ARTICLES

Perfectionism is often worn as a badge of high standards in leadership. It is associated with quality, with attention to detail and with an unwillingness to accept mediocre output. These are genuine virtues. They also come with a shadow that most perfectionistic leaders do not fully see.

The cost of perfectionism is paid by the people around the leader. Teams where perfection is the implicit standard become risk-averse. People stop bringing half-formed ideas because they have learned that anything not fully developed will be dismissed. They over-invest time in tasks that require good-enough outputs, because calibrating to the leader’s standard requires certainty before anything is shared.

Perfectionistic leaders also tend to find delegation deeply uncomfortable, because handing something over means accepting that it will be done differently. That discomfort keeps them involved at a level of detail that prevents their team from developing genuine ownership.

There is also an emotional dimension. Perfectionism in leadership often signals that the leader is managing their own anxiety,  — about being wrong, about being exposed, about not being good enough,  through the quality of the work.

The standard is not set for the work’s sake. It is set for the leader’s psychological safety. And that distinction, invisible to the leader, is often felt acutely by the team.

High standards and perfectionism are not the same thing. One is about the work. The other is about the leader. Distinguishing between them — and asking which one is actually operating — is a valuable question for any leader willing to sit with an honest answer.

 

If you want practical support with leadership development, Blue Kite HR Consulting can help you take a proactive approach before issues become bigger problems.