Are you a perfectionist? Do you want every little detail to look just as you picture it? If things don’t go exactly as planned, do you struggle to cope with it, think straight, or even to breathe? (Half kidding). You may in fact be suffering from perfectionism! Project management perfectionism may sound like a good thing at first, but anyone who has either dealt with it themselves or has managed a perfectionist knows better. Luckily, overcoming perfectionism at work may just require a few changes in perspective. Let’s dive in.
I hope I don’t lose a ton of you right off the bat. I’ve been racking my brain for a great example to start with that demonstrates why being a perfectionist is detrimental, and even a cause for failure, and I settled on this: a brief golf analogy. I think the message is worth it though, and I’ve included self-depreciation for good measure.
>>Click here to skip the golf stuff. <<
Watch Video Version On YouTube
Not familiar with the game? Golf consists of playing 18 holes on a typical course. Each hole is designated with a ‘par’. The par represents how many times a master golfer is expected to hit the ball with a club to get it from the tee box (first shot) into the hole on the putting green. The majority of courses are ‘par 72’, meaning a master golfer is expected to hit the ball 72 times from their tee shot on the first hole, to their final putt on the 18th hole.
When picturing a master golfer, you probably picture a few things. Long, high, down-the-middle shots off the tee, landing on that nice short fairway grass. Model swing form. Crisp shots off the fairway that perfectly arch up, then down onto the putting green, leaving a nice little divot where the ball was sitting. A putt or two, and it’s in the hole for a par or better. Repeat!
Spend even a couple of minutes at your local course, and you’ll realize how rare this is.
“I Was Trying SO HARD to do everything perfectly.”
For many years, my score was not good…and I was trying SO HARD to do everything perfectly. Many rounds would include frustration and disappointment. I’d hit a beautiful shot off the tee, right down the middle. “Don’t mess this up.” I thought, “You hit a great first shot, but if this next one isn’t perfect too, then you’re screwed!“. But four swings later, I’m still not on the green due to my ‘perfect’ shots not going anywhere good. I’ll putt it a few times for a 7 or 8 (on a par 4 hole), all while trying so hard to be perfect. “It’s not fair” I thought, “I hit that first shot so well. I should’ve scored way better. Why does this always happen?“.
Nowadays, I usually shoot in the low 90s, while practicing less frequently and with a lot more ugly shots along the way. My tee shot won’t be a high, long arch – it sometimes burns along the fairway a foot off the ground and bounces 100 times, but the ball still gets out there far enough, and I can make up for it on the next shot.
Even if the ball lands in the rough or sand trap, my performance is better than ever and I don’t let all the little things ruin my score or my enjoyment.
How Did I Overcome My Perfectionism? A Change In Perspective
Much like in golf, project management perfectionism can be overcome by realizing a few things about life and the universe.
- I accept ‘good enough’ now. I don’t care if my shot looks like an instruction video, or if the ball skips along the ground 50 times. My shot is good enough and the next shot can make up for it. I might end up in the same spot the perfect shot would’ve been, anyways.
- I focus on the objective, not the process. If the ball lands in a good enough spot, that’s great. I don’t care if it has to bounce off a fence post to get there (that has happened).
- I’ve realized that doing one thing ‘perfect’ doesn’t mean everything will be perfect. Hitting a perfect shot may be followed by hitting the ball three feet. What are you gonna do?
- Perfection is subjective – what’s perfect to one person is not necessarily perfect to another.
- I cared about hitting great shots and playing a certain way to impress others. Now I truly don’t care. I actually laugh at my bad shots, and the people I’m playing with laugh along with me.
- When I hit a bad shot, I can recover. I’ve scored well on holes that included some terrible shots along the way. I have faith in my ability to recover and overcome obstacles.
Project Management Perfectionism: You’re Living A Lie!
All perfectionism is mental – it’s all in our heads. It’s based around preconceived notions we have about ourselves, what it takes to reach our goals, expectations and insecurity (which is a form of fear). Everything we think about being perfect is a lie! However, our minds can also realize the truth.
