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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.)

Repo Cuts, Liquidity Surge

The RBI’s bold policy pivot delivers liquidity, confidence and a nudge toward Viksit Bharat.

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For the third consecutive week, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has dominated the headlines. It first released a record surplus transfer to the government, then followed up with a strong annual report despite global uncertainties. Most recently, the RBI, in its Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, surprised analysts with a sharp 50-basis-point cut in the repo rate and an even more significant 100-basis-point reduction in the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR). Much like a perfectly timed cover drive by Virat Kohli, these moves are precise, strategic, and reinforce India's economic resilience.


The MPC was established under the Finance Act of 2016, replacing the earlier system where the RBI Governor solely made policy decisions. It consists of six members—three from the RBI, including the Governor as chairperson, and three appointed by the government. Its main role is to keep inflation within the target range of 4 percent, with a 2 percent tolerance in either direction. Decisions are made by majority vote, with the latest one passed by a 5:1 majority.


The MPC uses key policy tools like the repo rate and CRR to manage inflation and support economic growth. The repo rate is the RBI’s lending rate to commercial banks and serves as the benchmark for interest rates across banks and NBFCs. The CRR is the portion of demand and time liabilities that banks are required to maintain with the RBI. By adjusting these levers, the MPC regulates liquidity in the financial system, promoting long-term economic expansion.


The 50-basis-point repo rate cut signals policy decisiveness over gradualism, aiming to boost monetary transmission and market confidence. A phased 100-basis-point CRR cut from September 6, 2025, will release Rs. 2.5 trillion, adding to the Rs. 7.4 trillion already infused this year. Together, these steps underscore the RBI’s push to sustain credit flow and economic growth. Lower rates reduce lending costs, lift bond markets, and ease borrowing for businesses and governments—key levers the RBI is banking on to drive consumption and investment.


Since adopting inflation targeting in 2016, the MPC has consistently ensured price stability through timely interventions. Encouraged by the rebound in economic momentum in H2 FY25 and normal monsoon expectations, the RBI revised its FY26 inflation forecast down to 3.7 percent from 4 percent, citing subdued food prices and stable core inflation. April 2025 inflation stood at 3.2 percent, the lower end of the tolerance band, allowing room for rate easing to boost GDP growth without breaching the inflation threshold.


The MPC’s measures aim to sharply cut borrowing costs, making loans more affordable across sectors. With the repo rate at 5.50 percent, home, auto, personal, and corporate loan rates are set to fall, spurring credit demand, investment, and consumption. Rate-sensitive sectors like real estate, automobiles, and consumer durables stand to gain, especially in mid- and affordable housing.


The phased 100-basis-point CRR cut will inject Rs. 2.5 trillion into the system, boosting banks’ lending capacity and easing funding costs—particularly aiding MSMEs and businesses with floating-rate loans. Lower interest costs improve profitability and global competitiveness.


While these steps bolster investor and business confidence, they may reduce Fixed Deposit returns, pushing savers toward riskier assets like mutual funds and equities. This is a boon for markets, but a concern for risk-averse retirees.


Uncertainty over the US Federal Reserve's stance may impact the rupee-dollar exchange rate. A weaker rupee could drive up crude oil import costs, feeding into inflation. However, with record-high forex reserves, the RBI is well-equipped to intervene in the currency markets and contain inflationary risks.


Increased liquidity may raise demand and inflationary pressures. Yet, despite Rs. 7.4 trillion being injected since January 2025, April inflation remains at historic lows. The RBI’s phased CRR cut ensures a controlled liquidity flow, avoiding sudden spikes and preserving macroeconomic stability.


The RBI has shifted its policy stance from ‘Accommodative’ to ‘Neutral,’ signalling greater flexibility in response to economic changes. The Governor has assured that incoming data will be closely monitored, with timely interventions as needed. While maintaining an optimistic outlook on India’s prospects, the RBI remains committed to agility and vigilance.


The full impact of these policy measures will take time to play out, but the RBI remains confident in its 6.5 percent GDP growth projection. Should conditions align, further moves toward a 7 percent growth trajectory could follow. The central bank’s proactive approach remains a cornerstone of India’s march toward the Viksit Bharat vision.


(The writer is a Chartered Accountant with a leading company in Mumbai. Views personal.)

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