The Perils of Perfectionism to Your Career
The Weight of Perfectionism
Perfectionism isn’t a major obstacle for me, although I have suffered its sting. I have worked with, lived with and loved a great many of them and it never felt to me that trying to be perfect was worth the effort. What if I told you that once you let go of always aiming for perfect, you can take your career to a whole new level?
Maybe you know you're a perfectionist. If you are not sure, ask yourself these questions; Do you strive to be perfect? Have you always been a high-achiever, the one who always gets things just right, and the one everyone can count on for excellence? Do you get stuck moving ahead due to your need to get everything perfect? Whether it’s a new process at work, launching a business idea you’ve been sitting on for years, speaking up in a meeting, the pursuit of perfectionism might be weighing you down.
Perfectionism isn’t just overrated, it’s a dangerous trap. Instead of taking bold steps that can grow your career, you easily get yourself stuck in a cycle of hesitation, second-guessing, and overthinking. The cost of this struggle? Lost opportunities, stalled progress, dissatisfaction and burnout. Ask yourself this, “How am I being served by being perfect”?
It can be hard to break this cycle, and get out of the need to be perfect, especially if this has been your go to style for years. I’m sure on some levels it has served you well and I am not saying it’s an awful thing to want to produce high standard work, so long as it’s benefiting you and not holding you back. If perfection is stalling your career, then you are going to need to do something different. Scary, right? Sure, maybe a little, but what’s really scary is that you waste more time on something that is harming your career ambitions.
Here’s why perfectionism is more harmful than helpful:
It Keeps you Stuck: The fear of not meeting your own standards leads to procrastination and inaction. You wait until the “perfect” moment to start a project or hesitate to share your ideas until they’re flawless. The result? You get stuck in a never-ending cycle of prepping and refinement, without actually moving forward.
It Stifles Innovation and Growth: Perfectionism makes you hyper-focused on getting things right rather than taking risks and experimenting. This crushes creativity and innovation, especially in roles where thinking outside the box is needed.
It Damages Self-Worth: When you align your self-worth to meeting unrealistic standards, any deviation from it feel like a reflection of you and your core values. OUCH. This can hurt and it can send you straight into a negative cycle of self-criticism and self-doubt. That gets you locked into a constant fear of failure.
Don’t be chained to being a Perfectionist
Is Your Need to be Perfect Holding You Back?
Perfectionism can be insidious and it won’t always look like meticulous attention to detail; sometimes, it’s masked as avoidance, procrastination or defensiveness. Do you get way too hung up on feeling judged by others? If so, then you’re going to try and avoid that, right? Not doing anything less than perfect is a classic avoidance strategy. To varying degrees I think we all suffer a little from this. I said earlier I wasn’t a perfectionist, but that doesn’t mean I don’t want to look, sound and perform well. It also doesn’t mean that I don’t need to push myself sometimes to get over caring what other people think. For example, my first video on Instagram when launching Blaze Your Trail Coaching is hysterical, I couldn’t even show my face. I know that’s a thing now in social media- the ‘faceless” profile, but not what I was going for. I was going for protection and a safe bet. I was worried that I would look and sound silly and that I would be judged. But I kept doing it and I decided it was probably going to be messy and that was OK. And now, while not perfect, because that is NOT the goal, I am very comfy putting myself out there. The point being, you can move forward before perfect.
If you are doing whatever it takes to avoid feeling judged, here is what will happen; You’ll avoid taking action until you feel “ready”, except you never are, you overthink and overanalyse everything, you are reluctant to share your ideas and opinions at work, and you get really exhausted from “doing it all”. I bet you take on far too much at work and because you don’t trust others to meet those high standards of yours. This is a sure fire path to burnout and if you are leading a team, believe me, they feel totally micromanaged by you. Yes, this is bit of tough love, but if this is you, you are sabotaging your career.
The good news? You can change, still do great work and finally take the steps you need to ignite your career.
Breaking Free from the Perfectionist Paradigm: Some Practical Strategies
If you’re ready to kick perfectionism to the curb, these strategies will help you take the first step toward dong that:
Embrace the Power of “Good Enough - Remind yourself that “done is better than perfect.” Perfection is subjective and unattainable. Practice delivering work that’s good enough and focus on the value you’re bringing rather than some arbitrary standard of perfection.
Set Realistic, Incremental Goals - Chunk out projects or tasks into smaller, manageable bites. Celebrate progress instead of perfection. This will get you feeling confident and build momentum without overwhelming yourself.
Adopt a Growth Mindset-See mistakes and failures as learning opportunities rather than reflections of your worth. When you embrace a growth mindset, your focus shifts to learning and then improvement, which helps minimize the pressure to be perfect. Every action is an opportunity to learn and grow, so really embrace being a lifelong learner.
Seek Feedback Early and Often- Don’t wait until you’ve perfected something to share it. Ask for feedback early, so you can make adjustments without feeling like you’ve wasted time and effort perfecting something on your own. You’re going to need to get okay with feedback that is negative. This again is an opportunity, so you can be aware of objections and plan for them. Imagine working forever on something that you think is perfect, only to be met with a ton of questions and some criticism. Been there, crushing, right? So share if while it is still a little messy, hear the feedback and incorporate it. You'll get positive feedback too!
Be Kind to Yourself - Treat yourself as you would a friend who is trying something new. Encourage yourself, acknowledge the bravery it takes to show up imperfectly, and give yourself permission to be a work in progress.
Moving Forward with Courage and Confidence
Perfectionism may feel to you like a safety net, but it can actually holding you back from taking meaningful career risks, embracing new opportunities, and fully stepping into your potential. If you’ve been sitting on a big idea, a career change, or even a small move forward because you’re waiting for the perfect moment, consider this your nudge to take action.
You do not have to be perfect to be powerful. You do not have to be perfect to be respected. You do not need to have all the answers to make an impact. The courage to take imperfect action is what leads to true progress, growth, and success. It also demonstrates authenticity, a trait that others see and gravitate toward.
So are you ready to get a little messy? Take a deep breath, trust yourself, and start before you’re ready. You have what it takes, imperfections and all.