Tip Tuesday: Managing the Perfectionist

It's Valentine's Day, but let's face it - some people are pretty hard to love. Am I right?

This especially so in the office. Just like our own crazy families, we don't always get to pick our work family. You have to deal with a variety of characters with patience and grace. So today's tip is about dealing with one common to most offices: the perfectionist.

Do you have a perfectionist on your team? (Maybe you're the perfectionist?)

They can be tricky to work with or manage - they can get bogged down in details, plagued by unrealistic expectations, and be sensitive to criticism - but there are a couple things you can do to help them stay productive and succeed (adapted from this HBR post).

Set Expectations

It's critical to clearly define desired outcomes and objectives to help your perfectionist know exactly what to focus on and what is a waste of time. The more explicit you can be, the better, including giving them permission to specifically not worry about X, Y or Z.

Schedule Regular Check-ins

Perfectionists are notorious for only wanting to share perfect, finished products. Encouraging them to share works-in-progress helps loosen their grip on paralyzing perfectionism and can also save lots of time and energy heading off efforts gone astray by unnecessary and distracting details.

Recognize the Warning Signs

Perfectionists can be hard working, conscientious and driven to succeed. We all want more of that on our team, but sometimes perfectionism is a mask for insecurity and procrastination. We should take care to recognize the difference - especially within ourselves - so that we can leverage the benefits of high expectations without risking defeat by unrealistic expectations. With perfectionism (like fear), a little can be motivating but too much can be a real productivity killer. 

Do you struggle with a perfectionist or perfectionism?