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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.)

India’s Diplomatic Role in Escalating Global Conflicts

Updated: Oct 22, 2024

India’s Diplomatic Role

The world is deeply concerned about peace, especially with two ongoing conflicts–the Russia-Ukraine war and the one between Israel and its foes. Amidst the ongoing tensions, India has good relations with all the conflicting nations, like Russia, Ukraine, the US, Europe, Israel, Lebanon, Iran, and the entire Arab world. Recently, there have been rumours of an amicable truce with China, which could open the floodgates for mutual trade. As a result, India is being welcomed by all.

President Vladimir Putin’s recent remarks, where he stated that Russia would consider an attack from a non-nuclear state that was backed by a nuclear-armed one to be a “joint attack,” have raised eyebrows. Does this imply a threat of using nuclear weapons in the war in Ukraine? On Wednesday, September 25, Putin said his government was considering changing the rules and preconditions around which Russia would use its nuclear arsenal. In response to this threat, Zelensky is expected to receive an additional supply of lethal weapons that could pose a threat to the heart of Russia. US President Joe Biden is in favour of continuing aid to Ukraine as a last effort to support it during the final months of his tenure. A lot depends on the upcoming elections in the US. If Kamla Harris gets elected, this policy will continue, and if Trump wins, the aid to Ukraine will immediately stop. Zelensky visited the US, frantically and desperately trying to extract maximum help from Trump. On the other hand, Putin may be manoeuvring behind the scenes to ensure Trump’s success.

What’s interesting to see is how India is reacting to all of this. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is emerging as a mediator and peace broker. Prime Minister Narendra Modi met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in New York on the sidelines of the United Nations General and reiterated India’s support for an early resolution of the conflict and the restoration of peace and stability in the region. A losing side (Ukraine) cannot dictate terms for the truce; hence, Ukraine is left with no option but to compromise unless there is a miracle that has the potential to create a turnaround of events. PM Modi advised Zelensky that war cannot be stopped on his terms, but it can only stop if he is ready for a ‘resolution.’

What potential solutions could Ukraine adopt?

  • Pledging not to join NATO

  • Concede Crimea, occupied by Russia at the beginning of this war, as part of Russia.

  • Not to have a defence treaty with the US or any of the NATO countries.

  • Zelensky should resign, and a new head must be appointed on Russia’s recommendation.

Accepting some or all of these terms could effectively make Ukraine a subordinate nation to Russia. Modi, along with the active participation of External Affairs Minister S. Jayshankar, could play a crucial role in devising a solution acceptable to both sides while safeguarding the dignity and pride of each–a highly challenging task.

Many global leaders, from China’s Xi Jinping to Erdogan of Turkey, have attempted a similar strategy, but nothing has come to fruition yet. These two leaders are arms suppliers to Russia, and Ukraine finds it impossible to accept any suggestions from such mediators.

India continues to have trade relations with Russia despite US sanctions and provides humanitarian aid to Ukraine, but does not export arms to either one of them. This makes Modi acceptable to both sides.

Israel-Lebanon conflict

In the second major conflict involving Israel and its adversaries, Netanyahu is conducting airstrikes against Lebanon and is now escalating ground operations. Lebanon is aware that the only power that can deter Israel is the US. However, the US continues to supply shipments of arms and ammunition to Israel. Multiple nations, including India, have appealed for a ceasefire. However, Netanyahu is in no mood to arrive at a peaceful solution.

Meanwhile, the US has made little effort to restrain Netanyahu. Anticipating a large-scale war, many nations have issued advisories to their nationals. India too has issued three such advisories in the last 48 hours for its citizens to leave Lebanon. Similar to the situation of the Russia-Ukraine war, India shares good relations with Israel and the Arab world. In many Arab countries, Modi has been conferred with the highest civilian award. In the UN general assembly, India abstained whenever a resolution condemning Israel was moved and kept supporting the cause of Palestine to exist.

Having said that, much depends on the fulcrum of the US presidential election, which is around the corner.

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