Page 89 - Free Yourself From

72 It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor

In effect they turned their focus outward and began responding to
the work standards conveyed by their stakeholders, instead of being
driven by what they expected from themselves. That’s leadership.

Signs of Being a Perfectionist

Now that I’ve explained what it means to be a perfectionist, where
the trait comes from, and how it can play out in organizations, let’s
look at some different kinds of perfectionist behavior.
As is the case with so many habits—good and bad—it can be
hard to recognize perfectionism without some activity, event, or
advice that enables you to step back and see your patterns from the
outside. The short quiz that follows might be the nudge you need.
Take a moment and check off the traits and behaviors you see in
yourself:

____ Self-doubt. You second-guess your decisions, always seek
additional input to be sure, or wish you had done it
differently the minute you hand off something.

____ Perpetual dissatisfaction. The work you do and the work
that others do for you is never really good enough.

____ Superiority, or, thinking that no one will do the job as well
as you will. It’s impossible to delegate because when you
do, you always need to review and fix the other person’s
work.

____ Risk-aversion. If you go beyond your comfort zone, you
might not be able to maintain your standards for yourself.

____ A low tolerance for mistakes in yourself and others.