How Perfectionism Blocks Success

As a recovering perfectionist I really discovered that life begins (or at least gets richer) when your move out of perfectionism and where your comfort zone ends.  Staying in your comfort zone doesn’t challenge you to grow.

The same holds true for teams! 

Many teams play safe. So safe that the necessary risks needed to help a team grow and evolve are avoided and reduces their success. Comments like "we've always done it this way" or "let's just play it safe" or "sounds great in theory... but...." can reduce creativity, synergy and results. Perfectionism can really stifle a team's growth, confidence and outcomes.

A leader that I admire has faith in his leadership and incredible belief in his team. He said that part of his role as a leader is setting the stage, creating the safe environment and asking the right questions that will inspire his team to stretch out of their comfort zone and explore alternatives and solutions that hadn't yet been attempted. His confidence and his trust in his team allowed this team to go on and do great things. What I noted about this team was that they took more responsibility for their actions, didn't blame or finger point when a team member's idea went belly up, and, they focused on how to solve problems instead of who dropped the ball.

This leader did not expect perfection, he encouraged and modelled excellence.

When you think of these two terms, how do you define them?

What does excellence look like in action?

As you move forward in 2013, here are three tips to practice leading your team out of their comfort zone:

1) Facilitate brainstorming sessions. Find new solutions to every day problems.
2) Promote a culture of respect, trust, and communication. A learning environment.
3) Watch the language... words create behaviours. Instead of perfect... replace it with excellence.
4) Acknowledge the appropriate risks taken within the team. Be approachable and know when to lead.... and when to follow.....

 

Excellence Instead of Perfectionnism

As a recovering perfectionist I really discovered that life begins (or at least gets richer) when you move out of perfectionism and your comfort zone ends. Staying in your comfort zone doesn’t challenge you to grow. In fact, I missed many opportunities because I got too caught up in making it perfect (I later learned that it never really is perfect…..)




Instead of perfectionism I now strive for excellence.



You might be thinking “what’s the difference?”



Excellence means you strive for your best, and act in integrity with your values. Even in striving for excellence there may be a mistake, it isn’t perfect. If mistakes happen they are handled with professionalism, ease, accountability and integrity.



What is perfectionism costing you?



If you are not sure, ask those around you (your family, friends, loved ones and business colleagues).



Here are a few tips to practice letting go of perfectionism:

1. Watch your language. Use words like excellence instead of perfection.

2. When you make a mistake be forgiving of yourself. Don’t keep reliving or replaying the event in your mind.

3. Lighten up; don’t be so hard on yourself.

4. Remember, that when you expect perfection of yourself, the assumption others make is that you expect perfection from them.



Remember, it doesn’t have to be perfect, it just has to be possible!