When Perfect is the Enemy of Done

How Perfectionism Undermines Performance—and What Great Managers Do About It

🥇 - Perfectionism

Some of the people who work for you will inevitably spend way too much time on things that don't matter and are of little value. This isn't because they spend their time on things you haven't prioritised, but rather, they aim for perfection. They strive for flawlessness in every task, often delaying critical deliverables and failing to meet your expectations. Think of this as the equivalent of completing 80% of the task that matters and then spending an inordinate amount of time on the remaining 20%. The 20% that is immaterial and, more often than not, entirely unnecessary for shipping the product, completing the task, making the call, publishing the report, and so on. Here are two examples that demonstrate the downsides to perfectionism when managing your team:

The first example highlights the different approaches people have to work. Jane was an Associate who transferred to my team from Sales. She would only be an average salesperson but had the makings of a highly impactful business unit COO. Jane was energetic, diligent, inquisitive and hard-working.

She was also a perfectionist.

It only took me a short time to realise why Jane kept missing her deadlines. Upon speaking with her, it became clear that the work was getting done on time. Her desire to make others like her by delivering high-quality work meant her work often struggled to meet her own expectations. Jane would spend hours tweaking presentations and report summaries, agonising over the best order for the management information to support a recommendation. Conscientiousness is one of the "Big Five" personality traits, and people high in conscientiousness are typically efficient, organised and goal-oriented. They can also set unrealistic standards for themselves, especially under pressure as they emphasise flawless execution. I was able to help Jane (help herself) by agreeing on clear expectations regarding the high but not perfect standard of work she should aim for. Jane's aha moment came when we discussed the trade-offs involved in spending time on the 20% that rarely matters compared to the opportunity cost of not working on the next thing on the to-do list.

The second example is most prevalent with investment bankers. But it shouldn't occur. Trust me, as a buyer of consulting and services that provide advice, the flashy decks are largely ignored. The deck is only a conversation starter. A serious executive doesn't care if the formatting is slightly off. It DOES NOT MATTER. Investment bankers should get over themselves, get out of their own way, and focus on what matters. You can't extrapolate the care and attention taken on something mind-numbingly dull to the care and attention they will apply to something interesting and intellectually challenging. This is the old way of doing things and how more senior bankers exert the imbalance of the power dynamic on the juniors. It's a red flag if you experience it - a symptom that suggests you may need to find a better workplace. And anyway, that low-value, shallow work is rapidly being carried out by AI. The replacement of low-value knowledge work will only accelerate, and the average worker who spends most of their time on these tasks is setting themselves up to be replaced by LLMs. Don't be one of those managers! By all means, set high expectations for quality work, but lead by example.

Author and entrepreneur Seth Godin explains that perfectionism can be an excuse to avoid accountability, as work only counts when it is shipped. Many managers tend to avoid holding people accountable, but it is essential to creating a high-performance team culture.

📫 - A quote that I am currently pondering

"Everyone wants the summary. But the summary is what's left after someone else decides what matters. Their priorities aren't yours. Their filters aren't yours. When you operate on summaries, you're thinking with someone else's brain."

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🤔 - If you did have the answer to this question, what would it be?

If every other area of your team remained at its current level of performance, what is the one area where change would have the greatest impact?