Yahoo Finance Are you a perfectionist? Here are 4 classic signs
Doing our best is something many of us have focused on for most of our working lives. Our language and culture are so often targeted towards achievement, success and getting things done, that striving for perfect is what many people go for.
Isn’t that how you try to do things? Perfectly?
It turns out, no. Science and physics have something to say about this. The Law of Diminishing Returns and the Pareto Effect (80/20 principle) state that at some point, our efforts don’t return on the value of the time (and sweat) we've put in.
It becomes less productive to keep working on something, to continue tinkering and fiddling with it, trying to make it perfect.
It has to be ‘really good’
A board member at a meeting recently said to their fellow directors regarding a pitch for a massive piece of business: ‘Whatever we propose or submit, it has to be good. Really good.’
‘Oh yes!’ Everyone agreed it had to be good. Really good. What is ‘really good’ anyway? And when would we know we were there? When would that director be satisfied with the pitch?
He also added vocal emphasis to it, stretching out the words: It has to be ‘reeeaaalllllly goooooooood’. His words were laced with invisible standards and expectations that none of the board or staff could see nor would they be able to work to… or achieve.
Longer hours don’t deliver quality
Working longer and harder just isn’t the answer.
Jo Wilson and Matt Plummer in the Harvard Business Review article, ‘The lie that perfectionists tell themselves’ report on the perception people have equating time spent on a task with the quality of the work. We think spending another 30 minutes - three days or three weeks - on something will make a difference but all it does it make us feel more confident in the quality, it doesn’t really affect the quality.
Wilson and Plummer say spending more time actually hurts our performance and reduces the quality of our work.
Our thinking, emotional intelligence and problem-solving skills all diminish. All we get for the extra hours is stress, burnout, anxiety and depression.
The problem with perfect
The danger of perfectionism comes when we work longer hours, aiming for better. PhD researchers Thomas Curran and Andrew Hill say perfectionism is ‘an irrational desire to achieve along with being overly critical of oneself and others’.
They researched data from over 41,000 American, Canadian and British college students, using the ‘Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale’ and data revealed that perfectionism is increasing.
Types of perfectionism
Perfectionism doesn’t come in just one flavour. They reported at least three types:
Self-oriented: when we set unrealistically high standards for ourselves;
Societal: when we perceive that society expects us to reach high standards;
Other oriented: when we have high standards for others.
All three are increasing with the second, societal, increasing by the most, 33% over the duration of the study.
Perfection is an expectation, an imaginary end point that doesn’t exist, so it’s impossible to reach. We may strive for best practice -- it’s what we do in an effort to mitigate risk.
Striving for the best in everything seems like the right option, choice or strategy. But if effort doesn’t equal reward and perfectionism is dangerous, what do we do?
Tough to work with
If we present as if ‘nothing is ever good enough’, it can be harder for people to work with us. We may not take risks, make progress or try new things thanks to a fear of failing.
Perfectionists tend not to celebrate wins either because they feel they can’t live up to the expectations they’ve set themselves.
Attention to detail is important, yes, but for everything? No.
Don’t obsess over high quality for everything. It wastes time and resources, drains people’s attention and motivation, and the results don’t deliver.
4 signs that perfectionism might be at work
1. ‘Not good enough, yet’
Thinking or saying something isn’t 'good enough… yet’ is classic perfection chasing. An internal standard has been set and the chase is on for rainbows and pots of gold!
2. There’s no end in sight to a project or task
We may set deadlines but that’s about time, not quality. Be sure to quantify and explain the standard expected as well as the date required. That way, people won’t keep on work tirelessly trying to reach an undefined standard.
3. Keep tweaking and tinkering
If you see people working on a document or report, making minor tweaks, fiddling with fonts or not making good progress, it could indicate a pursuit of perfection. Let them know when it’s ‘good enough’ to go.
4. Working late or long hours
Working longer hours or calls for additional resources may reveal that perfectionism is the motivator.
Extra effort might not make much of a difference to quality; usually it just makes us feel better about it. (Pssst! You can feel better about it without the effort and save a heap of time, plus you can start working on the next thing.)
High quality, excellence and accuracy are all important things, but the pursuit of perfect – an imaginary standard or expectation – is causing real problems in workplaces the world over.
Do your bit by articulating what’s required and letting people know when it’s ‘good enough’.
Lynne Cazaly is a keynote speaker and adviser on new ways of working. She helps businesses think and work in ways that a more productive, collaborative, creative and effective. She is the author of ‘ish: The Problem with our Pursuit for Perfection and the Life-Changing Practice of Good Enough’.
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