Done Beats Perfect

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Most design leaders wear high standards like a badge of honor. Standards are essential — they shape quality, create signature work, and fuel reputations. But when high becomes perfect, something subtle and costly starts to happen.

From a self-sabotage perspective, we are talking about the Stickler. Like all the Saboteurs, the Stickler leads us down the wrong path. In this case, perfectionism doesn’t just elevate expectations — it narrows focus, increases anxiety, and quietly erodes creative flow. And new research shows that the leadership pressure to be perfect can weaken decision-making, suppress innovation, and even hamper team performance (Forbes).

When “High Standards” Become Mental Noise

High standards are only as healthy as the leader’s ability to regulate their internal state. Perfectionism taps into the same neural networks that trigger stress responses — the fight/flight systems in our nervous system — which are meant for danger, not design revisions at 2 a.m. Persistent stress changes how people think, perceive risk, and make decisions. In design work — where clarity, intuition, and creative risk-taking matter — this is a real strategic drawback.

Leadership researcher Kathy Miller Perkins (writing in Forbes) has noted that perfectionism in leaders often stems more from fear of failure than desire for excellence, and it can erode trust, hinder team morale, and lead to burnout. In PQ, we know this is true because the survival brain is motivated by fear and all Saboteurs come from the survival brain.

The Leadership Paradox: Perfection and Performance

Here’s another counterintuitive finding: striving for perfection can actually reduce overall performance because it turns creativity into risk avoidance. A team that feels judged on flawlessness will play it safe. They stop trying bold solutions and instead chase error-free mediocrity. 

In the world of architecture and design — where every project is a complex creative system — diminishing psychological safety isn’t just an HR concern; it’s a design constraint.

A Better Way Forward: From Perfection to Presence

So what’s the alternative?

1. Notice the nervous system first.
   Creativity flows when the nervous system feels safe and regulated — not on edge. Leaders who slow down long enough to notice stress patterns make clearer, more generative decisions.
   
   2. Aim for clarity over flawlessness.
   High standards shouldn’t mean zero mistakes. They should mean clear expectations with space to iterate and adapt.
   
   3. Cultivate psychological safety.
   Teams perform best when they know it’s safe to take risks — and safe to fail forward. This isn’t soft; it’s strategic.
   
   4. Use the 80/20 Rule
   Sometimes “perfection” is required, as with health, safety and welfare issues for example. Use discernment about the 20% of the work that does require higher standards and let good enough be good enough for the other 80%. The Saboteurs will have you focus on the 80% less important tasks, draining your energy, killing joy and creating tension.

When “Done” Beats “Perfect”

There’s a simple litmus test design leaders can use:

If being perfect increases anxiety more than it increases impact, you’re doing perfectionism — not excellence.

If it delays delivery, dampens creativity, or limits risk-taking, it’s costing you more than it’s giving.

That difference — perfection with ease versus perfection at all costs — often comes down to one thing: self-regulation (aka Mental Fitness). The leaders who model calm clarity, not anxious control, are the ones whose studios produce their best work and sustain their creative energy over the long haul.

In my 10-Week Mental Fitness Master Class you will learn to combat perfectionism, and other self-sabotaging patterns and habits, for more ease and flow, confidence and clarity.

First things first, take the Saboteur assessment and then let’s chat.

Journal Prompts:

• Does trying to be excellent make you feel anxious?

• In what situations do you feel failure and in which ones do you desire excellent?

• What are the 80% less important tasks that I can let “done” be good enough?