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16 October 2019 (/blog/2019/10/14/is-perfect-the-enemy-of-progress)

Is perfect the enemy of progress? (/blog/2019/10/14/is-perfect-the-enemy-of-

progress)
career (/blog/category/career), leadership (/blog/category/leadership)

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 CONFESSIONS OF A RECOVERING PERFECTIONIST

"If you can't do something properly, then don't do it at all."

This principle ruled my life for years.

•  If I couldn't do a 90 minute workout at the gym, it wasn't worth going.

•  If I wouldn't easily pass the exam near the top of the class, I couldn't be bothered participating.

• If I didn't meet all the criteria, then I wouldn't throw my hat in the ring.

•  If I wouldn't likely win a prize, it wasn't worth doing at all.

“
It was exhausting. All the mental anguish
involved in pre-emptively measuring, judging
and comparing ensured that I rarely got out of
It’s not about immediate
my comfort zone but was incredibly envious of
those who did.
perfection. It’s about learning
something over time: confronting
It was also incredibly limiting.
a challenge and making progress.
There was not a lot of flying by the seat of my
— Carol S. Dweck
pants, having a crack at things, or colouring
outside the lines.  Which left
me not trying, not giving thing a shot and ..... and not going anywhere anytime soon.

DOUBLE STANDARDS AND A DOUBLE EDGED SWORD

Research tells me that I'm not alone; that women in the corporate world are more likely to be
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male counterparts, holding themselves back from
opportunities until they’re sure they can predict the outcome.  
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Where an attitude of taking advantage of opportunities that come your way (whether you can easily
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the outcome or not) is the smarter play, we're still focused on doing things really, really well.

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 Yes, there are still double standards for women in the workplace with the burden of over proof. There
are expectations of us needing to jump through extra hoops and do things better, to prove our worth
over again. Then again, the perfectionist also has that additional double standard for themselves -
over proving, over polishing, over and over again.

High standards are one thing, but perfectionism definitely becomes a double edged sword.

WHAT GETS MEASURED GETS DONE

Tim Ferriss, in his book Four Hour Body, writes about how people who measure and track their weight
regularly, get far better weight loss results over time, than those who don't. It's as though their
motivation is higher and they are more resilient because they had more data, and subsequently
understood how to navigate the peaks and troughs along the way towards their long term weight loss
goal.

There was even a case study about a guy who lost a significant amount of weight, not by
(intentionally) changing his diet or exercise regime, but by simply weighing, measuring and keeping
track.  (Go figure!)

While I recently heard a story about a group of male colleagues who tracked the progress of their
male MBA cohort (yes, they ran Excel spreadsheets), so they could see how they were measuring up
against each other, I suspect this is unusual, and more about competition than progress.  

I don't think many of us track and measure progress in our daily lives, and certainly we don't do it
much with our career.  We tend to celebrate the big wins, the rockstar moments, but rarely the
smaller milestones along the way.

TRACK PROGRESS, DON'T JUST WAIT FOR BIG WINS

So what would happen if we tracked progress, not perfect?  What would happen if we still kept our
eye on the prize, but tracked and rewarded in smaller increments along the way?
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This month as a trial, I've implemented a new initiative for my clients. No more Friday Achievement
Full Name us (even though I love it). Instead I'm replacing it with the Friday Progress Report. 
Formula for

Every Friday for the next month, list five things, where you've seen progress, where the dial has
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shifted and you've moved closer to your end goal, where you've learned something new that will help
you achieve your end goal, or where you've improved.
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This will require measuring, strategy and prioritisation. It will also require keeping a journal, a
spreadsheet or a whiteboard visual reminder.

There is something very rewarding about ticking off a checklist. There is something even more
rewarding and motivating when you systematically and regularly track your progress towards your
big goals.

Why? When a recovering perfectionist is only focused on the big goals, big achievements, big end
results all the time, we run the risk of losing sight of how far we have come then becoming
disheartened or disengaged.

Key to success?

• Regular checking in on your goal and tracking towards it

• Celebrating progress along the way  

• Reward yourself for trying new things even if they don't return much initially

• Acknowledging failure or mis-steps as a learning opportunities.

 It's not failure, it's data" ~ Dorie Clark

IT'S A PROGRESS, NOT A PERFECT

There is a saying in yoga - it's a practice not a perfect.  This reminds yogis to stop and smell the roses,
that the yoga class is about the journey, not the destination and that while the peak poses are fun,
that's not the why we do yoga. Instead, yoga asana is about what you learn about yourself along the
way to achieving a peak pose.  Then what you do with that insight, how you course correct, adapt and
incorporate new things, is what will ultimately help you achieve the peak pose much more easily.

The same goes for our careers and leadership.  It's what you learn along the way that will help you not
just win in the career game, but toUP
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YOUR
Full THOUGHTS? Do you regularly track progress? Or do you track only the big wins? What works
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for you and why? Drop me a note and let me know. (mailto:ablesing@amandablesing.com)
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#womenofimpact #LookOutCSuiteHereSheComes #perfectionism

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Share if you dare, to inspire another woman somewhere!

Over the years I’ve written a lot about perfectionism – read more >>

• Do you save these critical skills for that perfect moment?

(https://www.amandablesing.com/blog/2019/4/10/do-you-save-these-critical-skills-for-that-
perfect-moment)

• Are your perfectionist tendencies keeping you stuck between a rock and a hard place?
(https://www.amandablesing.com/blog/2019/2/11/are-your-perfectionist-tendencies-keeping-
you-stuck-between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place)

• Perfectionism - is it the main cause of Imposter Syndrome?

(https://www.amandablesing.com/blog/2018/7/18/lkgzs7vrqoxghmvlgyswxkotc0cqtb)

• The Cost of Perfectionism (https://www.amandablesing.com/blog/2016/3/10/the-cost-of-

perfectionism)

CURIOUS ABOUT WORKING WITH AMANDA – BOOK A CALL TO LEARN MORE

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Tagged: perfectionism (/blog/tag/perfectionism), motivation

(/blog/tag/motivation), progress (/blog/tag/progress), career
(/blog/tag/career), success (/blog/tag/success), leadership
(/blog/tag/leadership), confidence (/blog/tag/confidence)

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Newer Post Older Post
Now this is a true woman of impact! Highlights from the VIP book launch for From
(/blog/2019/10/17/now-this-is-a-true-woman- Invisible to Invincible
of-impact) (/blog/2019/10/14/highlights-from-the-vip-
book-launch-for-from-invisible-to-invincible)

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