Are You A Perfectionist?

Are you a perfectionist?

I am. Often.

I just love making something pristine, impeccable, without mistake.

It costs me time, energy, frustration, and occasionally brings me to procrastination.

Now, I do recognize that saboteur voice telling me it’s not good enough. Often, I laugh at that saboteur voice and I find positive energy in completing something that I know is not 100% perfect. And I feel good about it.

Do you recognize yourself in some of the above?

Here are 4 quick tips on how to use the Pareto rule – aka the 80-20 rule – to fight perfection and enhance your leadership performance:

Make decisions. When making a decision, focus on the first 20% of the time allocated to make that decision and collect as many facts you can in that 20%. Discard all the rest, it won’t add value.

Generate ideas. Ask questions, let people come up with 80% of the ideas. A great question to ask is “What alternatives do you see to address this issue?” Trust people, empower them to come up with the solutions.

Lead team. Listen 80% of the time to people on your team, ask lots of questions. Spend 20% only of your time talking. Be a leader and a coach at the same time.

Work productively. Focus 80% of your time on the 20% things that matter to you and add value to you, the team, the organization. For instance, use Stephen Covey’s time management matrix to manage your time efficiently.

Try this and let me know in the comments how that made you feel.

For comments or questions, please visit my website or contact me at pascal@p-m-coaching.com