Perfectionism: Is it Keeping You Disorganized?
May 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment
Perfectionism is defined by American Heritage dictionary as a propensity for being displeased with anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards. Perfectionism is a self-defeating behavior that is often disguised as a virtue. In fact, many non-perfectionists often wish they were more like those they see with “perfect” lives. The unfortunate thing is that dysfunctional perfectionists often live a tortured life in which nothing is ever good enough.
One thing to keep in mind while reading this is that a little bit of perfectionism is a good thing at times. The desire to produce high quality work is certainly acceptable. The line is crossed when perfectionism is a persistent issue that negatively affects a person’s life and the lives of those around them.
Perfectionism is a self-defeating behavior that causes anxiety and procrastination. In some cases perfectionism can be paralyzing. Perfectionists often feel that they can’t begin a project or task unless they can do it perfectly. Until they have the right tools and the right knowledge they can’t begin. Often when they do begin they are unable to finish projects because they constantly refine their work to be sure that it is perfect.
In an office environment the perfectionist may have a desk covered with stacks of paper. He can’t do anything with the stacks because he hasn’t figured out the perfect system for filing the papers away or handling the tasks associated with the paper. So the stacks remain and day after day the perfectionist beats himself up over his imperfect office conditions.
Perfectionism is debilitating for the business owner. Imagine the opportunities squandered as the business owner struggles with simple decisions involving very basic business functions. Fussing over the perfect wording for each letter or email sent, constantly refining business materials, and never happy with anything. This is the life of the perfectionist.
Perfectionists often don’t reserve their high standards only for themselves. They expect above average results from everyone they come in contact with. When they don’t receive those results they can be abusive and abrupt. Working with a perfectionist can be a tough job.
For those of you who identify with some of what you’ve read here, there is hope! If you know someone struggling with this issue, pass this along.
- Self-talk is your worst enemy. Listen to what your inner critic is saying about you. Counter those statements with statements of your own. For example, if your inner critic says that you can’t do anything right, challenge that statement by thinking of things that you have done right. What evidence does your inner critic have to support the statements that it makes about you? Most often the statements are wrong and completely false.
- Recognize that your value as a person does not come from your performance in the various roles you play in daily life. Consider that when something is wrong in your life or you make a mistake that it doesn’t mean that you are an idiot or can’t do anything right (or whatever your inner critic says to you). It may mean that you need some training or improvement in that area of your life. If feedback is coming from external sources, the problem may not be yours at all. Perhaps the person giving the feedback is having a bad day.
- Realize that perfection is an unattainable goal. Realign your goal to pursuit of excellence or mastery. You will find much more satisfaction.
- Make mistakes intentionally. Since mistakes are extremely dangerous for perfectionists, this is an experiment that may cause a lot of stress initially. Try “forgetting” to sign in at a meeting or class. Most likely, the person in charge will simply remind you to sign in. Let yourself experience the feeling. You won’t die and no one will think you are an idiot. Mistakes are actually great opportunities for learning. If you aren’t making mistakes, you aren’t growing.
So, what about you? Is perfectionism sabotaging your success?
What’s Trust Got to Do With It?
May 25, 2010 | Leave a Comment
“I don’t care who you are or what your title is, if I don’t trust you, I can’t work with you!”, Louis said vehemently.
We were in a leadership development workshop, discussing the integral role that trust plays within an organization, particularly between a manager and his or her team members. Louis serves as a Lead Operator on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. His rationale behind this statement isn’t hard to understand. In his role, he puts life and limb on the line every day, and if he can’t be absolutely sure that his co-workers are being safe and not cutting corners, he doesn’t want to work with them.
You may not be in a life and death situation in your workplace, but I can assure you, trust is just as important. Trust is an integral part of being a leader, whether you’re a leader by title or by influence. Frankly, it is an important part of any relationship.
Stephen Covey, author of “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” compares trust in a relationship to an emotional bank account. We can make deposits or withdrawals to the account. When we follow through and do what we say we’re going to do, we’re making deposits. If we make enough deposits, trust is earned and our account earns interest and grows. When we let someone down or fail to honor a commitment, we make a withdrawal. If we make too many withdrawals, our “account” will be “overdrawn” and trust is shaken.
Trust can’t be compartmentalized. Cheryl Biehl says, “One of the realities of life is that if you can’t trust a person at all points, you can’t truly trust him at any point”. To earn trust, our actions must be consistent. If I’m only trustworthy in some things but not all, it’s like cooking a huge pot of gumbo, then adding strychnine to the pot and saying that only part of the gumbo is poisoned. Now, give me a shot or two of Tabasco in my gumbo, but I’ll pass on the poison! Consistency is the key.
Are you earning your team members’ trust by acting consistently?
It goes both ways, too. “He who trusts in others will be trusted in return.” One thing that is apparently tough for many leaders to do is to place their trust in others. When I was just starting out in my career, I worked with a manager who assigned me an important project and let me run with it. Nothing could have been more motivating or inspiring than having her place her confidence in me. I truly wanted to do a great job so that I could show her she had made the right judgment call.
