If you’re a business owner or leader, chances are you’ve proclaimed yourself to be a ‘perfectionist’ when it comes to executing and producing results. The pride you have in the work you produce has propelled yours and your business’ success — until it hasn’t. The flip side of being a perfectionist leader is overwhelm, burnout, and worst of all – paralysis.

So what does it take to escape this perfectionist trap and reassess your identity so that you’re not held back by this relentless urge to “do things the ‘right’ way (your way)?” It isn’t an overnight process, but it ultimately comes down to 3 key steps: embracing vulnerability, building self-trust, and shifting the focus from doing to leading. Here’s what to prepare for in each of these phases:

Relinquishing your perfectionist ‘fear’ by embracing vulnerability

The first step in making the internal shift away from perfectionism is embracing vulnerability. Being a perfectionist, at its core, is rooted in fear—the fear of making mistakes, of judgment, and of perceived failure. It’s a defensive stance that likely makes you armor yourself against vulnerability to shield your ego and maintain control. However, this armor also blocks the ability for growth, innovation, and genuine connection with your team and yourself.

Acknowledging that perfection is an illusion (and also highly subjective) is crucial. In the complex, ever-changing business landscape, the pursuit of perfection almost always leads to paralysis, indecision, and missed opportunities. As a leader, it’s important to realize that mistakes and setbacks are not just inevitable but invaluable. They are the crucibles in which resilience, adaptability, and innovation are forged, which ultimately drive yours and your business’ success.

Embracing vulnerability means shifting to a more forgiving and growth-oriented mindset. It requires acknowledging your limitations and being open about them with yourself and your team. It may feel like a weakness to share this openness, but it is actually a strength because you are proving that you’re willing to accept ideas and answers that you wouldn’t have been able to find on your own. Not only does this take the pressure off of you, but it also empowers your team to take initiative and to serve as a support system that you wouldn’t have have been able to tap into otherwise.

Building self-trust in order to have the confidence to ‘let go’

You may be inclined to say that the reason why you can’t delegate is because you don’t trust your team to meet your expectations, but the real reason why you have this assessment is because you don’t trust yourself to be a decision-maker rather than a contributor. Before you can truly rely on your (already competent) team, you must cultivate the confidence to lean into being the leader that your employees need.

The most challenging aspect of building this self-trust is allowing yourself to make errors in judgment, which is considered a cardinal sin for a perfectionist. As a leader, you will almost never get it completely “right,” and the mindset to embrace here is to accept that this is actually a good thing. No organization actually wants a self-proclaimed ‘perfect’ leader because that means that they are unwilling to accept feedback and change course based on the needs of the company.

Self-trust in leadership doesn’t equate to having the ability and motivation to do everything ‘right’ – it’s about believing in yourself and staying committed to your team even when things go ‘wrong.’ If you truly want your business to thrive, then you should never reach the point where things are ‘perfect’ because that indicates that you and your company have stopped growing. Trusting yourself is about leaning into your intuition and strengthening your decision-making muscle, not just falling back on your execution muscle.

Shifting the focus from doing to leading – empowering yourself and your team

Redefining your leadership identity involves a fundamental shift in focus—from being an individual contributor who excels at tasks to being a visionary leader who empowers others. This shift is pivotal if you’ve been trapped in the cycle of perfectionism, as it requires letting go of the compulsion to do everything yourself.

The transition from doing to leading requires placing value on your team’s development and success and not just your own. This involves setting clear goals, providing direction and resources, and then stepping aside to allow team members to take the lead. It also requires prioritizing the strategic direction of the organization over individual tasks. It involves thinking about the big picture, setting long-term goals, and crafting strategies to achieve them.

The key to avoiding falling back into the trap of needing ‘control’ over every aspect of these strategies is to develop metrics that you can use to measure progress for every initiative you’ve created for your business. Many perfectionist leaders find that, initially, they “run out of things to do” because they’re no longer in the weeds of the work they’ve delegated. The best way to stay “occupied” is to think of yourself as a resource and a reference point for the rest of your team to use to stay motivated and continue to produce at a high level.

Conclusion: The never-ending transition from perfectionism to empowerment

The journey from perfectionism to empowerment is a transformative process that will challenge you to reassess and redefine your professional identity. It’s a path that requires courage to face your fears, confidence to trust yourself and your team, and the wisdom to focus on what truly matters—empowering your team and guiding your organization towards its vision. This internal shift is not just about changing your behavior but about embracing a new philosophy of leadership—one that values vulnerability, builds self-trust, and prioritizes empowering others over your own personal achievement. Through this transition, you can unlock yours and your team’s full potential and lead your business to new heights of success and fulfillment.

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If you’re struggling with making this transition as a leader and want to learn more about how coaching can help, send me an email at [email protected] or click the button below to set up a call, and we’ll discuss how we can partner together to help you reach your goals.