Personalities: Do You Know Someone Who Lives for Perfectionism?
By Chris Hammond, MS, IMH
Perfect Pete comes home after analyzing the best route to
get there the fastest during rush hour traffic.
He is disappointed that no one notices he saved two minutes by taking a
new route and can’t believe the lack of attention to detail by his family. After all, there is the right way to come
home which takes the least amount of time and then there are the several wrong
ways to come home which take more time.
And he has found the best. “Why
can’t they appreciate the difference between the right way and the wrong way?”
he mutters, “Life would be so much easier if everyone did everything the right
way.” Not only does he have to work with
people who don’t care about quality, but now he has to live with them as
well. It is enough to send him in a sour
mood as once again he is alone in his rightness. He spends the rest of the evening barely
talking to his family because not only did they not realize he was home early,
when he finally told them about it they were totally unimpressed and even made
fun of him.
Sound familiar? If so, then your someone is a “C” in the DISC
personality profile which is “Conscientious”.
Their motto in life is to “Get it done right”, for them quality not only
matters but it is the most important element.
There will be no shortcuts with this personality as they take a long
time to make a decision because they analyze every last detail from every angle
they can find. For them, they want to be
known as a person who is cautious, calculated, detail-oriented, and thorough. But all of this perfectionism comes at a
cost as they default to moody, arrogant and self-righteous behaviors. As a profession, they make excellent
attorneys, artists, doctors, engineers, accountants and pilots. Basically any profession which demands
accuracy is a natural fit for their personality.
As a Spouse. Having a spouse with this personality can be
frustrating as they are not likely to accept your opinion of what is right and
what is wrong with a long and drawn out fight.
The only way to win an argument with this personality is to dig your
heals in the sand and don’t give ground.
This group sees giving ground as a weakness in your thinking. On the positive side, they should be managing
all of your finances as they make excellent, however frustrating, financial
planners. If the decision does not need
to be made right away, let them research it as you know they will find the best
possible choice and you will not be disappointed with the results.
As a Friend. Be prepared to be confronted in a not so nice
manner with a laundry list of all of your flaws. The good news is that they don’t sugar coat
anything so you can count on them to be as straight as an arrow with you and
usually sarcastic to boot. While they
will spend time splitting pennies over a halved dinner check, they will not be
the one to pick up the phone and call you to go somewhere. If they are your friend, you will have to be
the social director but the good news is that if they don’t want to do
something, they will let you know. The
bad news is that they will never let you forget a bad time or a mistake.
As a Co-Worker. Be on guard because they will intentionally
lose you in the details in an effort to out-smart, out-think and out-analyze
you. They are not doing this because
they are competitive; rather they are doing this because they are convinced
that they are right and want to make sure that you know it and appreciate it. If they have designed a process, then rest
assured that it is good but if you have designed a process, then they will find
the flaw and point it out at nauseam.
Don’t give this personality a deadline as they are sure to change it
because, well let’s just say they have a ton of “because’s” and they are
usually right. However, if the project
requires a level of perfectionism, give it to them and it will be perfect.
As a Child. It starts early with demanding that everyone
play by their own rules even if the rules are not the real rules but the ones
the child made up. You see, this child
knows how to write better rules then the maker of the game so make sure you
know “their rules” and are playing by them or they will throw a fit. It is usually their way or the highway and
while they don’t have fully developed analytical skills yet, they can be pretty
convincing as to why you should do things their way. Don’t give in, just listen and praise them
for the suggestion, but do not argue.
This is a pointless venture which will only alienate you from your child
in the future.
This personality knows all of the “whys” to nearly every
question because they have already asked, researched, and analyzed the
answers. Their attention to detail makes
them quite gifted, excellent musicians, careful surgeons, and fiscally
responsible adults. So if you come
across a Perfect Pete don’t run away, instead let them manage a detailed
project following all of their suggestions and everything will be just fine.
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"Reprinted with permission from the LifeWorks Group weekly eNews, (Copyright, 2004-2012), To subscribe to this valuable counseling and coaching resource visit www.LifeWorksGroup.org or call 407-647-7005"
About the author- Chris Hammond is a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern at LifeWorks Group w/ over 15 years of experience as a counselor, mentor & teacher for children, teenagers & adults.
"Reprinted with permission from the LifeWorks Group weekly eNews, (Copyright, 2004-2012), To subscribe to this valuable counseling and coaching resource visit www.LifeWorksGroup.org or call 407-647-7005"
About the author- Chris Hammond is a Registered Mental Health Counselor Intern at LifeWorks Group w/ over 15 years of experience as a counselor, mentor & teacher for children, teenagers & adults.