“If you continue to do what you’ve been doing…”

You know the rest of the saying, “…you’ll continue to get what you’ve been getting.”

So, is that a good thing, a bad thing or another thing? Or, does it depend on what condition your condition is in. IKR.

What is your condition? Are performing at a high level? Are you falling short? Are you on a continual climb or are you in a continuing downward decline, or might you just be hanging on?

Here’s some of what I have observed:

• If you’re seeking perfection, are you operating with a subconscious mindset that there are “limits to what is possible”?

• If you are seeking perfection, are you putting yourself before others by holding on to reports too long? For example, if you want a report to read “just a little better”, are your actions are at the expense of others?

• Do you have tendency to make others “wait longer” for info from you, thereby delaying their ability to complete their part of the larger task? All in the name of “perfection”. If you have a perception (your reality) of perfection that says there is a point at which something cannot be improved on, what do you do if you fall short?

By contrast, top performing athletes view “PERFECTION” in terms of “PROGRESS”. For these individuals, turning in a good showing, doing better than the last time, or setting a record and winning a medal with a winning performance, typically isn’t achieving perfection. It’s a situation that calls for setting their sights on a new mark, a new best-yet mark. Otherwise, there would be nothing left to strive for.

So, no matter if you are a single competitor for your country or part of a “team” in your company, “striving for progress”…allows and invites more competitors to compete since Perfection is no longer perfection the minute someone else runs a stride faster or jumps an inch higher. That translate into being worthy to compete again. Perfection would suggest with prospect of being done better ever.

And, if you’re a Supervisor, your role is to help those who report to you to get better and better. It’s in your head whether you develop them to continue to improve.