The Coach: How the light gets in – in praise of imperfection

I went to see the new Leonard Cohen documentary last weekend. The film weaves his life and song writing history together and features many of his lyrics, including these:

Ring the bells that still can ring

Forget your perfect offering

There is a crack, a crack in everything

That’s how the light gets in.

The last two lines have always resonated with me. They often feature in the Step Up leadership development programmes I run with Rachel Birchmore. We use them primarily to introduce participants to the idea that everyone is capable of change.

No one is perfect and our ability to learn and develop throughout our lives is one of the things that make us human. It’s a central principle of coaching work and a reason why we are wary of most psychometric testing models. They can pigeon-hole people into believing that they are already the finished article and diminish the opportunities that exist to change and grow. To allow the light to get in.

Cohen’s words reminded me of the Japanese art of kintsuki meaning “to join with gold”

Last weekend, though, I thought more about the meaning Cohen attached to those words, particularly the second line. It suggests that any creative endeavour is doomed to be imperfect, and therein lies not only its beauty but its potential to be made better.

Cohen’s words reminded me of the Japanese art of kintsuki meaning “to join with gold”. In this tradition, which dates back 500 years, broken ceramics are adorned with a lacquer mixed with powdered gold. The technique highlights imperfections rather than hiding them. It teaches calm when a cherished piece of pottery breaks and reminds us of the beauty of human fragility.

The problem is that the pursuit of perfection is often lauded in the creative industries. After all, it has led to some of the most astonishing feats of human endeavour and creative masterpieces. Architecture is no exception. In a 2009 article, Frank Gehry acknowledged his own perfectionist tendencies and said that “The hand on the tiller is pretty firm all the way to the end.”

As coaches, we often work with people who have a strong ‘be perfect’ driver. In the world of design and architecture this can present as one or both of two beliefs: The first is that nothing is ever finished to a satisfactory level; the second is that no-one can do that thing as well as we can.

Extreme perfectionism comes at a high personal price

The first can result in many excess hours of tinkering or working up to the wire on every deadline. The second can make it hard for people to let go, or delegate, which denies other people the opportunity to shine.

Extreme perfectionism comes at a high personal price. It’s a way of being that encourages ‘all or nothing’ thinking and allows for no margin for error. It can lead to high levels of anxiety and feelings of inadequacy in yourself and can be very de-motivating for your colleagues.

Those who work for perfectionists may feel an absence of joy in the journey. The working atmosphere around them can be highly negative, with a focus on flaws rather than progress. People in this situation may even find that the perfectionist’s expectation of work that isn’t up to scratch becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, sometimes called the Golem effect, leading to sub-par work and even more errors. After all, what is the point of striving towards perfection if you are never going to get there?

If you aim high, then learning to embrace imperfection may be one of the toughest but most rewarding things you ever do

If you suspect that you are a perfectionist leader, recognising the impact of this is the first step towards doing something about it. You do not need to let it control your behaviour or the way you manage your team. Focus instead on the positive steps you can take to make sure that it doesn’t negatively impact the people who work for you. Try these things.

• Consciously move away from micro-managing. Start by letting go of low-risk tasks and notice what happens. When people are given ownership of these, how do they respond?
• Consider how you react when mistakes are made. Are you creating an atmosphere in which people are frightened to fail? Are mistakes treated as learning experiences, or as metaphorical sticks to beat people with?
• Celebrate the milestones. If you find it hard not to think that perfection is always out of reach, make sure that you recognise that people are taking steps in the right direction and reward them for it.
• Remember to focus on strengths and opportunities, more than problems and weaknesses. Too much attention on the latter can stifle the very creativity and innovation you want to encourage.

If you aim high, then learning to embrace imperfection may be one of the toughest but most rewarding things you ever do. It may also help to create an environment in which the light not only gets in but results in the creation of a masterpiece.