Those of us who are in positions of leadership want to get our jobs done, and to make sure that they are done well. We can be a meticulous crew, checking and double-checking our work with a fine-toothed comb, never resting until everything is just so. That zeal for excellence can obviously be a positive trait, yet it can also be taken a bit too far. Perfectionism, when unchecked, can lead to control issues, a lack of delegation, indecision, and lost productivity. And I have encountered many business leaders who allow their own perfectionist tendencies to spiral out of control.
The question is, have yours? Has your perfectionist streak officially become a liability? There are a few ways to tell — including a handful of dead giveaways:
- You become defensive when you receive feedback. A good leader recognizes his or her own flaws and accepts meaningful criticism from others; if you find yourself bristling at the suggestion that you might do things differently, it could be a perfectionism issue.
- You’re needlessly critical of others. Offering constructive feedback is part of your job as a boss; nitpicking everyone for not doing things exactly how you would do them, or offering feedback that doesn’t have actionable value, is not.
- You’re a procrastinator. I see it all the time: Procrastination as a way to avoid…
