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These two things get confused constantly, and the confusion is expensive.

Perfectionism is driven by a fear of failure. Perfecting something is driven by a desire for excellence. They can produce similar behaviour in the short term, which is why perfectionism so often gets rewarded, but they lead to entirely different places.

Perfectionism looks like the slide deck that’s been reworked eleven times and still hasn’t been shown to anyone; the decision that’s been deferred pending more data that won’t change the answer; the delegation that never quite happens because nobody else will do it properly. Perfectionism protects your reputation, your self-image or your ego, at the expense of your progress.

Perfecting something comes from achievement motivation, not fear. It looks like doing the work to a standard you’re proud of, then inviting the scrutiny that makes it sharper rather than defending what you’ve got. It looks like advancing your best version and improving it, rather than guarding a perfect one that never arrives.

The distinction is easy to test. Ask yourself what you’re actually optimising for. If the honest answer is ‘not being criticised’, that’s perfectionism. If the honest answer is ‘making this genuinely better’, that’s the pursuit of excellence.

There’s a cost to your team too. Perfectionism is contagious, and it teaches people that mistakes are dangerous. Once they believe that, you’ll get compliance rather than new ideas, and you’ll wonder where the innovation went.

Don’t let perfect get in the way of progress.

INSPIRATION FROM OTHERS

“If you are not embarrassed by the first version of your product, you’ve launched too late.” – Reid Hoffman

“At its root, perfectionism isn’t really about a deep love of being meticulous. It’s about fear. Fear of making a mistake.” — Michael Law

QUESTIONS TO REFLECT ON

• Where are you currently protecting your reputation rather than progressing the work?
• What is sitting unfinished because it isn’t yet good enough to show anyone?
• What does your team believe happens when they make a mistake?

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