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By:

Rahul Kulkarni

30 March 2025 at 3:32:54 pm

The Boundary Collapse

When kindness becomes micromanagement It started with a simple leave request.   “Hey, can I take Friday off? Need a personal day,” Meera messaged Rohit. Rohit replied instantly:   “Of course. All good. Just stay reachable if anything urgent comes up.”   He meant it as reassurance. But the team didn’t hear reassurance. They heard a rule.   By noon, two things had shifted inside The Workshop:   Meera felt guilty for even asking. Everyone else quietly updated their mental handbook: Leave is...

The Boundary Collapse

When kindness becomes micromanagement It started with a simple leave request.   “Hey, can I take Friday off? Need a personal day,” Meera messaged Rohit. Rohit replied instantly:   “Of course. All good. Just stay reachable if anything urgent comes up.”   He meant it as reassurance. But the team didn’t hear reassurance. They heard a rule.   By noon, two things had shifted inside The Workshop:   Meera felt guilty for even asking. Everyone else quietly updated their mental handbook: Leave is allowed… but not really. This is boundary collapse… when a leader’s good intentions unintentionally blur the limits that protect autonomy and rest. When care quietly turns into control Founders rarely intend to micromanage.   What looks like control from the outside often starts as care from the inside. “Let me help before something breaks.” “Let me stay involved so we don’t lose time.” “Loop me in… I don’t want you stressed.” Supportive tone.   Good intentions.   But one invisible truth defines workplace psychology: When power says “optional,” it never feels optional.
So when a client requested a revision, Rohit gently pinged:   “If you’re free, could you take a look?” Of course she logged in.   Of course she handled it.   And by Monday, the cultural shift was complete: Leave = location change, not a boundary.   A founder’s instinct had quietly become a system. Pattern 1: The Generous Micromanager Modern micromanagement rarely looks aggressive. It looks thoughtful :   “Let me refine this so you’re not stuck.” “I’ll review it quickly.”   “Share drafts so we stay aligned.”   Leaders believe they’re being helpful. Teams hear:   “You don’t fully trust me.” “I should check with you before finishing anything.”   “My decisions aren’t final.” Gentle micromanagement shrinks ownership faster than harsh micromanagement ever did because people can’t challenge kindness. Pattern 2: Cultural conditioning around availability In many Indian workplaces, “time off” has an unspoken footnote: Be reachable. Just in case. No one says it directly.   No one pushes back openly.   The expectation survives through habit: Leave… but monitor messages. Rest… but don’t disconnect. Recover… but stay alert. Contrast this with a global team we worked with: A designer wrote,   “I’ll be off Friday, but available if needed.” Her manager replied:   “If you’re working on your off-day, we mismanaged the workload… not the boundary.”   One conversation.   Two cultural philosophies.   Two completely different emotional outcomes.   Pattern 3: The override reflex Every founder has a version of this reflex.   Whenever Rohit sensed risk, real or imagined, he stepped in: Rewriting copy.   Adjusting a design.   Rescoping a task.   Reframing an email. Always fast.   Always polite.   Always “just helping.” But each override delivered one message:   “Your autonomy is conditional.” You own decisions…   until the founder feels uneasy.   You take initiative…   until instinct replaces delegation.   No confrontation.   No drama.   Just quiet erosion of confidence.   The family-business amplification Boundary collapse becomes extreme in family-managed companies.   We worked with one firm where four family members… founder, spouse, father, cousin… all had informal authority. Everyone cared.   Everyone meant well.   But for employees, decision-making became a maze: Strategy approved by the founder.   Aesthetics by the spouse.   Finance by the father. Tone by the cousin.   They didn’t need leadership.   They needed clarity.   Good intentions without boundaries create internal anarchy. The global contrast A European product team offered a striking counterexample.   There, the founder rarely intervened mid-stream… not because of distance, but because of design:   “If you own the decision, you own the consequences.” Decision rights were clear.   Escalation paths were explicit.   Authority didn’t shift with mood or urgency. No late-night edits.   No surprise rewrites.   No “quick checks.”   No emotional overrides. As one designer put it:   “If my boss wants to intervene, he has to call a decision review. That friction protects my autonomy.” The result:   Faster execution, higher ownership and zero emotional whiplash. Boundaries weren’t personal.   They were structural .   That difference changes everything. Why boundary collapse is so costly Its damage is not dramatic.   It’s cumulative.   People stop resting → you get presence, not energy.   People stop taking initiative → decisions freeze.   People stop trusting empowerment → autonomy becomes theatre.   People start anticipating the boss → performance becomes emotional labour.   People burn out silently → not from work, but from vigilance.   Boundary collapse doesn’t create chaos.   It creates hyper-alertness, the heaviest tax on any team. The real paradox Leaders think they’re being supportive. Teams experience supervision.   Leaders assume boundaries are obvious. Teams see boundaries as fluid. Leaders think autonomy is granted. Teams act as though autonomy can be revoked at any moment. This is the Boundary Collapse → a misunderstanding born not from intent, but from the invisible weight of power. Micromanagement today rarely looks like anger.   More often,   it looks like kindness without limits. (Rahul Kulkarni is Co-founder at PPS Consulting. He patterns the human mechanics of scaling where workplace behavior quietly shapes business outcomes. Views personal.)

