How to be effective, not perfect 

Duncan Brodie shares how you can make sure you work effectively, and avoid the ‘perfection trap’ 

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Goals and Achievements

‘Effective’ is a word I use a lot when thinking about courses, webinars or workshops. To some it might seem like quite a passive word but for me it fits well with the accountants and other professionals I work with, particularly in the non-technical skills areas or job areas.

Being effective, from my perspective, is about achieving the outcome that you want. By definition, this means you avoid falling into the ‘perfection trap’; you do everything you can to try and do the very best on the day but this does not mean it has to be ‘perfect’. Let’s take a few examples to illustrate this.

Being an effective presenter

If you were thinking about giving a presentation at work you might obsess about it, worry about it’ and tell yourself all sorts of stories about what might go wrong. However, if you just think in terms of being effective, you might write down:

• Delivering with confidence.
• Getting your pace right.
• Engaging your audience.
• Getting the action you proposed agreed.

Once you have done this think about all the things that might help you to achieve the items on your list, such as:

• Doing a practice run several times.
• Audio recording yourself delivering your presentation and checking your pace.
• Creating opportunities for your audience to get involved.
• Being clear about the outcome you want.

Being an effective leader

Leading, for me, is one of those areas where we are all always work in progress; aiming for perfection in leading is setting the bar too high. By contrast, being effective is achievable. If you think being effective as leader you might write down things like:

• Knowing what you do best.
• Focusing on what you do best.
• Getting the best from your team.
• Working effectively with peers.

The things that might help you be effective as a leader could include:

• Getting feedback from others about what they value most from you.
• Letting go of things that you are not good at.
• Getting to know your team and their motivations.
• Building relationships with others at a similar level across the organisation.

Being effective in job interviews

This is one of those areas where perfection is almost impossible because you simply don’t do them often enough – the good thing is that perfection isn’t expected either. If you think about being effective in a job interview, you might think in terms of:

• Being offered the job (the ideal).
• Being one of the candidates who features in the discussions about who to appoint.
• Leaving a positive impression, even if you don’t get the job.
• Knowing you did your best.

What might help you to do this includes:

• Doing sufficient preparation ahead of the job interview.
• Having answers to hand to the most common questions.
• Acting professionally whatever is thrown at you in the job interview.
• Using example and stories to illustrate your experience, achievements and contributions.

‘Thinking effective’, in my view, really helps to take some of the pressure off. It helps you keep moving forward and avoid getting stuck in the ‘perfection trap’.