PROMOTED
Project Management Perfectionism: 6 Simple Tips To Overcome It
Overcoming project management perfectionism can be achieved by realizing a few simple truths and keeping the proper perspective. Here are 6 ways we can overcome perfectionism at work and in life. Click to jump to a specific section:
- Accepting ‘good enough’ is crucial – perfect isn’t real!
- Focus on objectives and results, not on every little detail.
- Realize the trade-off of perfectionism. Perfection in one area is often accompanied by lackluster performance in others.
- Ask ourselves why we believe our expectations are in fact, universally perfect. Where did these expectations come from?
- Ask ourselves why we need things to be perfect. Is it to gain acceptance? To have a certain reputation? To appear a certain way?
- Have faith in ourselves, our skills, our intentions and our abilities to overcome obstacles.
1. Overcoming Perfectionism: Accepting Good Enough
In project management, perfectionism can hold us back in many ways. The law of diminishing returns states that the more hours we spend on a task, the less value each individual hour has in producing the final result. We all know the importance of managing time in project management.
Here are a few examples of accepting ‘good enough’ in project management:
- When writing an email or letter: state the intent clearly, hit the major talking points, proof-read it, send it and move on to the next thing. Re-reading it ten times, tweaking minor parts or switching around words is not necessary.
- Have a clean, basic format and stick to it. Most fancy, good-looking aesthetic details are nice, but take more time than they’re worth.
- Use fewer words: Whether this be in writing or in person, expressing something perfectly is not necessary to get the point across. Make sure the actual content is expressed before all else. “Form follows function”.
“A good plan violently executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed next week.“
-General George Patton
(Mandatory Disclaimer: We Are Not Promoting Violence. Violence Is Not The Answer!)
2. Overcoming Perfectionism: Objectives & Results
Do you know those people who are always ‘just so busy’? They’re always running from place to place, reacting to whatever’s happening in that moment. “No time, sorry!”. Do they achieve better results than everyone else? Probably not.
It’s important not to confuse motion for action. In today’s society, effort and trying hard are praised. Those are good qualities, but the elephant in the room is that results matter. That’s why it’s important for us project managers to focus on the objectives and the results we get first and foremost.
- Prioritize: The 80/20 rule (Pareto Principal) states that 80% of a businesses’ results come from only 20% of the actions taken. For every single thing we do, we need to consider which category the task falls in.
- Keep An Eye On The Big Stuff: In project management, the three biggest things we are in charge of are the schedule, the budget and quality. If we project managers ONLY focused on these three things, and delegated or minimized the rest, the project will be fine. This might not be possible, but the point is clear.
- Focus On The What, Not The How: people have their own way of doing things, and we need to let them do it the best way for them, and us by proxy. Some people’s offices look like a hurricane came through, but they still perform well, which leads us to…
“Never tell people how to do things. Tell them what to do and they will surprise you with their ingenuity.“
-General George Patton (again)
3. Overcoming Perfectionism: The Price We Pay To Be ‘Perfect’
Everything comes at a cost. I mean everything. Consider the concept of opportunity cost: when choosing to spend time, money or effort on any one thing, one is NOT spending that time, money or effort on any other thing. We can’t be at the beach when we’re skiing.
We’ve already covered the law of diminishing returns and the 80/20 rule. After a certain point, time spent on a task is worth less and less, and only a few key tasks provide the majority of our results.
Combining theses rules with opportunity cost paints the picture clearly – we simply don’t have time to make everything perfect! The funny part?
Realizing these things should be a RELIEF. Project management perfectionism is actually pointless.
Tasks can only take so much time before they start wasting it, only a handful of tasks affect the majority of the results, and while we’re working on one thing, everything else sits idle.
-Three Basic Principles
4. Overcoming Perfectionism: Question Our Expectations
Where did our idea of perfect come from?
