Get it Right by Letting Go of the Need to Get it Right
Published on
Explore how letting go of perfectionism can boost your leadership effectiveness. Learn how fear drives the pursuit of perfect decisions and how awareness can help you break free of this trap to enable wiser choices.
The Trap of Perfectionism in Leadership
I’m often asked, “Why do I waste so much time chasing a perfect decision instead of aiming for a wise decision?”
The trap of perfectionism is a common malady among executives. We have such high profiles that it’s impossible to escape scrutiny and our work lives carry pressure from many directions.
Corporate CEOs are watched from many angles: the board of directors; executive team; employees; shareholders; customers and clients; partners; news outlets, etc.
As well, small business owners are constantly being measured by customers and clients, employees and competitors on degrees of success and failure, critical decisions, products and initiatives, and many other facets of their businesses.
The Fear Driving the Pursuit of Perfection
If we feel pressure to make a “perfect” decision, that’s usually a sign that fear has become the puppet master. Fears like, “My business might go under”, “I might lose my position”, “My workforce will rebel”, or “I’ll get slammed in the press and look bad” can drive us to latch onto a child-like need for safety that drives a belief that we need a perfect decision to protect ourselves from harm. This is a mind-made survival fear.
Understanding the Impact of Fear on Decision-Making
Fear clouds and distorts our judgement, and can send us in search of the Holy Grail of perfection in decision-making. All that seeking the impossible does is add more pressure to our lives because, as we spin round and round on our mind’s hamster wheel, opportunities shrink or disappear, and the time pressure of deadlines increases.
Another driver that can compel us to reach a perfect decision is born out of an attempt to make sure we get our needs met, like realizing big profits so we can have sufficient financial resources to get what we want.
This is often fear-based, too – a fear that we won’t have enough or get enough.
The Power of Awareness in Breaking Free from Perfection
Awareness allows us to see more clearly and deeply what’s going on within us and around us. It shines a light on our issue of needing perfection, which is the first step in freeing ourselves from that pattern.
Awareness is what recognizes how key it is to stop the energy drain and resource depletion that chasing perfection causes. And awareness is what illuminates the link between our need for perfection and the underlying irrational fear driving it.
In conscious leadership, when we notice that fear is alive in us, we intentionally turn toward and face the fear head on so we don’t become or remain fear’s puppet. This is of the utmost importance because operating from fear has led all of us, at some point, to make critical errors in judgement in our lives and work.
As we proactively address and deal with any particular fear, we find ourselves more empowered, more able to see clearly, and more apt to choose wisely for ourselves and our companies.
The Importance of Wise Decisions Over Perfect Ones
Remember, we are CEOs, in part, because we’re talented and exhibit good judgement. That’s what we need to be working with. It doesn’t mean we’ll always get it right. We don’t need to, and no one does. In fact, getting it wrong is a major way in which we learn (if we pay attention). When we are free of “perfection paralysis”, we can flow better and be more capable of pivoting as needed.
The first wise decision we can make is to let go of the belief that we need to make perfect decisions, or that we even can. Doing so opens the door for us to be far more efficient and see greater returns by investing our time and energy toward making wise, purposeful decisions.
Unleash your Brilliance as a Conscious Leader
It's my mission to support people in leading with unyielding integrity, clarity, and authenticity. If you'd like to tap into your deeper insight and practical wisdom to lead more powerfully and effectively, feel free to reach out at connect@evolvingceo.com to set up a time to connect.
To see what others have to say about the work we do together, please check out the testimonials here. I look forward to connecting.
Follow Bodhi on Social Media
There's a lot more content available here on the site and on many social media platforms.
🔥 Get Bodhi's latest Insights and Tips