Some perfectionists shrink from leadership. We tell ourselves that we could never measure up, never get everything right, never rise to the level of what is required.

But the truth is, many strong leaders are perfectionists. They care deeply about doing things well. They hold themselves to high standards. And they leverage that drive to produce outstanding results for their organizations.

Perfectionism doesn’t disqualify you from leadership. It’s simply one character trait — among many — that sometimes needs redirection.

Here are five strategies to help perfectionist leaders stay effective without burning out.

1. Reframe the Story You Tell Yourself

One of the most powerful tools available to perfectionist leaders is the reframe — or “cognitive reappraisal” as psychologists call it. Reframing is when we stop a thought, appraise it and rewrite it.

Psychotherapist Katherine Morgan Schafler, author of “The Perfectionist’s Guide to Losing Control,” says that “one of the best ways to change the way you think is to change the way you speak.”

For example, instead of telling yourself that needing help is a sign of your own inadequacy, reappraise it as a refusal to give up. Instead of feeling defeated, you’ll feel strong and determined.

You can even reframe your perfectionism in a way that practices self-compassion: “I’m such a perfectionist” becomes, “I have a strong and clear vision.”

Action Step: Catch one perfectionist sentence you say about yourself this week and rewrite it.

2. Befriend Vulnerability

Although perfectionist leaders sometimes anticipate failure around every corner — even when they haven’t actually failed — all of us do fail from time to time.

Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at Harvard Business School, reminds us in her book “Right Kind of Wrong” that failure is both an inevitability and an opportunity.

“Owning our errors becomes easier when we accept human fallibility as a fact and put that acceptance to use in learning and improving.”

Instead of berating yourself for a mistake, use it. Ask yourself, “What can I learn from this? How can I use this knowledge to help me and my team in the future?”

Befriending vulnerability will not only normalize failure for your team, it can also lead to improvements and innovations.

As G.K. Chesterton put it, “A man who never makes mistakes never makes anything else.”

Action Step: Model healthy failure language with your team. Use phrases like, “That didn’t work like I expected. Next time I’ll try this instead.”

3. Resist the Hyper-Optimization Movement

If you scroll social media long enough, you’ll find them: the hyper-optimizers. They’ve perfected their lives and routines. They wake at 4 a.m. They cold plunge at 5. They eat flawlessly.

The allure of the hyper-optimizers is real for any perfectionist. They reinforce our chosen illusion that perfection is possible.

But according to James Hewitt, human performance scientist, in his book “Regenerative Performance,” the narratives we see reflect the survivorship bias — we hear from those for whom hyper-optimization worked, but the stories of those who “failed” fall silent.

When perfectionist leaders chase rigid systems and fall short, the result is often not improvement but guilt. Instead, Hewitt recommends that us perfectionists replace “obsessive passion” with “harmonious passion” — the healthy side of drive.

When we focus on harmonious passion, we build around our strengths, practice self-compassion and aim for progress, not perfection.

Action Step: Instead of focusing on rigid expectations built around the strengths of others, ask yourself, what’s an area where I excel that I could build around?‍

4. Try the 10 Percent Buffer

One of the ways perfectionist leaders exhaust themselves is by expecting perfect performance all the time. Tasha Eurich, who holds a Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology and author of “Shatterproof,” suggests the 10 Percent Buffer.

“Give yourself permission to be excellent only 90% of the time,” Eurich suggests. “Pick one part of your role, project or identity and ask, ‘Can I give myself permission to be excellent only 90% of the time? Who would even notice?’”

As a leader, leverage your value of excellence strategically. You don’t have to operate at maximum intensity in every task. Ask yourself what areas need your full precision and attention — and where “good enough” is the right strategic choice.

Action Step: Choose one responsibility this week where you intentionally apply the 10% buffer. Maybe you only allow yourself a set amount of time to complete a lower-priority task or one go-through of a low-priority document to check for errors.

5. Claim Your Value — Mistakes and All

For many of us perfectionists, being “perfect” really comes down to identity. It’s how we believe we add value to the world. Never making a mistake, never missing a deadline, never letting anyone down becomes how we validate our worth.

But grounding our worth in our perfection is a lie.

For many leaders of faith, the deepest correction to perfectionism comes from understanding how God defines our worth. He sees all our imperfections. He knows every way we’ve failed. And he loves us anyway. He finds us infinitely valuable. He believed we were worthy of giving everything for.

The Creator of the universe doesn’t assign worth to you according to your ability to perform perfectly — and you shouldn’t either.

Instead of assigning your worth to meeting impossible standards, ask yourself, “How else do I bring value to those around me? What other gifts do I have (other than never failing)?” Maybe you’re a good friend, a good communicator or a wise leader.

This isn’t to reinforce the idea that we have to validate our existence, but rather to remind ourselves that even when we fail, we are valuable.

Action Step: Write down ways you bring value to those around you — that don’t involve never messing up. When you’re being hard on yourself, remember that your value doesn’t come from perfection.

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