes frustration, and helps both you and your team work smarter, not just harder.
Blind Spot #5: Are You Treating PTO Like a Perk Instead of a Responsibility?
A great leader doesn’t just approve vacation requests, they actively encourage employees to take time off without guilt or judgment.
❌ The mistake: Treating PTO like you’re doing your team a favor rather than a benefit employees are usually entitled to.
✅ The fix: Build a culture where taking time off is encouraged, supported, and free from unnecessary scrutiny.
🚨 The Hidden Problem: Vacation Shaming
Ever heard the subtle digs when someone dares to use their PTO?
❌ "Must be nice to just take off whenever!"
❌ "Guess we’ll have to pick up the slack AGAIN."
❌ "Wish I had time for vacations!"
When PTO is framed as an inconvenience, employees hesitate to take time off, or worse, feel guilty for leaving their coworkers overwhelmed.
The Key Distinction:
If it’s just negativity, shut it down. Remind the team that rested employees perform better and time off is meant to be used.
If workload distribution is a real issue, address it, not by discouraging PTO but by making operational adjustments so work isn’t constantly falling on the same people or falling behind.
💡 Better Leadership Strategies:
Proactively adjust workload before PTO happens. Don’t wait until an employee is gone to figure things out.
Communicate expectations clearly. Talk to your team about how coverage will work while someone is away.
Make PTO a normal part of workflow planning. Encourage open discussions about coverage needs before time off, ensuring that if workload challenges arise, the team can work with leadership to adjust expectations or redistribute tasks proactively.
📌 When PTO is treated as a planned part of team operations rather than an inconvenience, employees feel supported in using their benefits without guilt or backlash.
Blind Spot #6: Are You Always Available—And Accidentally Making Your Team Feel Like They Should Be Too?
Speaking of vacations and time off, many leaders believe being responsive at all hours proves dedication, but what it really does is pressure employees into feeling they should be online, too.
❌ The mistake: Constantly checking emails on vacation, late at night, or during personal time, thinking it sets a good example.
✅ The fix: Model real boundaries by stepping away from work so your team feels safe doing the same.
🚨 The Real Impact of Always Being Available:
❌ It undermines trust. If you’re constantly checking in, employees may feel you don’t trust them to handle things independently.
❌ It creates guilt. When employees see leadership working through vacations and weekends, they feel obligated to do the same, even when they don’t want to.
❌ It makes work-life balance feel impossible. If leaders don’t respect their own time, employees won’t believe they can either.
💡 Better Leadership Strategies:
Set response expectations in advance. Let your team know:
"I don’t respond outside of work hours unless it's an emergency. If something is truly urgent, here’s how to escalate it."Publicly normalize boundary-setting. Reinforce the message:
"The best work happens when we take real breaks. No one should feel like they need to be online all the time."Stop celebrating “always-on” behavior. Instead of praising employees for working through PTO or “maxing out” of their vacation time, recognize them for actually protecting and taking their time away:
"I love that you protect your time off! Taking care of yourself and your personal life is so important."Use delayed email sending. Instead of hitting send at midnight, schedule emails to go out during work hours so employees don’t feel pressure to answer immediately (and yes, I am personally guilty of this one!).
Delegate urgent items with trust. Plan ahead with your team’s preferences, but sometimes just copying them in a response is enough. This ensures the sender gets their answer while reinforcing trust and encouraging your team to do the same when they step away.
📌 Leadership isn’t about being always-on, it’s about proving that balance matters so your team can bring their best to work and life.
Let’s be real. You wouldn’t still be reading this if you weren’t committed to being a great leader. And that’s exactly why this matters. Leadership blind spots aren’t about your intention (I know your heart is in the right place); they’re about impact.
Being a great leader isn’t about never making mistakes. It’s about recognizing when your habits create unnecessary stress and making adjustments before small issues turn into bigger problems.
The strongest teams aren’t built by perfect leaders, they are built by those who listen, learn, and evolve.
🚨 Which leadership habit did you once believe you were doing well, but later realized needed a bit of an overhaul? Share your insights below!
Want to get serious about Boundaries? Sign up for my new Boundaries Unpacked Class!
🔥 Enjoyed this? Sign up for my newsletter to get actionable strategies sent straight to you!
