Reducing Perfectionism & Stress

Startsituation

It sounded like a hopeless situation that my coachee, a newly promoted head of department for finance and controlling, was complaining about: “I am working from early morning till late at night and my private life has totally shut down!” Our coaching was initiated to save her from a burn­out. “My boss is putting a lot of pressure on me and my staff expects me to solve all their problems immediately”. Although she was a dedicated leader who constantly wanted to prove her competences, she realized, “I’m really at my limit, what can I do?”

Personal-Strategy-Profile

Review

Already in her early childhood my client was active as a competitive gymnast in addition to her school duties. Her remaining time was filled with regular piano lessons and studying. Both her sports teacher and her piano teacher were her role models who taught her perfection and discipline. In her parents’ house, the family motto was: “What you can do today, don’t put off till tomorrow”. She also described all her bosses being workaholics.

Core Competencies

Perseverance, accuracy and a sense of duty characterized my coachee’s personality. Everyone was always impressed by her professional competence.

Internal Analysis

Now, having arrived at the new rung of the career ladder, she felt increasingly stressed. The many additional meetings, “trouble shootings” and all her operational tasks were tugging at her nerves. Her health was already suffering.

External Analysis

When we checked her daily work routine, it became apparent that she did everything herself down to the smallest detail and that she was constantly multitasking. There was hardly any time left for her leadership duties and strategic planning. “How can I escape from this treadmill?” she sighed.

Vision

By listing all her tasks plus looking at her time budget it quickly came apparent that she needed to delegate some of her favorite projects. “From now on, I must prioritize and distribute more. I have to set clear boundaries and say “no” to inappropriate tasks more often”, she promised herself. In her future visions, she pictured more private life and relaxation. She also decided to schedule one home office day per week and an early closing on Fridays. “Now I will use my discipline to make sure my plans don’t remain a utopia!” she said with a smile.

result

Too much perfectionism can cause great stress. It makes a lot of sense to explore the roots of it all and to sort out old behavioural routines. Overload and burn-out can be avoided by focusing on the essential things. This frees up strength and energy again. My coachee realised: “Micromanagement and multitasking is a perfectionism trap!