Let's reward progress over perfection

In our work with leaders on building agile change leadership capability, we talk about ‘done is better than perfect’.

Yet, the shift from 'perfection' to 'done' is a challenging mindset shift for many.

We understand in some industries, we want nothing less.

In many organisations, however, a myopic attachment to perfection can lead to paralysis. A mantra of ‘progress over perfection’ can help us overcome this paralysis.

Some guiding principles are:

🟠 It’s not an excuse for mediocrity or poor quality

⚪️ Agree on a definition of ‘done’

🟠 Celebrate small wins

It’s helpful to:

👁‍🗨 Understand that perfection is subjective ~ in a fast moving environment what is seemingly perfect today is unlikely to be that great tomorrow

📢 Share information that’s not perfect ~ so we signal that our work is open for iteration

When we focus on progress over perfection, we start to shift our mindsets (and culture) to one of iteration.

How do you rate your relationship with perfection and progress?