Breaking Barriers, One Dive at A Time

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Janhavi Deodhar becomes India and UAE’s youngest female PADI course director

Breaking Barriers, One Dive at A Time
Breaking Barriers, One Dive at A Time

Mumbai: In a groundbreaking achievement that challenges societal norms and paves the way for future generations, Janhavi Deodhar, 23 years old from Mumbai has become India and UAE’s youngest female scuba diving PADI Course Director (professional association of diving instructors)


This remarkable feat not only showcases her exceptional skills and passion for the underwater world but also serves as a beacon of inspiration for aspiring female divers and educators.


Janhavi's journey to becoming a PADI Course Director began at a young age when she first discovered her love for the ocean at the age of 16 in Malvan, Sindhudurg her native town.


Driven by her curiosity and a desire to explore the depths, she embarked on a rigorous training program to obtain her scuba diving certifications and marking her first milestone as "One of the youngest PADI female specialty instructor from India in PADI" at the age of 20.


Her dedication and talent quickly set her apart, and she rapidly progressed through the ranks of diving education and diving industry.


As a youngest and first female Indian PADI Course Director, Deodhar is responsible for training and certifying other individuals in scuba diving.


Her role involves teaching a wide range of diving Instructors , from beginner to advanced levels, and ensuring the safety and well-being of her students. Her expertise and enthusiasm have made her a highly sought-after instructor, and she has mentored countless pro level candidates and individuals in their underwater adventures and professional career.


Janhavi's achievement is particularly significant, given the underrepresentation of women in the field of scuba diving.


By breaking this glass ceiling, she is not only inspiring other young women to pursue their dreams but also contributing to a more diverse and inclusive diving community.


Her accomplishment is a testament to her hard work, perseverance, and unwavering belief in herself.

It is a reminder that with passion, dedication, and a willingness to take risks, anything is possible.

"The ocean has always called to me. Its vastness, its mysteries, its silent beauty – it was an allure I couldn’t resist,” says Deodhar.


She started diving young, captivated by the underwater world and its incredible inhabitants. What began as a passion quickly morphed into a desire to share this experience, to guide others on their own underwater journeys.


The training was rigorous, demanding, but she thrived on the challenge.


“I loved teaching, sharing the knowledge I had acquired, and seeing the joy in others' eyes as they discovered the magic of scuba diving. But my ambitions were deeper and wider reaching far beyond the confines of my instructor certification. I wanted to be a PADI Course Director, the highest level of instruction in the diving world,” she says.


However, the journey to becoming a Course Director is long and arduous. It requires extensive training, and a commitment that borders on obsession. For a young woman, the challenges were even greater. The diving world, for too long, has been a male-dominated field.


“I faced skepticism, doubt, and the weight of expectations. But I was determined to prove that age and gender were no barriers to my dreams. I dedicated myself to the training, pouring every ounce of energy into honing my skills,” she says.


Days bled into nights, filled with studying, practicing, and immersing myself in the intricacies of diving theory and practice. The financial strain was considerable, demanding careful budgeting and sacrifices. But the fire within her burned brighter than any obstacle. The pressure was immense, but her dedication, commitment and passion had prepared her for this moment.


“When the results were announced, and I learned I had become the youngest Indian female PADI Course Director it felt like a culmination of unwavering dedication, passion, and hard work. It was more than just an achievement – it was a victory for all women who dare to dream big and push boundaries. Looking back, I wouldn’t trade a single moment. It was a journey that shaped me, forged my character, and taught me the true meaning of perseverance.”


Now, as Deodhar stands before my students, eager to learn and embark on their own diving journeys, she carries the weight of their aspirations and the responsibility to guide them with the same passion and dedication that fueled my own journey.


“My hope is that my story will inspire other young women, showing them that anything is possible if they dare to dream big and dive deep into their passions," she says.

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