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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.)

Yogi Adityanath accuses Waqf Board of land encroachment, calls it 'land mafia'

  • PTI
  • Apr 3
  • 3 min read

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Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Thursday launched a scathing attack on the Waqf Board, accusing it of land encroachments and asserting that its "arbitrary claims" over public and historical sites would no longer be tolerated.


Addressing a gathering in Prayagraj, Yogi Adityanath said, "The Waqf Board had been making baseless claims over lands across cities. Even during the preparations for the Kumbh Mela, they declared that the event's land belonged to them. We had to ask -has the Waqf Board turned into a land mafia?" He emphasised that under his government, such encroachments had been removed, and mafias had been driven out of Uttar Pradesh.


"Encroachments were made in the name of Waqf at various places, including the sacred land associated with Nishad Raj. But this will not be allowed to continue. A grand and divine Kumbh Mela was organised despite their objections," he said.


The chief minister also lauded Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah for taking legislative action against the alleged irregularities of the Waqf Board.


"We are grateful to the prime minister and the home minister for ensuring that the Waqf Board's arbitrary practices are curbed. A crucial act addressing this issue has already been passed in the Lok Sabha and will now be cleared in the Rajya Sabha," he stated.


The Waqf (Amendment) Bill was passed in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday and introduced in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday.


Yogi Adityanath stressed that the state would no longer tolerate illegal claims and national interest must come first. "Those who are loyal to the nation will always find their path ahead," he said.


Yogi Adityanath on Thursday here inaugurated an exhibition based on stories related to Lord Ram and King Nishadraj, along with the 'One District, One Product' (ODOP) initiative, on the occasion of the birth anniversary of Lord Ram's close companion Nishadraj Guha. He was accompanied by Cabinet ministers Nand Gopal Gupta and Sanjay Nishad, among others.


As part of the celebrations, the chief minister also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone for 181 development projects worth Rs 579 crore in Prayagraj.


In preparation for 'Maha Kumbh 2025 Prayagraj,' trained guides, boatmen, and homestay operators who made significant contributions were felicitated with appreciation certificates.


Additionally, under the Mukhyamantri Matsya Sampada Yojana, a financial assistance of Rs 20 crore was provided to 1,400 fish farmers.


He highlighted the historic bond between Lord Ram and Nishadraj, drawing a parallel with the current political alliance between the BJP and the Nishad Party. "The remarkable friendship between Lord Ram and Nishadraj is once again visible today in the form of the BJP and Nishad Party's alliance," he said.


The chief minister reiterated his government's commitment to restoring Prayagraj's historical significance. "Prayagraj is no longer just Allahabad. It is the confluence of great traditions. Those who tried to hide its identity did so for their vote-bank politics," he remarked.


Yogi Adityanath also spoke about the significance of preserving one's heritage. "Everyone lives for themselves, but those who uphold their ancestors' traditions and legacy are the ones who remain immortal," he said.


Reflecting on the recent Maha Kumbh, Yogi Adityanath asserted that the event had set an example for the world.


"No other faith can organise an event of such magnitude - only Ram devotees can. This requires unwavering dedication to the nation, and those without it cannot manage such a grand event," he said, adding that over 66 crore devotees visited Prayagraj and left with a sense of spiritual fulfilment.


Hitting out at the previous governments, Yogi Adityanath said that the recognition and respect Prayagraj has gained today was under threat earlier. "There is nothing greater than earning respect and identity. The previous governments were trying to erase this identity, handing over Uttar Pradesh to mafias and nurturing criminals in every district. However, our double-engine government is restoring our ancestors' legacy in a grand way," he said.


The chief minister also mentioned the success of the state's fisheries scheme, under which loans worth crores of rupees have been distributed.


"Earlier, no one knew where this money went. Now, the benefits are directly reaching the people," he said.


Yogi Adityanath credited the Maha Kumbh for giving Prayagraj international prominence. "Earlier, people knew Prayagraj as a city next to Varanasi.

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