“Is perfectionism just an excuse for
self-criticism?” This statement is a reminder of a person who wrote and
rewrote a book several times and never got it published as he wanted the book
to be perfect. Our addiction to perfection involves lot of self-doubt, makes us
stick and does not help us in moving forward. Most of us are stuck in finding
the perfect job, perfect friend, perfect life partner, perfect situation,
perfect holiday, perfect nutrition and so on. In this quest for perfection we
have lost the ability to see the good in ourselves and in others. Is
perfectionism all negative then? No, it has its positive side too as long it is
healthy and not stressing from within. Do not take obsessive perfection as an
excuse to not strive for excellence. All we need to understand is to be a
little tolerant and understand that things might not go well as planned in the
first go. Stop! Take a break and analyse what is going wrong and then start
rectifying those points. Then we start moving towards progress.
The reality is no one is perfect. Striving
for perfection is a futile and dangerous endeavour. Though the intention of a perfectionist
is always to do a good job, however it can have a negative impact at work on
productivity, employee relations, efficiency, and more. It is difficult to get
approvals and a go ahead from perfectionists. They have a penchant for not
approving as it is not the perfect design. For employees who are working under
perfect leadership, it is very easy to get frustrated. Everyone needs
appreciation especially for beginners. Perfect design kills the creativity. Perfectionism
also has a personal impact on overall health and well-being.
Fear of failure is one area which will
impact perfectionists to torture themselves to no end. Perfectionists do not
want to be called as failures. They do not realise it is ok to fail. Many
perfectionists go to any end to hurt themselves in the name of being perfect.
These perfectionists do not have the mindset to say “It is ok, I made a
mistake. I will not repeat this mistake. However, I am open to the idea of making
new mistakes and learning my lessons. Many perfectionists need coaching that to
attain excellence it includes years of hard work, sincere dedication and
acceptance of many setbacks in the journey.
"Perfection is the enemy of the
good," this is a hard lesson for some of us to learn. For many reasons,
including fear of failure, not being good enough, and comparing ourselves to
others, we want to be "perfect" and recognized as such.
As you continue to pay
closer attention to your responses and day-to-day work tasks, expectations of
others, and so on, you'll be able to make different choices in how you respond
to getting your work done and getting to a point that good enough is good
enough. For perfectionists, it's hard to truly grasp that they are not going to
be perfect, or they're too afraid of the outcome if they aren't.
When we compare ourselves
to others, we're only setting ourselves up for disappointment. We're each on
our own path and have the ability to choose different ways to do things. In reality,
even those who appear to be perfect will have their own concerns and issues if
you speak with them. If you learn to set realistic goals for yourself, then as
you reach them, you can reward yourself to help you appreciate that you are
doing a good job and meeting the goals you set for yourself. When you meet
goals, you can't argue with that result, meaning it's as close to perfect as
you can get.
Before starting any
activity a perfectionist needs to question himself the following questions. How
important is the task at hand? Is it life or death? Many a time we find that,
what we're stressing about today and trying to make perfect isn't worth the
fuss in the long run. It's mostly about being able to do something to move
forward at work and not about making something perfect. Check out the following
points, if you're constantly missing deadlines, getting stressed and stressing
out your co-workers, then bring in awareness to help you take steps to approach
your work differently.
Here are some insights and
tips to help you break through the perfectionist mindset and way of being, so
you too can find your way to strive for excellence.
PERFECTIONISM SQUASHES CREATIVITY
Innovation
and imagination are vital to a good leader. Perfectionism squeezes out
creativity as it breeds a mad desire to get everything “right”. Free flowing innovative
thinking gets jammed for the leader and his team. When employees hear
criticisms for their ideas, they are less likely to try to come up with new
ideas.
Always
enter into the flexibility mode where every idea is given an opportunity of
brainstorming and the possibility to create a new solution. This encourages all
the team members to share their ideas freely and creates a positive vibe for
both the leader and the team.
PEOPLE FEEL JUDGED INSTEAD OF
INSPIRED
It is
a good idea to motivate co-workers with a “good job” statement however watch
out if you are instilling fear with phrases like “Oh, you want to present it to
the team in this way? oops…”. The team member feels judged rather than
inspired.
The best approach is to inspire
the team. Inspiration is an inside feeling where
employees engage in their work because they also feel the vision and want to
move in the same direction and not just for the sake of money or recognition
but because their job has meaning. Focus on what you want and why you want instead
of fear (not wanting to mess up) for yourself and your team.
PERFECTIONISM
GETS IN THE WAY OF PERSISTENCE
Perfectionists tend to view failure as the end of the world. Their fear of failure can cause them to give up when things are not going as planned. Mostly feedback is interpreted as an attack on their character.
The best
approach is to consider the “data” received
when things do not go as planned and use that information to be a better
leader. Welcome feedback: It can help improve your skills and, at least, give
you a better understanding of how the person views you.
Comment below
with your thoughts. Watch this space for more insights on healthy mindset for
self-leadership. Want to bring about the culture of progress,
performance and productivity for maximizing your profits, attend our Turning
Point– Turn in and Tune in workshop. Mail us at culture@hasovan.com for more
details. Our team would be happy to get in touch. Catch the work-place
philosophy of various companies in the book “Erupt with Joy” by Savitha
Hosamane.
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