Your Leading Brain - Correction, Not Perfection

There's a saying that's been floating around a lot lately, "don't let perfection get in the way of good." I tried to track it down, because every time I use it, people nod at me. Most of my clients like to think of perfection as an ideal, not an affliction. They nod, and strive for it anyway.

So I tracked down a reputable source, and why not give a shout to Gretchen Rubin, of "The Happiness Project" http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2007/02/tip_dont_let_th.html, who claims it is Voltaire, and who said perfection can be the enemy of good.

Ms. Rubin's project, with her search for happiness and its rules, reminds me very much of the Rules of Civility and Decent Behavior in Company and Conversation (http://www.foundationsmag.com/civility.html), taught to George Washington (yes, the US' first President), about how to behave in public. Awhile back, I bought a bunch of copies of these rules and handed them out to clients, encouraging them to develop their own "leadership rules."

So, correction is against some rule. And I am just starting, yes today, the true correction process. Back when I got my Tier 4 Assessment (see Beth Sullivan's entry in January), I learned a few good things about my body, a few astonishing things about my strength, and one major depressing correction I needed to make. At some point, Florin (Tier 4) is going to blog about what the overall training program has become to address these strengths and limitations. But for now, the big one: posture and flexibility.

So today, approximately 6 weeks of training later, I have worn a back brace...purchased about a month ago. It took me weeks to deliberate buying it, actually buying it, trying it one for a few hours here and there, and today I am locked in.

I suspect that it corrects my posture. But mostly, it tugs and irritates me so much, that I sit up straighter. And, as a straighter person, constantly thinking about my posture, I am trying not to wince.

"Posture is the hardest thing to correct, you should feel some pain," says Beth.

So let's talk about leadership and correction, because leaders are constantly asking me about how to correct, and that is, provide feedback. They shy away from it. They don't like it. They can come across as critical and diminishing, or cold and uncaring, or, frankly, wimpy.

What they want to come across like is effective. I say, first, let's talk about the difference between being right, and the difference with being effective. Which would you rather be?

Right? Who cares. Effective? Most certainly.

When you've decided as a leader that you want to be effective, you begin to strive for "good," not perfect. There is no perfect feedback process.

And, in fact, you may need some correction. A brace, as it were. A way of providing feedback that is better than you did before, a bit more careful, a bit more elegant.

But it's a bit painful, because you have to work on it. You have to be conscious about it. You need some rules and guidelines. You need, as it were, a kind of brace. Some kind of support, as you correct your ability to correct others.

Anyway, that's what I've been thinking about, in my brace that corrects my posture and throws my shoulders back, and helps me stretch out and stand up straighter. Tier 4 folks gave me the feedback in the nicest possible way, but they were firm:

"If you want to swim faster, if you want to compete better, if you want to perform...

you need to correct your posture. And, by the way, over the weeks, do several exercises to strengthen your back and create more flexibility in your body."

I don't feel happy. I don't particularly feel civil. But I understand the feedback, and I appreciated the candid truth, based on objective information, and delivered with kindness.

Aren't those pretty good rules for giving feedback?

I'm committed. Will keep you posted on if it works.