The other day, I sat in a strategy meeting with one of my long-term clients a leadership team overseeing a skilled labor operation.
What made this meeting different?
They finally woke up.
After months of coaching and nudging, they’re now taking real action:
- They’re leveraging tools like ChatGPT to improve workflows.
- They’re meeting regularly with clear strategic focus.
But something came up that I hear all too often especially from owners and senior leaders in skilled trades:
“We can’t post on social media unless it’s perfect. That’s our face out there.”
That statement stopped me in my tracks not because it was new, but because it’s so common. Perfectionism, especially among high-performing leaders, is a hidden drag on growth.
And I told them plainly:
Perfection is the enemy.
The Trap of Perfection
When we chase perfection, we hesitate. We delay.
We rework things over and over again.
We avoid putting ourselves or our brand out there until every detail is flawless.
But in the skilled trades and in leadership generally you don’t grow by being perfect.
You grow by taking action.
By learning in the field.
By getting a little better every single day.
That’s not perfection.
That’s excellence.
The Power of Progress
So, what does excellence look like?
- Excellence is progress over polish.
- Excellence is momentum, not paralysis.
- Excellence is built on reflection and adjustment not delay.
And perhaps most powerfully, excellence is measurable over time.
As James Clear puts it in Atomic Habits:
“If you get 1 percent better each day for one year, you’ll end up thirty-seven times better by the time you’re done.”
Let that sink in.
Not 37% better.
37x better.
That’s the compound power of progress over perfection.
Leading Skilled Teams with a Better Mindset
If you’re leading skilled workers, you already understand the rhythm of learning through doing.
Your team doesn’t become masters of their craft by waiting until everything’s just right.
They get there through repetition, refinement, and real-world feedback.
The same applies to leadership.
To marketing.
To communication.
To innovation.
You don’t need to be perfect.
You just need to be a little better than you were yesterday.
Final Thought
There’s a time to prepare and a time to move.
Most of the growth happens when you’re in motion.
So the question isn’t: Is this perfect?
The real question is: Is this a step forward?
What’s one small improvement you or your team made this week?
Let’s share and learn from each other your 1% might be the spark someone else needs.
If you’re feeling stuck trying to lead your team forward, I can help.
Take the free T.R.I.P. Assessment to get a quick snapshot of where your leadership roadblocks may be:
https://trip.henrychidgey.com
Or if you’d rather talk it through,
book a free Clarity Call no pressure, just perspective: gpt.henrychidgey.com
#Leadership #SkilledTrades #ExcellenceOverPerfection #AtomicHabits #MindsetShift #GrowthLeadership #LeadFromTheFront #CoachingForLeaders