Maybe we’re idolizing a particular person. Perhaps media has influenced our opinions and thinking. Our childhood environment may have preached high expectations. A specific company culture may contradict another company’s practices. The list goes on…
Project management perfectionism is totally subjective. You may think you’re managing your project perfectly, but results might not be there. In this case, are you really managing it perfectly? No.
- Consider where our concept of perfect actually comes from.
- Compare your idea of perfect with the people who actually achieve the results you want. Are they doing the things you think you should be?
- Conversely, how well are people performing who have the same type of expectations as you?
“You are your own worst enemy. If you can learn to stop expecting impossible perfection, in yourself and others, you may find the happiness that has always eluded you.”
-Lisa Kleypas
5. Overcoming Perfectionism: What Do We Really Want?
Us humans are so often victims to our emotions. When we feel something, it gets our full attention. Whether this be happiness, fear or pain, it can be all-consuming. This is because our subconscious mind dictates so much of what we think, feel and experience. Have you ever gone way out of the way because you emotionally felt the need to?
Project management perfectionism is no different.
We may think we’re working hard on a presentation for the benefit of the project, but in fact, we may feel pressure to perform to a needy client’s unrealistic standards.
We might think we’re working late for weeks on end because the project needs it, but we may actually fear scrutiny or a confrontation with a tough boss.
We believe we want a promotion because we can perform on a higher level, but we may really want a flashy title or more money to impress people.
We don’t want to fail, because we believe we are worthless if we do.
Dialing in to the core of WHY we insist so hard on being perfect is a major first step in overcoming our perfectionist tendencies.
If we are bending our entire lives around our feelings, we are wrong. Only once we understand why we want to be perfect is when we can reconcile where we are going wrong.
Also, we must make sure that we take care of ourselves to maintain a healthy balance in our life. Here’s an article we’ve written about relaxing after work.
“Perfectionism is the voice of the oppressor, the enemy of the people. It will keep you cramped and insane your whole life, and it is the main obstacle between you and a shitty first draft. I think perfectionism is based on the obsessive belief that if you run carefully enough, hitting each stepping-stone just right, you won’t have to die. The truth is that you will die anyway and that a lot of people who aren’t even looking at their feet are going to do a whole lot better than you, and have a lot more fun while they’re doing it.”
-Anne Lamott
6. Overcoming Perfectionism: Have Some Faith
Do you have a lot of trouble letting things go? Do you feel like nothing will get done unless you spend every second obsessing over it? Do you know you’ve done all you can, but just can’t move on? Perhaps it’s time to have some faith.
Now I don’t necessarily mean religious faith, or even spiritual faith. If you choose to see it through those lenses, more power to you. I use the word faith, but I’m trying to convey confidence and positive attitude as well.
When we’re trying to get every little thing right, it doesn’t seem like we think much of ourselves as we are.
PROMOTED
When we’re obsessing over every little thing, it doesn’t convey confidence in what we’re doing.
When we’re in a positive state of mind, everything seems possible. When we’re in a negative state of mind, nothing seems possible.
When we don’t have faith in ourselves, we’ll likely continue to make mistakes and underperform.
Having faith, confidence and a positive attitude can go a long way.
“Your Talents Determine What You Can Do. Your Motivation Determines How Much You Are Willing To Do. Your Attitude Determines How Well You Do It.”
-Lou Holtz
Project Management Perfectionism: In Conclusion
Thanks for reading! We’ve covered a lot in this article. To repeat the summary of ways we can overcome project management perfectionism, see below:
- Accept good enough.
- Focus on objectives and results.
- Perfection in one area is often accompanied by lackluster performance in others.
- Ask ourselves why we believe our expectations are in fact, universally perfect. Where did these expectations come from?
- Ask ourselves why we need things to be perfect. Is it to gain acceptance? To have a certain reputation? To appear a certain way?
- Have faith in ourselves, our skills, our intentions and our abilities to overcome obstacles.
To pay homage to the golf analogy we began with, let’s end with one final quote:
“Stop Thinking, Let Things Happen And Be The Ball.”
Ty Webb, Caddyshack
I hope you’ve found this helpful.
