Good leadership means knowing when to go for 'good enough

Good leadership means knowing when to go for 'good enough' - for yourself and your team.

An article in CEOWORLD magazine explains how increments and iterations are the new perfect.

How do you do it?

1. Set a course for good enough rather than the pointless pursuit of perfection.

2. Stop expecting or requiring perfection. Accept first drafts, rough cuts and mock ups. The design industry and many other sectors thrive on them, gaining early feedback, ensuring efficiency of work going forward.

3. Make the standard clearer. Great leaders clarify the end goal or outcome, beyond a generic call for ‘high quality or ‘really good’. Explain the standard in a measurable way.

4. Improve over time. Allow learning, iterations and insights to build on first attempts.

The best and brightest organisations know the power of improving over time rather than expecting perfect. Most of all, assess whether you can go for ‘ish’ - somewhat, near enough - on more things, where near enough is good enough. Is 'ish' feasible, doable or acceptable? It’s a major productivity gain and it’s more motivating for teams when they complete work.

Careful how you answer this popular job interview question!

Next time you’re preparing for a job role interview, think carefully. If a potential employer asks the classic question about weaknesses, what will you say?

Many people offer in response to the ‘What’s your greatest weakness?’ question that they're a perfectionist. They think it still sounds positive, not too bad a weakness.

Saying you're a perfectionist can sound like you're a hard worker and that you have high standards. But beware! Perfectionism isn’t turning out to be a good trait after all.

Recent data from PhD researchers Curran and Hill have uncovered that perfectionism is on the rise globally and it's a behaviour that's not making us feel good about ourselves nor helping us bring our best to a job role. Perfectionism has links to depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, migraines, asthma, insomnia and plenty of other nasties.

It's time to stop putting our hand up for something that isn't helping us or a potential employer.

What's a weakness you'd rather share in an interview ... that's not perfectionism?

Your pursuit of perfectionism could be stopping you from getting things done.

Your pursuit of perfectionism could be stopping you from getting things done.

With all the focus on productivity apps, to-do lists, email inbox to zero strategies and advice to wake up at 4am, I don't know about you, but I'm tired and the day has barely started! If we think we've got plenty to do but perhaps not getting it done as soon as we might have hoped, there might be something getting in your way that you haven't considered. Perfection.

Yup. Perfectionism is on the rise according to the researchers and it stops us putting great ideas out there, pressing 'go' on projects and business concepts and can make us difficult to work with.

Read more in my article published in B&T magazine. And could you... would it be possible... might you have got in your own way?

Ever had a perfectionist boss?

Perfectionism is no longer a badge of honour. And perfectionist bosses or leaders could be causing problems for their team, contibuting to a 'toxic' workplace or culture.

If you've had a perfectionist boss (most of us can recall a situation or role where nothing was ever 'good enough' for the leader or boss) you'll also remember that things like celebrating the wins, taking risks and trying new things weren't on the agenda.

Going for what's safe and familiar is preferred for the perfectionist, because even when the team does try something new nothing is ever good enough. People tell me about how they don't see themselves working ‘with’ their perfectionist boss but rather as a servant, minion or lackey working ‘for’ them, responding to their requests, changes, standards and expectations.

I’m all for continuous improvement. That’s a different thing. My memory of a perfectionist boss was how they didn't feel too good about their skills or capabilities. It flowed on to the whole team. We felt beaten before we’d started a project. Talk about low morale!

Many workplaces feel 'toxic' and perfectionism sure is an unhelpful game to be going for.

Go for 'good enough' instead.

Have you had a perfectionist boss?