When you let a team member know that you believe in them, they will want to produce positive results – they’ll run through a brick wall for you – anything not to let you down.
Think about someone who made a significant difference in your life. Maybe it was a boss, coach, teacher, or even a parent or grandparent. Think about how it felt when they expressed their confidence in your abilities.
Are you showing your team members that you believe in them?
What’s trust got to do with it? In leadership and in relationships, it’s got everything to do with it.
Getting Organized Takes Too Much Time
May 20, 2010 | Leave a Comment
I was on a conference call today with a client. We recently implemented a piece of software to help with task management. He was feeling very frustrated because he felt that it was taking too long to get his tasks organized into the system.
This happens often when people begin the organizing process. Whether they are organizing tasks or paper, it always seems that the process takes a little longer than they had hoped. When you factor in years of piling papers and avoiding tasks it’s no wonder it might take a while to get all of that straightened out.
Getting an organizing system set up takes time, but the payoff is that you will be able to work smarter, find things when you need them, and put them away when you are done. Remember the payoff…when you are finished sifting through the papers or tasks or stuff in the attic you will probably not have to do such an extensive organizing job again. If you set up the organizing system, the work will go faster even if you do fall off the wagon a few times.
Unfortunately, this is a barrier to people starting the organizing process in the first place. They think that they don’t have time to get organized. Let’s imagine what you might be able to do if you invested a few hours in organizing your office….you can find files the moment you need them…You can easily handle disruptions and distractions…You know exactly where things are and can find them in a snap!
Happy Organizing!
Conquer Unrealistic Expectations
May 16, 2010 | Leave a Comment
When I think about exercise and dieting, I always come up with grand plans. These plans usually involve a few hours of exercise each day and eating fabulous foods that are healthy. Of course, it would be wonderful if I actually did these things, but I never do. The fact is that I set myself up for failure from the start.
My diet and exercise plans in the past have been way too ambitious for someone with my schedule. Taking into account that I hate to shop and cook, the idea that I would have fresh food in the house that I would then prepare is pretty silly when I look back on it. So, what went wrong?
I made these plans based on what I thought I should be doing, not what I knew I would actually do. Of course, I have to make some changes in my behavior if I want to have fabulous arms and killer abs, but it’s helpful to be realistic about what you will do when faced with the choice of laying in bed until 7:00 or getting up to do a workout.
In organizing projects this happens frequently. We have so many images of what organized means in various situations. Perfectly clear desktops, doing everything the moment you think to do it, scanning all of your paper so you never have to deal with it again. Not to mention all of the books out there touting the definitive solution to organizing problems. The reality is that much of what is published in books and articles probably won’t work for you.
Here’s my beef with most of the information out there on organizing. Solutions are presented as though they are great for everyone. If you just put enough effort into it, this extremely complex system can work for you. No way! Your organizing systems must be based on your own logic and realistic assessment of your behavior.
I was recently asked by a workshop participant if scanning paper was a good solution for paper clutter. I asked if the person liked dealing with paper. She cringed and said “No way! I hate paper!” So, my answer is that scanning probably won’t be a good solution for her. If she hates paper so much that she won’t deal with it to get it filed, what are the chances that she will want to sit around scanning paper for hours. Now, I’m not saying that scanning is not a good option for dealing with paper clutter. I’m simply pointing out that realistically, she will probably not keep up with scanning paper if she doesn’t like dealing with paper to begin with.
Here are three things to consider when setting up a system or routine for organizing:
1) Is there anything wrong with your current system? Don’t change for the sake of changing. If your systems work, leave them alone.
2) Ask the question, “What will I really do?” Will you really scan all that paper or is it better to come up with some strategies to keep the paper from coming in at all. Will you really put all of those articles you’ve been saving into alphabetized binders? Or is it better to put them into a few research folders and call it a day? Better yet, you probably won’t ever look at them again so maybe you could just toss them.
3) Keep things simple. Complicated systems are typically difficult to maintain. The best organizing systems and routines are very simple. No need to color code your file system or calendar…unless you really believe that you will keep it up. As you develop your systems, continually ask yourself how it could be made easier.
So, my new diet plan is to exercise as many times as I can each week and to cut out eating so much ice cream. I’ve also recruited my brother to be my accountability partner as we tackle P90X. Yikes, that is a rough program! I could still use some work keeping up my new routine, but I am being more realistic and not beating myself up.
Happy Organizing!
Fired Up! Or Burnt Out?
May 7, 2010 | Leave a Comment
We’re all being asked to do more with less these days, but some people are feeling the pressures more than others. Are your employees still Fired Up! about their jobs, or are they Burnt Out?
I’ve heard from friends and colleagues lately that they are seeing more disengaged employees than ever before. Dubbed “The Walking Dead” by many management experts, these are the employees who are just going through the motions. They do the absolute minimum that they have to do just to get by. I’m willing to bet that you pictured a co-worker or team member when you read that last sentence. Yep, we all know at least one person who is burnt out, checked out, and pooped out. And yet, he or she is still taking up space on the job. (Hopefully it’s not you!)
