For years, I was a poster child for perfectionism. “If it's worth doing, it's worth doing well” was my mantra. I would often find myself burning the midnight oil, convinced that a last-minute burst of inspiration would transform (what I thought was) a mediocre piece of work into a masterpiece. This approach, however, was often a recipe for stress and suboptimal results.
I vividly recall my journalism days. The newsroom was a cauldron of deadlines and constant pressure. There was a saying we lived by: "If it's not published tomorrow, it's not news." It was a harsh reality check. I would spend countless hours crafting the perfect lead, agonizing over every word – in my head, every story I worked on was a Pulitzer Prize contender. The temptation to perfect every draft was a constant battle. But in the end, what mattered most was getting the story out there, even if it was not flawless.
Fast forward to my editorial and consulting career – the perfectionist in me would often lead to endless revisions of drafts and presentations. I would obsess over every slide, every font, every color scheme. It was a time-consuming process that often-yielded diminishing returns, and I would lose sight of the bigger picture obsessing over perfecting my work. I was so focused on perfection that I neglected the core message I wanted to convey. With time, I also realized that it was more important to get feedback early and iterate based on that input than to spend weeks perfecting something in isolation.
Looking back, I realize that this perfectionist mindset was hindering my progress, not propelling it. It was a vicious cycle: the fear of failure led to procrastination, which in turn led to increased stress and lower quality work.
Pitfalls of striving for perfectionism
The perils of perfectionism are well-documented. It is a double-edged sword that can both elevate and constrain. On the one hand, it can drive us to achieve excellence – motivating you to strive for the highest quality of work. On the other hand, it can be a paralyzing force that stifles creativity and innovation – in your quest for perfection, each idea must meet impossibly high standards. With time, I’ve realized what’s more useful – a quickly pulled together, work-in-progress guide that would serve as a starting point and can be improved over time rather than countless hours spent perfecting a document that, in the end, nobody cared about because it wasn't delivered on time.
I have seen firsthand how perfectionism hinders project timelines and budgets. When team members are obsessed with creating flawless deliverables, they are more likely to lose sight of the bigger picture. This leads to delays, cost overruns, and a general sense of frustration. The pressure to be perfect can create a culture of fear and anxiety, stifling collaboration, and innovation.
From Perfect to Progress in Five Moves
It is essential to shift our mindset from perfectionism to progress. The key is to focus on consistent improvement rather than striving for unattainable perfection. By embracing an iterative approach, you can achieve remarkable results without compromising quality. Whether you are new in your career, a leader, an individual contributor, or an executive, you have a crucial role to play in fostering a progress-oriented culture. Instead of demanding perfection, we should celebrate incremental improvements. Here are five ways to embrace progress over perfection:
1. Share work early and often.
Effective communication and collaboration are essential components of a progress-oriented culture. By sharing work early and often, you can leverage the collective intelligence of our teams. Treat feedback as a gift, not a criticism. Use it to refine your work and move forward. Looking back, I did better work when I had a chance to deliberate with my team or manager and improve upon than I did when I submitted it as my one-time so-called perfect draft.
2. Remember that failure is not the enemy.
By embracing mistakes as learning experiences, you can develop resilience and agility. It is far better to course-correct early in a project than to discover critical flaws at the end. “Fail fast” is a powerful lesson in prioritizing progress over perfection. Like science, where each failed experiment provides valuable data that helps refine the hypothesis and leads to a breakthrough, in creative endeavors, setbacks can inspire new ideas and innovative solutions truly helping you learn and grow.
3. Balance speed and quality.
An obsession with perfection often means you are rushing to meet deadlines, sacrificing quality for speed. However, progress does not mean sacrificing quality. In fact, progress and quality can go hand in hand. By setting clear quality standards and metrics, you can ensure that your work meets expectations while also moving forward at a steady pace. Regular check-ins and feedback loops can help maintain quality throughout the development process. The feeling of peace knowing you are on the right track having consistently developed and progressed your work is sweeter than the unknown that comes with assuming you did your best work but now you wonder whether it really is what was needed.
4. Ask “when can we review the first draft?” instead of “when will this be done?”
Since my bygone days of obsessing over perfect pieces of work to how I now approach work – slowly and consistently chipping away at a project – I have spent the last year learning from managers and team members who appreciate that first draft and encourage me to move fast on something rather than produce great work on the due date.
I have realized certain ways they do this: As a team, we have shifted our focus from "when will this be done?" to "when can we review the first draft?" This has empowered me to take risks and learn from my mistakes early on rather than being so exhausted in my pursuit for perfection that I'd loath the idea of revisiting the end product for fear of finding yet another mistake or scope for change.
5. Celebrate the wins along the way.
Recognizing and rewarding small wins can go a long way in building a positive and productive work environment. Those encouraging words from the manager acknowledging your agility and persistence could work wonders for your confidence and progress. You may not be proud of your initial draft but celebrate producing something that may not be good enough but a good start for your final deliverable and something that you can continue to build on.
Let us break free from the shackles of perfectionism and embrace the power of progress. Strive for perfection, but not at the cost of progress. By prioritizing action over idealism, we can unlock our full potential and achieve extraordinary results. And remember, often good enough is better than perfect – for your project, for your team, and even your mental health.