Hard To Hold

Hiring perfectionists may sound like a good business strategy--and most of the time, it is. Most working environments encourage perfectionism and the long hours and sacrifices that go with it. But with all its positives, perfectionism has the potential to create some interesting challenges in your organization when a perfectionist moves into a leadership position.

Management psychologist Joseph G. Cutcliffe, Ph.D., president of Cutcliffe Consulting Group in Torrance, California, says that perfectionists have trouble recognizing acceptable performance. They tend to be unforgiving of their own mistakes and lack sympathy for others' mistakes as well.

"The natural evolution is from being a doer to being a manager to being a leader," says Cutcliffe. "Perfectionism helps doers immensely--it turns them into all-stars. But that same perfectionism can cripple a person's ability to be an effective manager."

Cutcliffe suggests offering coaching to the perfectionists in your organization to help them recognize the difference between who they are and what they do. "[Teach them] to separate identity from behavior," he says. "Their personal self-worth need not be threatened by mistakes." Also help them learn to praise rather than criticize, and to establish attainable goals for themselves and others.

Finally, Cutcliffe says, take a look at yourself. Entrepreneurs are often perfectionists, but when perfectionism turns into crippling behavior, it can affect your business. "It can be hell to work for a perfectionist," says Cutcliffe. So give yourself and your employees a break.

This article was originally published in the October 1997 print edition of Entrepreneur with the headline: Hard To Hold.