Weak boundaries are one of the key reasons that one doesn’t complete their Vision and Goals in advance for the incoming year and now is the time … January 2, 2011 is too late.
Boundaries help you to define who you are and are required in order for you to be you. You must have courage to define your boundaries and be very selfish instead of being selfless with giving and giving and giving so much that there is little left of your spirit to create your vision and goals to inspire you to go forward. Having strong boundaries says that you care about yourself to put the systems in place to create an imaginary energy barrier. When you have strong boundaries you have more energy and clients and associates respect you more.
One sets strong boundaries to stop the behaviours of others that take your time and energy away from you. You cannot grow without strong boundaries because one attracts needy and disrespectful people that waste a lot of time and energy because it is all about them. When you are giving and giving and giving so much that there is little left of your spirit … your business is running you instead of you running your business and this contributes to fear.
I kid my clients with the question; When are you going to stop running a Tim Horton’s Financial Advisor Drive-Through?
When a financial advisor has weak boundaries, they have trained some clients over time to think that they are running a Tim Horton’s Drive-Through.
You know the ones that:
- Show up without an appointment
- Call and avoid leaving a message with your assistant even though your assistant asks; “What is it regarding, perhaps one of our associates can help you and provide you with quicker service?” and the client’s reply is; “Just get him/her to call me back”.
These clients need to be retrained with:
- Your assistant’s reply to the clients that show up without an appointment; “Joe Advisor is not available right now. Would you like to schedule an appointment?” and the client’s reply is; “I’ll drop back in a while” and your assistant’s reply to the client is; “With respect, Joe Advisor is booked solid so you need to book an appointment. Is Tuesday at 2pm or Wednesday at 10am better for you? Just to make sure, let me make sure that we have your contact e-mail and phone numbers.”
- E-Mail; Dear Joe Client, Thank you for the opportunity to be your financial advisor and for leaving me a message. To serve you the best, please e-mail me back with your question and I will take immediate action to help you. Looking forward to being of service, Joe Advisor
International Values and Behavioral Analyst, Business Coach, Speaker and Author
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