I remember when I first took the helm of a leadership company back in the late 90’s. I knew exactly how I wanted things to operate and I wanted them to be perfect! For years, I took pride in the attention I gave to detail and to getting things completed correctly, and I would use these skills to make a better company. However, within a few weeks of my new role as “the boss,” I realize being perfect wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I wasn’t getting anything done on time, and I was pissing off clients and the people who worked with me. It took me about 3 months before I realized that if I didn’t change the way I was doing things, the business was going to be in serious trouble. I needed to figure out a way to keep the quality of what we did extremely high while still delivering it on time and under budget. Here are 3 things that helped me unlock my head enough to move forward.
1) Your thinking might need to change, and it’s not going to be easy
Beliefs about how you should approach things at work (and in life) are very powerful. In my case I “believed” I would rather get things right than rush them. As with any belief, I looked for specific times in my past when that belief served me well. I recalled countless times when I slowed down and did things right, and how that saved time, helped me get through school, and even helping me get promoted. So, if this helped me back then, why wasn’t it helping me now? Hmmm? Then I grasped what was going on: my role and my situation had changed. I had real deadlines now that had real consequences. My head was reeling because I felt like I’d have to sacrifice quality for speed, and that wasn’t sitting well.
I sought the help of a mentor, and he suggested I explore a different perspective on the situation. He asked me how being a perfectionist might have held me back in my past. It was hard at first but eventually I came up with a few specific instances, including a time where clinging to that belief wrecked a relationship and cost me a part-time job. He then asked me how holding on to this belief could potentially hold me back in my current situation. There it was starting me in the face! It had already cost me 4 clients and I was on the verge of losing one of my best venders. I came to realize if time wasn’t an issue, it was OK to be a perfectionist. Now in my new role, I needed to be more sensitive to time, and I needed to change my thinking. I needed to adopt a new belief, and then one came to me:
“I believe I can use the limits on my time to require me to put forth my best effort and it will yield the best results.”
Over the years I have learned a few more helpful tips I’d like to share.
2) Set mini-deadlines and tell someone about it
Even on the rare occasion when a client gives you a realistic dead line, I create smaller mini-deadlines. This is how it works. First I take the entire scope of the project and break it down into phases. I call each of these phases a “milestone,” and I assign each milestone a mini-deadline. If you want to get even more detailed, break each milestone into a series of tasks and assign them a mini-deadline as well. This approach forces you to produce something at regular intervals, and keeps you moving forward.
Even with this new way of approaching a project I would woof some of my mini deadlines and the whole project would get backed up. I learned, because I am “the boss,” that I didn’t have anyone keeping me on task. I needed someone to hold me accountable for my deadlines. I ratcheted up the pressure by telling corporate clients that I would have a rough proposal to them by _______ date. To put in an extra layer, I would send progress reports to a trusted staff member that I wanted involved in the task or project. Wow! This was powerful not only did the clients love being in the progress loop, the staff members truly felt like they had ownership in making the project come to fruition as well.
3) The reliability of a consistent routine
Even recently, I realized that, left to my own devises, I waste too much time getting an article perfected, or I get stuck designing and then re-designing a program draft, which gets me right back in the habit of obsessing and not producing. After learning about the value of blocking my time to work on specific tasks, I realized I could use that concept to force myself to work on something. I create a routine of having a productive mindset by dedicating a specific time to a specific task at the same time of the week, every week. This is extremely helpful in getting my mind prepared to do something that takes a lot of horsepower between the ears.
Take writing this article for example. Every Monday from 10:00AM – 11:00AM I write the first draft for my weekly article. I do this regardless of what my week looks like, and regardless of my mood. I make sure I have 1 hour of uninterrupted time, and I arrange for someone to watch my one year-old daughter. Because this time is hard fought for, it is precious and my mindset becomes “I only have an hour. I’d better make the most of it!” Now I look forward to having this creative time all to myself and I know I’m going to be productive because the limited time forces me to get an article started.
We all want a Mona Lisa as an accomplishment under our belt. Unfortunately the pursuit of perfection can result in working really hard on something without any real results. Changing your thinking, using deadlines and enlisting people to hold you accountable can help get some paint on the canvas. If you do this enough and create some consistent routines, over time the quality of your work will improve and you may even produce your own masterpiece.
