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Perfectionism sounds great but it can be the gateway to disaster. You feel so good about yourself because you can do it all (you think better than anyone else) – and so you wind up doing it all. Your downfall accelerates by insisting on doing everything and getting in your own way.
Perfectionism and delegation are like oil and water. They don’t mix, so until you work on getting your perfectionistic tendencies under control, your delegator will remain dormant.
Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you should.
The core problem is that you’ve smothered your delegator by convincing yourself that there is nobody else to do the job like you can. Sometimes you mean that you don’t trust anyone else to do it “right,” as if you hold the magical power of doing every job right. But is this true?
No, and here’s a little secret: Perfection is not attainable.
Striving for perfection brings about depression, anxiety, stress, feelings of hopelessness, loss of interest, loss of appetite, and it has even been known to lead to nervous breakdowns. Perfectionism will ultimately get in your way. It will slow down your road to success in a big way.
According to The Confidence Code by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, perfectionism is also a confidence killer. This book also reveals that success correlates more closely with confidence than with competence, meaning that to succeed, it’s more important to be confident than it is to be competent. (Read that last sentence again!) And, because perfectionism tends to kill confidence, those who lack confidence struggle to get ahead.
Here’s the key – stop self-sabotaging your productivity and empower other people to do the things you don’t need to do or shouldn’t be doing. Silence your perfectionism and empower your delegator.
There are many capable people in the world who can learn quickly and perform the heroic tasks that you deem impossible for another human to learn or complete. Here is a universal truth that should be written on your mirror:
“I am not perfect, and others can do what I can do.”
The faster you understand this truth and believe it, the better your life and your practice will become. Free yourself to focus on what you do best to ensure that your practice grows, that your clients are serviced well, and that your confidence never gets impaired by perfectionism.
Want the cure for perfectionism?
If you suck at delegation, I dare you to try the “stop, start and continue” exercise. Yep, it’s as simple as it seems. It’s one of my favorite productivity tools that I introduce to my advisor coaching clients when needed because it can really open your eyes and prompt the right action.
Get a piece of paper and make three columns.
First column – list the things that you need to stop doing. Include all the things that are stealing your productivity away from what you need to be doing, both at work and home. List the specific activities that someone else could and should be doing. Nobody to delegate to? Maybe it’s time to hire someone or outsource the work.
Second column – list the actions that you need to start doing, i.e. delegating more, walking, getting home earlier, using one calendar, eating better, working out, you name it. What have you been meaning to get to, avoiding, or waiting for just the right time to start?
Third column – list the tasks that you should continue doing. If something is working, of course, continue doing it. If you enjoy doing something so much that you hate to give it up, continue doing it. This list should include the tasks that only you can do and don’t fit in the other two columns.
By the end of this exercise, you will have a clear idea of what to stop, start and continue. Choose one item at a time and take baby steps towards letting go of non-productive activities and starting new productive behaviors!
Ditch your perfectionism and give your delegator a chance to shine!
Having a hard time coming up with tasks to put on the sheet? Track your time for a week and see what you do that can be placed in one of the columns. You can use the free apps at www.Clockify.me or www.Toggl.com to track your time.
Patty Kreamer, CPO® helps overwhelmed financial advisors take control of their brain clutter, calendar, to-do list, inbox, interruptions and anything blocking productivity. She is a productivity coach, speaker, Certified Professional Organizer®, author of four books and partner at Productivity Uncorked, LLC, a coaching firm that specializes in helping financial advisors take control of their practice and uncork their referrals. Email Patty at [email protected] or connect with her on LinkedIn.
Read more articles by Patty Kreamer
Advisor Perspectives welcomes guest contributions. The views presented here do not necessarily represent those of Advisor Perspectives.
