Here's what Michael discovered: The moment he set clear boundaries, three things happened:
1. People respected him more, not less 2. His help became more valued because it was scarce 3. He had energy to exceed expectations when he did say yes
Within six months, he was promoted to director. His boss's feedback? "Michael manages his resources strategically and helps others do the same."
The very boundaries people feared would limit his career actually accelerated it.