Norton: The perfect imperfection of us
Last week, I shared a piece titled “The perfect imperfection of a 5-year-old’s playroom,” reflecting on my grandson and how his seemingly chaotic playtime revealed a hidden beauty. His natural flow and spontaneity opened my eyes to how imperfection can be a gateway to creativity and joy.
This week, I want to explore that same thought through a wider lens: our human imperfections and how, in striving for perfection, we may unintentionally hinder our creativity, ingenuity, and growth.
Whether at home, in our careers, or leading teams, many of us have fallen into the trap of chasing perfection. We set out with grand plans, meticulously crafted strategies, and polished expectations. And yet, life has a funny way of reminding us that the best-laid plans often go awry, and more often than not, it’s in those imperfect moments that something new and beautiful emerges.
Let’s take a cue from the current football season, where highlight reels capture what seems like perfect plays, the perfect pass, the perfect block, the perfect catch. But often, the plays that truly stand out are the ones that are far from perfect. A missed block or a broken play can end in the most thrilling, unexpected touchdown.
These moments weren’t planned. In fact, they were born out of improvisation, quick thinking, and sometimes just sheer luck. And yet, those plays are remembered because they reveal the players’ resilience, adaptability, and ingenuity.
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Much like those broken plays, we often find ourselves rerouted or delayed from our meticulously planned paths in life and our work. My wife and I recently took a road trip that GPS perfectly mapped out. Everything was set until we hit a detour because a bridge was closed. Our perfect plan was disrupted.
We were initially frustrated, but as GPS recalibrated, it guided us down a side road we would never have chosen otherwise. That detour brought us through some of the most breathtaking fall foliage I’d ever seen, and in that moment, I was reminded of the value of life’s detours.
We often experience similar detours in our personal and professional lives. Projects don’t go as expected, meetings go off course, or presentations don’t land how we hoped. But new ideas can be born in those moments of imperfection. Suppose we embrace these broken plays and detours and allow ourselves and our teams the freedom to explore them. In that case, we often find innovative solutions we wouldn’t have discovered if everything had gone perfectly.
As leaders, whether in the workplace or at home, we are often guilty of placing too much emphasis on perfection. We expect flawless execution from ourselves and those we lead. But the truth is, holding on too tightly to perfectionism can stifle creativity and dampen morale. It can create an environment where people are afraid to take risks and where failure, an essential part of growth, is avoided at all costs.
In reality, no one is perfect. Even those who seem to have it all together have moments where things don’t go as planned. And that’s OK. It’s better than OK. It’s necessary.
A missed deadline or a failed project isn’t the end of the world; it’s an opportunity to learn, recalibrate, and discover a new way forward. Perfection doesn’t leave room for creativity, but imperfection does.
The challenge for us as individuals, especially as leaders, is to create spaces where imperfection is tolerated and embraced. How often has an employee come to you with a broken play of their own, only to find that a new idea was born in the process of “fixing” the issue? Maybe it’s a suggestion that turns a slight mishap into a breakthrough, or perhaps it’s a creative solution to a problem that seemed unsolvable.
Maybe as we move through this football season, let’s not just cheer for the perfect plays but also for the broken ones. In life, let’s embrace the idea that perfection is not the goal. The goal is to learn, grow, and appreciate the perfect imperfection of being human.
As always, I would love to hear your story at gotonorton@gmail.com. And when we can innovate and improvise in an imperfect world, it really will be a better-than-good life.
Michael Norton is an author, a personal and professional coach, consultant, trainer, encourager, and motivator of individuals and businesses, working with organizations and associations across multiple industries.
