Page 94 - Free Yourself From

Embracing Good Enough 77

Here are some more ideas for you to consider if you need help
getting unstuck from this particular sticky floor:

1. Think about why you’re a perfectionist. Where does the
trait come from? What do you get from being a
perfectionist and what does it cost you?

2. Check your standards of performance against your goals.
When you create a new presentation or report, or write a
memo or a team e-mail, before you do that third (or fourth
or fifth) revision, ask yourself what you’re trying to
accomplish with it and what others have said they need
from it. Then ask yourself, is this good enough to get the
job done? If it is, let it go and move on (or go home!).

3. Seek feedback and use it to calibrate your own standards.
That’s your responsibility whenever you start something
new. Talk to your internal or external customers and ask
what their priorities and expectations are. What are the
most critical success factors for them? What part of the
project is most important to them? Use that feedback to
guide the work rather than your exacting, but arbitrary
standards.

4. Have a communication strategy. Once you have decided on
standards and priorities for a given situation, communicate
them to your team and to other key stakeholders and solicit
their feedback as the project moves along. Be sure everyone
understands your expectations and feels that they can be
successful using them as operational guidelines.

5. Seek out peers. Identify those who are acknowledged in your
organization as great leaders. Watch what they do and use
that as a guide to your performance in similar situations.