Time to Read: 3 minutes

Article at a Glance:

• Perfectionism is the pursuit of unrealistic flawlessness that often blocks learning, experimentation, and growth.
• Perfectionism is different from striving for greatness. Curiosity, feedback, and mistakes fuel improvement!
• Common signs of perfectionism include fear of failure, procrastination, self-criticism, control, and avoiding vulnerability.
• Redmond encourages exploration, questions, and experimentation over perfection, because mistakes are part of meaningful growth and contribution.

We’ve all heard this cliché:

Stuffy job interviewer: “So, what would you say is your biggest flaw?”

Nervous, sweaty interviewee: “Well, you could say I’m a perfectionist…”

This is funny because it implies that perfectionism, while not necessarily fun, is part of being competent and committed to your work.

The truth is, perfectionism actually holds us back from great work, rather than enabling it.

What is Perfectionism?

Perfectionism is the relentless striving for unrealistic expectations and flawlessness.

Vitale Buford Hardin, public speaker on perfectionism in the workplace, has described perfectionism as, “Something you do for love instead of from love.”

She goes on to name symptoms of perfectionism as “unrealistic expectations, fear of failure, procrastination, control, people-pleasing, self-criticism, conflict avoidance, feeling stuck, imposter syndrome, indecision and anxiety."

Sound familiar?

How does perfectionism hold us back?

On the surface, perfectionism can look like relentless competence or someone tirelessly fiddling with something until it’s flawless, but these things can be crippling.

Maybe we’re afraid of making mistakes

Maybe we want to look like an expert, like we know. We don’t want to look dumb or ignorant.

We might struggle to start or finish things because we know they won’t be perfect.

We’re too hard on ourselves and can’t see our strengths clearly.

We sometimes care more about looking good than being good.

Perfectionism vs Striving for Greatness

But isn’t perfectionism a good thing? Without it, won’t we take the easy road and do sub-par work?

Not necessarily.

Here’s the difference between these mindsets:

Perfectionism: Feedback = threat because you don't want others to spot mistakes.

Striving: Feedback = You’re glad for the help, because it makes work better.

Perfectionism: Fear of experimentation, because what if it doesn’t work?!

Striving: Experimentation could lead to new discoveries (even when it doesn’t work!)

Perfectionism: Avoid mistakes at all costs.

Striving: Mistakes are how we learn, because they teach us what doesn’t work.

Perfectionism: Can’t face our weaknesses

Striving: Focuses on strengths, but also works on the weaknesses that get in our way.

See how those things are totally different?

What kind of perfectionism could you benefit from releasing?

Do any of the above tendencies sound familiar? Do you relate to any of the symptoms of perfectionism from before?

Releasing perfectionism could look like…

• Admitting you don’t know something and then getting curious.

• Allowing yourself to experiment and make mistakes.

• Getting honest about your strengths and weaknesses.

• Working on the weaknesses that get in your way. (Like, *ahem*, perfectionism.)

• Allowing space for more than one right answer.

• Reevaluating your definition of success; asking how you’re actually helpful and what you truly find fulfilling.

Isn’t that much more conducive to great work? And waaaay less stressful?

At Redmond, We Don’t Expect Perfectionism

We don’t expect perfectionism at Redmond. We expect engagement and care about your work.

You won’t get in trouble for questions or mistakes. We make mistakes all the time! Mistakes are simply the price of learning. Which means perfectionism can be a massive barrier to learning.

We welcome questions and exploring. Not knowing is a signal to get curious, not to shut down.

Get messy. Explore. Experiment. That’s how we grow and contribute to the world.

You Don’t Need to Be Perfect to Be Helpful

Letting go of perfectionism can free up so much brain space that you can reallocate to actually doing great work. When you aren’t afraid to get curious, try stuff, mess up, look silly, ask questions, collaborate, and stretch yourself, you can accomplish incredible things!