Ivan* was a perfectionist. It served him well for much of his career. People were impressed with the results he produced and he quickly moved into leadership roles. But now it seemed more like a curse. He was working long hours and was not fulfilled by his work. His health was suffering from sleepless nights. His team found him demanding and impatient. But the thing that really irritated him was that he was now making predictable commitments to reduce his fear of failure. Playing a small game was inconsistent with his commitment to make a difference.
Ivan realised that being a perfectionist was not serving him. To be always striving for a perfect outcome was unnecessary. More often than not, an 80% outcome on a stretch objective was better than procrastinating. He knew that a characteristic of game-changing leaders is the ability to commit to and achieve stretch results and elicit big commitments from those around them.
He recreated being a perfectionist as the pursuit of excellence. He still has high standards but is now able to celebrate his and others accomplishments. Like many of us Ivan was only ever focused on the expectation gap i.e. the gap between what we actually accomplish and what we expected to achieve. In Ivan’s case, he always expected a perfect outcome so he was never satisfied.
Ivan started a practice of recording his accomplishments, big and small. He also instituted acknowledgement sessions with his team to ensure that they knew they were appreciated and valued. The difference was like night and day. People now enjoy being around him, bigger results are showing up. Even his wife says that he looks the most relaxed she has seen him.
“It’s not because things are difficult, that we dare not venture. It’s because we dare not venture, that they are difficult.”
– Seneca –
Researchers from the Harvard Business School found that people who were both successful and happy over the long term structured their activities around four major needs. They found that lasting fulfilment comes when we pursue activities that address all four of these needs.
Happiness: They pursued activities that produced pleasure and satisfaction.
Achievement: They pursued activities that got tangible results.
Significance: They pursued activities that made a positive impact on the people who matter most.
Legacy: They pursued activities through which they could pass their values and knowledge on to others.
Which area could you increase your focus on?
Best regards, Brian
*Name changed to protect the innocent
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