H.L. Mencken defined wealth as
"any income that is at least $100 more a year than the income of one's
wife's sister's husband." (1949)
We call that positional
concerns.
From an anthropological
standpoint survival depends upon belonging to the tribe. Ideally we have enough in common with the
tribe to accepted as a member, but bring enough value-added that we are prized
within the tribe.
And since status is relative,
people compete to be seen as the most valuable players. Sometimes they want to be the richest, other
times they want to brag about the colleges their kids attend. Whatever they think will give them an edge.
Myers-Briggs tells us that ~60%
of us value relationships over task - so the majority of us probably compete
for elevated status within the tribe.
Perfectionists on the other hand
march to a different drummer. If all you
care about is being perfect then you don't care about your performance relative
to others. You just want to be perfect.
So while most people would be
content with a 98 out of 100 on a test, as long as it was the best grade given,
perfectionists will focus on those other two points regardless.
Knowing which type of person you
are dealing with is the key to motivating them.
So, which one are you?
2 comments:
I am definitely a perfectionist for the better or worse. I had the privilege of taking two of professor Lehrer classes while at NYU and I still remember her saying " I would never hire a perfectionist." I thought a lot about her statement and try to make sense of it. Now a year later I think I understand it.
Perfectionists pride themselves on striving for the best and not settling for anything less than 100%. The problem with this behavior, in my opinion, is that your marginal effort for that extra 2 % is going to be so high, you could probably learn something entirely different instead of chasing those 2%. In the workplace, it comes down to this, if your work meets a certain standard, your boss would want your work ASAP.
Since my conversation with Professor Lehrer, I have changed my interview strategies and never mentioned "perfectionism" again.
I'd make an exception for a perfectionist who is open to coaching. ;-)
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