1. All-or-Nothing Thinking - Perfectionists, like Excellent People, tend to set high goals and work hard toward them. However, an Excellent Person can be satisfied with doing a great job and achieving excellence (or something close), even if their very high goals aren't completely met. Perfectionists will accept nothing less than, well, perfection. 'Almost perfect' is seen as failure. 
2. Critical Eye - Perfectionists are far more critical of themselves and of others than are Excellent People. While Excellent People take pride in their accomplishments and tend to be supportive of others, perfectionists tend to spot tiny mistakes and imperfections in their work and in themselves, as well as in others and their work. They hone in on these imperfections and have trouble seeing anything else, and they're more judgmental and hard on themselves and on others when 'failure' does occur.
3. "Push" vs. "Pull" thinking - Excellent People tend to be pulled toward their goals by a desire to achieve them, and are happy with any steps made in the right direction. Perfectionists, on the other hand, tend to be pushed toward their goals by a fear of not reaching them, and see anything less than a perfectly met goal as a failure.
4. Unrealistic Standards - Unfortunately, a perfectionist's goals aren't always even reasonable. While Excellent People can set their goals high, perhaps enjoying the fun of going a little further once goals are reached, perfectionists often set their initial goals out of reach. Because of this, Excellent People tend to be not only happier, but more successful than perfectionists in the pursuit of their goals.
5. Focus on Results -Excellent People can enjoy the process of chasing a goal as much or more than the actual reaching of the goal itself. Conversely, perfectionists see the goal and nothing else. They're so concerned about meeting the goal and avoiding the dreaded failure that they can't enjoy the process of growing and striving. 
    
6. (for the rest of the list, email me and ask for the handout on "Discovering Excellence")

 Understanding your employee and co-worker's behavior is critical to success. Stop wondering and learn how and why people act the way they do and how to manage and work with them for success.

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