No, it’s not Them. It’s You: How Your Lack of Boundaries Is Burning You Out
You didn’t become a veterinary practice owner so you could be on call for printer paper emergencies. But if you’re always available, you’ve become the easy button for answers—and that’s exactly how it feels. Constant texts, questions, and interruptions, no matter the time of day.
The real problem isn’t just the interruptions. It’s the ripple effect:
You lose focus, never getting into a rhythm.
Strategic projects and complex tasks get shoved aside.
Your team learns it’s easier to ask you than solve problems themselves.
You’re never fully present with family, friends, or even on vacation.
The ultimate risk? Burnout—the mental and emotional exhaustion that comes from carrying too much for too long.
How Leaders Accidentally Create the Problem
Here’s the tough truth: your team isn’t the problem. You are. Every time you answer a “quick” text after hours, step in to solve a minor issue, or let yourself be interrupted in the middle of focused work, you reinforce a pattern.
You’ve trained your team that your time is always available, and their thinking isn’t required.
This doesn’t come from bad intentions. It comes from caring. You became a veterinarian to help, to fix, to jump into action when someone needs you.
That instinct serves patients well—but when applied to leading people, it backfires. Your constant helpfulness breeds dependence instead of independence.
Research backs this up: 60% of professionals say unclear boundaries contribute to workplace stress. And organizations that set clear communication protocols see 25% higher employee satisfaction and 40% less turnover.
In other words, the behaviors you think are helpful may actually be undermining both your team and your practice.
The good news? If you created the problem, you can also repair it. And it starts with setting boundaries and establishing what I call a Ways of Working.
The Power of a Clear Ways of Working
Boundaries don’t set themselves. You need to create a playbook for how your team communicates with you—and more importantly, how they don’t.
Ways of Working aren’t about rules taped to a breakroom wall. They’re a shared agreement between you and your team.
You sit down together and clarify:
When you are and aren’t available.
What qualifies as an emergency.
How your team should reach you (and how not to).
Who else they can turn to when you’re not available.
When you bring your team into that conversation, you shift the dynamic. Instead of feeling like you’re shutting them out, they see that you’re creating a system that helps everyone succeed.
You’re teaching them how to treat you, but also showing them that you trust them to rise.
And here’s the critical part: once you set those expectations, you have to walk the talk. If you declare that after-hours texts should wait until morning, but you still answer every ping, your message is clear—your words don’t matter, your behavior does.
Consistency is what builds credibility and retrains habits, both yours and your team’s.
Boundaries Create Freedom
Without boundaries, you stay reactive, drained, and chained to your practice. With boundaries, you build confident decision-makers, protect your own focus, and finally get your evenings and weekends back.
This isn’t selfish. It’s leadership. Every time you hold firm to your boundaries, you model for your team that healthy, sustainable leadership is possible.
You show them that their judgment matters, that you trust them, and that your role is not to do all the work—but to create the environment where great work gets done.
So, here’s my dare to you: the next time you get a non-emergency text after hours, don’t answer it. Wait until you’re back in the clinic.
Chances are, by then the problem will be solved—without you. That single moment of not responding is the first step to retraining your team and yourself.
Boundaries are the foundation of freedom. Set them, live them, and watch how both your practice and your personal life transform.
Here’s Your Next Step
For the full process on how to create and set boundaries with your team, 👋 Download my free Reality Bites Workbook— packed with reflection questions, action steps, and the full Ways of Working: How to Communicate with Me team guide.
💬 Or, if you want real talk about what’s keeping you stuck, book a free 30-minute discovery call with me.
Because the truth is, your constant availability isn’t helping anyone. But your boundaries will.
