I’ve read a few articles recently about the destructive nature of perfectionism. The Times recently revealed that scientists have discovered perfectionism will ‘crack you up’. Over the years, I’ve realised that this can be a person’s biggest block and causes many people to take time off work with stress related illness. It can also cause poor performance because the perfectionists can live in fear of being exposed. They are often afraid to admit if something is wrong, ask important questions and generally riddled with anxiety around a task. It’s interesting that I often see perfectionists in the middle areas of a company, rarely at leadership level. I’ve met a variety of leaders and the great ones have common traits. They are not afraid of risks, often cope with chaos and change and delegate effectively. Perhaps they’ve learnt not to be perfectionists?
Two ways to help the burden of perfectionism…
1. Try giving 95% to a task rather than 110% and see what happens.
2. Try leaving the chaos around you and notice the impact of this
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