And How To Fix It If It Exists
Perfectionism in business is what you should strive for, isn’t it?
Ironically, no.
No matter what you’ve been told otherwise by any business expert, the truth of the matter is this. Perfectionism can literally be the way you kill your business.
As a leader, here are five big reasons to reconsider your stance on perfectionism.
DELEGATION BECOMES IMPOSSIBLE
Because you have such a high standard around every task under your watchful eye, it makes it hard to hand any of them off.
Nobody can do it better than you can. So, you just do it.
You think you’re ultra-efficient because you don’t need to wait for a task to be completed by someone who works at a slower pace than you.
Who doesn’t know how to do it as well as you. Or, who doesn’t do it the way you like it done.
Instead of an environment for speed, you’ve created the ultimate bottleneck. You doing things that could easily be done at least 70% as effectively by someone else need to make their way off your to-do list.
Decide to diligently record the process in painstaking detail, then let it go.
You are always welcome to revisit the tasks to “QC” them after you give your team member a chance to learn your process and execute on it for a week or so. Then, give your feedback.
MICROMANAGEMENT BECOMES YOUR GO TO
If you have your hands in everything, even those tasks you’ve rationed off, you’ve effectively made yourself into a micromanager.
I’d say congratulations, but you know that’s not a complement.
Nobody ever wants to be told what to do with every minute of their day. It drains their energy, and it drains yours.
Besides, if you’re so deep into everyone else’s work, how in the heck are you getting your own work done?
Manage what you can control. The quality of your own work. Unless your team members are doing serious damage to your company’s reputation, choose to manage them in a way that favors empowerment.
PROCRASTINATION BECOMES A HABIT
When your focus is to only deliver perfect work or to complete a task error free 100% of the time, you will put it off as long as humanly possible.
Because having and meeting impossible standards is a form of stress. And, procrastination gives you relief from the stress temporarily.
Procrastination is the exact opposite of what you’re shooting for when you want tasks done just right. In fact, you want to minimize mistakes so the work can be completed as efficiently as possible.
Perfectionism favors inefficiency.
Let go of something needing to be perfect 100% of the time before you allow it to be declared done. Sometimes “done” is better than “perfect.” Remember, the lens of the person viewing what you believe to be error-free may hold it to a different standard than you do.
DISTRUST IS THE NEW STANDARD
Your team members know more than you think. And truthfully, your habit of perfectionism makes them feel like you don’t trust them to do their work well.
Refusing to delegate.
Micromanaging.
Triple-checking.
Not hard to see why, is it?
When your team distrusts you, it breeds contempt. And contempt means you lose good people.
Build an environment of trust by allowing your workplace to be a safe space. Allow your team members to make mistakes and not to feel like they’re going to get fired because of them.
STRESS BECOMES YOUR NATURAL STATE
Suffice it to say that perfectionism in business is one of the leading causes of high-stress responses in the workplace.
Bordering on traumatic.
Being held to an impossibly high standard and getting criticized daily for not meeting it causes your team to feel unrelenting stress. And an environment that elicits that kind of stress response regularly leads to a severe decline in mental and physical health.
For your team. Yourself. And even the customers or clients who you do business with.
Yes, stress has a funny way of rippling out much further than the leader and team member dynamic. Clients can feel the stress in every tense interaction you engage them with.
Once outside of work, the stress spills over into the time you and your team spend with your family and friends.
It’s rampant.
Instead of holding on so tightly to having everything perfect, choose to allow a feeling of peace in your workplace. To do that means you have to let go of the control you think you have over everything outside yourself.
KICK PERFECTIONISM IN BUSINESS TO THE CURB
While there are plenty more, I gave you five good reasons that your business has no room for perfectionism.
Lack of delegation, micromanagement, procrastination, distrust, and stress are all nasty side effects that no business needs to suffer.
The choice becomes whether you would rather lead a business that feels productive and light. Or if your preference is to make your work environment one that feels oppressive and heavy.
I can help you work through your perfectionist tendencies so you can invite satisfaction back into your team culture. Schedule a free strategy session with me to start the process.
