Scenario 2: Beginning in my first real job out of college I was hired to work for the county social services department. This was an exciting opportunity for me as I had a great desire to work in government since I was young. In working my first week at my new job, I had an opportunity to meet with the Social Services Director. He was a very engaging, confident and passionate man that shared many of the same values that I had. He talked about the importance of all of the employees working together for the common cause of assisting those less fortunate in creating a better life for themselves. As I met others in the agency and began to talk about my first couple of weeks on the job they all had good things to say about the directors work, but had questions or reservations about his private life. My initial thought was does that …show more content…
This was a huge mistake as it delayed my development as a manager and stopped me from getting what I needed to get done to support my team. This example provides great insight into the importance of developing professional boundaries and maintaining them over the long-term. By placing oneself in a compromising situation, it opens up the possibility of creating a large-scale issue that will likely cause significant damage to your department. Looking back on how I handled this situation I have great regret that I was not confident enough to ask the director not to discuss his personal situations with me at work. It is important for every employee to have the opportunity to meet with their manager to discuss what they need to grow as a professional. It is important to have the confidence and trust to communicate directly with your manager to share with them what you need and communicate the need for boundaries. Developing a close relationship with your immediate supervisor greatly complicates the ability to work as true