Perfectionists

You know this person…everything for them needs to be perfect. It’s about dotting every i and crossing every t unless, of course, they should be formatted differently for some reason. Across many professions (think computer programming and surgeons) and kinds of work (think editing and publishing), being a perfectionist is really a valuable skill. There are also times when perfectionism gets in the way. Consider projects that go uncompleted or are excessively delayed because they are never considered good enough.

Over the years, as I have met and worked with different people, and clearly, some people are just not perfectionists. They usually have other strengths- they may be very artistic, creative or out of the box thinkers.

It’s important give each person tasks that match their strengths. There are jobs that require perfectionism. There’s no point in asking someone who is not a perfectionist to write a computer program or edit something. They would probably struggle, and still end up not doing a great job. Do you know the perfectionists in your classroom? The earlier students understand their own strengths and areas for growth, the better they become at collaboration and teamwork.

How do you help students understand their strengths and build on them?

Learn more…Take a course