Peace to Perfection: a continuum that impacts performance

Decision making can sound formal and grand, and it can be. But as managers of people, we make decisions on a daily basis that can have significant impact on both our organization’s results and our personal success. Do we always take stock of our motivations and what our goals should be before we respond in the moment? Or do we let our individual personality preferences impact our decisions in ways that are counterproductive to our own goals? When we do, it can have significant consequences for our individual, team or organizational goals. Emotionally driven decisions can be an ineffective response to what is only a set of facts or circumstances.

Have you ever accepted less than someone’s best because you didn’t have the “energy” to address their sub optimal work product? (Avoiding confrontation to keep the peace.) Have you ever kept at something or someone too long and/or too hard because the vision in your mind’s eye was so compelling that you just had to have the work “just so”? (Demanding perfection.)

My clients do a good job, most of the time, achieving their desired place on the Peace to Perfection continuum. Sometimes, however, especially under unusual levels of stress, they make decisions too close to either end – which can get in the way of creating an environment of maximum performance.

So what?

Staying too close to the “peace” end can end up pushing work from its assigned area to others – including oneself – in order to get things done, ultimately ruining trust and teamwork.

Staying too close to the “perfection” end can end up demoralizing staff and driving good people, whom you want to keep, to other departments or organizations to avoid burnout and in the interest of self preservation.

To remain one of those effective managers that attract and keep good people, one needs to maintain perspective and a sense of what is right in the moment – and that requires the mental ability to process the emotions of the moment and then purposefully respond to the set of facts and needs in a way so as to achieve your desired goals.