Are you a perfectionist? Are you proud of your high standards? Do you spend hours on a preparing a presentation or document? Well this post is for you as today I will be discussing why perfectionism is holding you back and how to overcome being a perfectionist.
Sheryl Sandberg wrote in Lean In “Perfection is the enemy” and I couldn’t agree with her more. The fact is perfectionism holds women back… and here are the reasons why
1. Your output is less
Whilst you are there spending an extra few hours on a report, John has moved onto the next report. Now you would argue that yours is of a better quality, but does the increase of quality outweigh the lack of quantity?
2. You spend more time working
Now to compensate for the fact your output is less you may end up having to work more hours. This is why you see women working late, whilst men have left their desks and are out having a drink.
3. You are more likely to be stressed
Perfectionists have high standards and if they aren’t met they become stressed out. This especially happens in team situations. You are working on a pitch and everyone has a section. The night before you get everyone’s sections back in order to put it together and are disgusted by the state of some people’s Powerpoint sections. You have two choices: spend time on “correcting” other people’s sections or you leave it is as it is, but deep down it frustrates you because you feel the work is below standard.
4. You stop yourself from trying new things
Being a perfectionist will hold you back from trying new things in your career or business. However, it is especially true for women charing career direction or becoming a female entrepreneur. Starting a business is often a step into the unknown. When I started my business I had to create a website, email templates, a brand, write copy, create social media content, lead workshops, create workbooks, record videos and lots of other things that were outside of my comfort zone and skill base. As a perfectionist, if you aren’t careful you will hold yourself back from taking on new projects or trying new things because you know you won’t be able to deliver to your high standard.
As you can see there are many downfalls to being a perfectionist, especially in a work context. As a perfectionist, you are likely to focus on your specialism and either produce less work or work longer hours. Now that doesn’t scream success to me.
Now I don’t want to you to not care about your work and be lazy, but there is a balance to find so here are some tips for overcoming perfectionism.
1. Determine how important the piece of work is in the grand scheme of things
You have a limited time to work so you need to prioritise. Before you start a piece of work try to understand the importance of that work. If it is a very important piece of work then let your perfectionist side go wild. But if it is just of normal value then hold off on giving it the eighteenth proofread.
2. Focus on GREAT being good enough
Perfectionists believe that only perfect will do. However, the fact is GREAT is good enough most of the time. Earlier, I quote Sheryl Sandberg saying Perfection is the Enemy. Well in Lean In she also said that “Done is better than perfect”.
The focus should be on getting your work done so you can move onto the next thing. Now I’m not telling you to be mediocre or average. You are still above the rest, but just realise when you have done a GREAT job that is good enough.
