When I was a kid, my dad often gave me math exercises to solve. He called them ‘math problems’, how true! This was over and beyond the regular homework I got given from school. Yes, I was very fortunate to have the best dad in the world, God bless him!
The first thing I struggled with back then was why I had to do more work at home, after I had already completed my school homework. To add to my struggle, when I solved his math problems my dad had this habit of asking me to find a different way of solving the same problem. I really struggled with understanding why he asked me to do so. I was thinking to myself, ‘hey, but I already solved the problem – isn’t that enough?’ My dad’s response was, ‘I’m more interested in the steps you take to solve a problem rather than the answer.’
Later in life I appreciated why he was doing this.
His goal was to help me develop alternative solutions to a problem, which would empower me to choose between the alternative solutions.
Great leaders adopt this mentality where they believe that the first answer is not always the best answer. On the flip side, great leaders also know when an answer is good enough. Such leaders ensure their people do not continue trying to refine a solution to the nth degree, for minimal gain. A great leader is acutely aware of the distinction between ‘good enough’ and ‘perfection.’ She is excellent at communicating this distinction to her people, in a way that the organisation will embrace seeking perfection, while simultaneously being excellent at recognising when the ‘good enough’ solution has been reached.
Great leaders know to seek perfection without requiring perfection.
GAICD, M.Comp (Monash)
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