“It’s not perfect.” True. It probably isn’t. It may never be. Whether it’s an important email, the pitch deck for a big deal, that last meeting you led – it’s probably imperfect. The same is true of the work your people just gave you to review.
The question isn’t if it’s perfect. The question is whether it’s the best work any of you can do given the circumstances. If you’re a teacher, delivering education to students in a medium you haven’t been trained on, with technology that is evolving on the fly, supported by administrators who hadn’t even imagined a hybrid or online scenario nine months before, well… it’s not going to be perfect. It’s not going to be the best educational experience ever. But it might be the best you can do in the circumstances.
Sure, there may be ways we can change the circumstances to allow for better work. And we should expect the best from ourselves and those around us. But perfectionism, especially in difficult circumstances, just makes people discouraged and defensive. That won’t help anyone do their best work.
We know you won’t be a slacker. So make your best effort to create the conditions for excellence. Do the best you can in the circumstances. Be excellent.
