Finding a balance between excellence and perfection.

Earlier in the year I had the pleasure of coaching a client that told me she was a perfectionist. This blog comes from my personal challenge to understand more of how to apply the coaching process in this context. I felt encouraged to do some reading around the subject and ask myself the question: How does perfectionism impact on the client achieving her goals? I found this such an interesting topic and worthy of sharing my thoughts.

We can all agree that quality is good and perfectionism can be described as an asset, it can also be seen as a protective quality designed to keep us safe from criticism. Clearly there are pros and cons to perfectionism, it’s a complex subjective subject, and context driven. A machine or device may work perfectly but will need maintenance and eventually may need repairing. On an individual basis does perfection relate to a task or is it a life goal? Is this state of mind sustainable? Or like the machine will you need repairing? Whilst the perfectionist may be more motivated, likely to work longer hours, and be more engaged at work, if and how is this affecting them? Are they expecting the same level of high performance of other people?

Although Swider, Harari et al (2018) in their study, found no link between perfectionism and performance, they did find perfectionism has a detrimental effect on employees and organisations with individuals more likely to suffer with burnout, depression or anxiety

Perfection can be limiting, it comes from a place of faultlessness, uncertainty and the need to be right. The perfectionist may have a long list of success markers that get in the way of achieving their goals. Consequently, this creates a “never enough” state that may keep us from experiencing the joy of smaller successes and that “good enough” feeling. So how many markers are needed? What is an ideal amount? How could we identify the success markers that are attainable and meaningful that will shift our perspective from perfection to progress? If a perfectionist understood the difference between a fixed versus a growth mindset think how empowering it could be to shift intentionally to practicing and performing tasks that focus on novelty and a willingness to fail.

How long does it take to complete something because it has to be perfect? Does this affect productivity in the workplace or your team? No one wants to be seen negatively by their peers but do you have enough self-awareness to see the result of your actions? Could you change your mindset from the “not good enough” to: the” good enough”?

A few questions to get you may wish to consider:

· How long does it take you to complete something because it has to be perfect?

· When will you know when it’s good enough?

· How is this affecting you physically or mentally?

· What is going on internally that need to be satisfied?

· What are you afraid of?

· If perfection was unattainable how would that feel?

“In our culture, we move relentlessly toward greater emphasis on achievement and goal orientation. When we do so, we seem to lose the capacity for wonder and awe. Could you imagine looking at a magnificent rainbow and complaining that one of the colours wasn't perfect? Not only would that be ridiculous, but we'd also be ruining the splendour of the moment. And yet that is exactly what we do when we judge ourselves for our imperfections. We forget that as humans we're part of nature, as well. As such, we would benefit if we came into acceptance of the natural state of life, which by the way happens to be imperfect”.

- Schwartz 2008