I recently read this great article on perfection. Yes, I suffer from trying to achieve perfection 100% of the time. Here’s the article: http://staffingtalk.com/how-to-succeed-in-recruiting-by-letting-go-of-perfectionism/comment-page-1/#comment-58588.

In response, you will see my comment below the article linked above. I wrote “Great article. Very timely. Could not agree more, that a compulsion for perfection can be not only exasperating (for you and those who work with you), but crippling.. and to others who have to work with you or for you, it will make you seem more like the “black plague”, than a colleague or boss that they want to work for. Let’s be realistic though, that striving for being the best is also what got some of you (ie: us) where we are today.. what you have to realize is that you made that rise up on your own and often (alone). So as you advance and grow professional or lead your team, you need to realize collaboration and unification while having fun at our job is better and more rewarding than just being by yourself at the top. Which many perfectionistic “A’ types tend to be. That is …alone.”

While I do agree that perfectionist are driven by fear, I don’t believe this is an unbreakable rule. Steve Jobs was a perfectionist and Apple had its flaws. Jobs new there would always be room for the next perfect thing, such as iOS 7, which is why he was driven by both fear and the need to forge ahead with new developments.

I will say, however, when it comes to finding great employees you can’t seek out a perfect person. He or she doesn’t exist. Like iOS 7, we all have our flaws no matter how great we think we are. You can’t judge a potential employee for not being 100% perfect when you, yourself, are not.

I once watched a great employee be turned down for a position over her shoes. There wasn’t anything unprofessional about they shoes. She wore a Navy blue outfit and had matching shoes. However, the client found a flaw in her shoes and would have preferred them to be black. So, despite all her experience and education, the candidate wasn’t hired because she wore the wrong color shoes- she wasn’t perfect. We, as employers, have to look well beyond imperfection in order to see possibilities.

Are you guilty of expecting perfection? Send your comments in via Facebook!

Britanie Olvera, CEO of Building Team Solutions