๐ง Why are perfectionists not the best leaders?
In many organisations, perfectionists are often promoted to leadership roles because they stand out as reliable, detail-oriented, and highly productive team members.
They follow instructions, maintain high standards, and frequently put work above their own needs.
Qualities that are valued in operational roles.
When directors see such a person, promoting them seems like a logical choice.
However, what makes a perfectionist an outstanding worker does not necessarily make them a great leader.
โ๏ธ Perfectionists often miss the bigger picture by focusing on details.
But for a leader, it’s crucial to understand the broader context.
โ๏ธ A perfectionist leader often expects the same high standards from their team, which can lead to excessive criticism and stress within the team.
โ๏ธ Striving for perfection often makes it hard for them to trust that the team will perform tasks as well as they would.
Rather than delegating, they prefer to do the work themselves, depriving the team of opportunities to learn and grow.
The results of this are demotivation, lower trust within the team, and weakened communication and development.
โก๏ธ ๐๐ก๐ข๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐๐ฌ๐งโ๐ญ ๐ฆ๐๐๐ง ๐ ๐ฉ๐๐ซ๐๐๐๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐งโ๐ญ ๐๐ ๐ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐๐ซ.
๐๐ฎ๐ญ ๐ข๐ญโ๐ฌ ๐๐ฌ๐ฌ๐๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐๐ฅ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ซ๐๐๐จ๐ ๐ง๐ข๐ณ๐ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ฌ๐ ๐ญ๐๐ง๐๐๐ง๐๐ข๐๐ฌ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐๐ฒ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ ๐ข๐ง๐ญ๐จ ๐ญ๐ก๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐๐ฏ๐๐ฅ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฆ๐๐ง๐ญ.
Supporting perfectionists transitioning into leadership roles often requires targeted training, coaching or mentorship.
๐ก Decision makers, recognise the qualities of your future leaders and support their development.
This will help you build a stronger, more connected team.