The sad part about all of this is that disengaged workers were usually once engaged, enthusiastic, productive workers. So why do they become so discouraged? Disengagement typically begins with a change in the work – whether it’s a new boss, assignments, a change in work location, or being overwhelmed with extra duties, etc. There are a variety of reasons why people check out.
More commonly people get disengaged because they get little or no support from their leaders. My friend and colleague was telling me recently that she is nearing the point of burn out because although she’s been pulling extra weight for quite some time and doing a great job, she gets no acknowledgement, appreciation or recognition from her boss.
As leaders, we all need to be concerned about disengaged employees. Why? Because disengaged employees eat into your organization’s bottom-line, while breaking the spirits of co-workers. Disengaged workers are much more likely to:
- Be less productive
- Have an accident
- Cause errors
- Have an absenteeism and/or tardiness problem
- Provide poor customer service
Okay, before I get you totally depressed, let’s talk about what you can do as a leader to prevent disengagement, and maybe even re-engage those on their way to the check-out counter.
- Show some love! – Let your team members know how much you appreciate their efforts. A little bit of recognition goes a long way.
- Treat employees as individuals – A one-size-fits-all approach to leadership just won’t cut it. Honor individuality and results, not the process or how they arrived at the results.
- Create a greenhouse for your employees to grow – It is vital that team members have opportunities to continue to learn and develop their skills.
- Make employees partners – Clue them in to the big picture. Let them know the rationale behind what they are doing so that they can take pride and ownership in their work.
- Pay attention to top performers – They are always the first to leave if they become discouraged. Acknowledge their efforts. Sometimes just having you notice that they did their job with pride is enough to reignite them.
- Deal with poor performers quickly – Stop the spread of the “disease” before it gets to your top performers. When a leader ignores the poor performance of one worker, the morale of others is affected.
- Respect employees –What you do as a leader is like a boomerang. It will always come back to you. If you treat people with respect, you’ll likely be treated the same way, and vice versa.
You as a leader have tremendous impact on those around you. Just letting team members see that you’re concerned about them may be enough to reignite their enthusiasm and get them Fired Up!
Fired Up! Or Burnt Out?
May 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment
We’re all being asked to do more with less these days, but some people are feeling the pressures more than others. Are your employees still Fired Up! about their jobs, or are they Burnt Out?
I’ve heard from friends and colleagues lately that they are seeing more disengaged employees than ever before. Dubbed “The Walking Dead” by many management experts, these are the employees who are just going through the motions. They do the absolute minimum that they have to do just to get by. I’m willing to bet that you pictured a co-worker or team member when you read that last sentence. Yep, we all know at least one person who is burnt out, checked out, and pooped out. And yet, he or she is still taking up space on the job. (Hopefully it’s not you!)
The sad part about all of this is that disengaged workers were usually once engaged, enthusiastic, productive workers. So why do they become so discouraged? Disengagement typically begins with a change in the work – whether it’s a new boss, assignments, a change in work location, or being overwhelmed with extra duties, etc. There are a variety of reasons why people check out.
More commonly people get disengaged because they get little or no support from their leaders. My friend and colleague was telling me recently that she is nearing the point of burn out because although she’s been pulling extra weight for quite some time and doing a great job, she gets no acknowledgement, appreciation or recognition from her boss.
As leaders, we all need to be concerned about disengaged employees. Why? Because disengaged employees eat into your organization’s bottom-line, while breaking the spirits of co-workers. Disengaged workers are much more likely to:
- Be less productive
- Have an accident
- Cause errors
- Have an absenteeism and/or tardiness problem
- Provide poor customer service
Okay, before I get you totally depressed, let’s talk about what you can do as a leader to prevent disengagement, and maybe even re-engage those on their way to the check-out counter.
- Show some love! – Let your team members know how much you appreciate their efforts. A little bit of recognition goes a long way.
- Treat employees as individuals – A one-size-fits-all approach to leadership just won’t cut it. Honor individuality and results, not the process or how they arrived at the results.
- Create a greenhouse for your employees to grow – It is vital that team members have opportunities to continue to learn and develop their skills.
- Make employees partners – Clue them in to the big picture. Let them know the rationale behind what they are doing so that they can take pride and ownership in their work.
- Pay attention to top performers – They are always the first to leave if they become discouraged. Acknowledge their efforts. Sometimes just having you notice that they did their job with pride is enough to reignite them.
- Deal with poor performers quickly – Stop the spread of the “disease” before it gets to your top performers. When a leader ignores the poor performance of one worker, the morale of others is affected.
- Respect employees –What you do as a leader is like a boomerang. It will always come back to you. If you treat people with respect, you’ll likely be treated the same way, and vice versa.
You as a leader have tremendous impact on those around you. Just letting team members see that you’re concerned about them may be enough to reignite their enthusiasm and get them Fired Up!
Engaging Keynotes
May 3, 2010 | Leave a Comment
