Problem-Solving Case Assignment “Its OK Not to be Perfect” – Managing Time and Stress.

Problem-Solving Case Assignment: “It’s OK Not to be Perfect” (pg 171…(369), – Managing Time and Stress. Read the problem-solving case carefully. Using the textbook as your primary source (you are encouraged to use any additional outside sources to provided additional support for your submission), provide your written response to case questions 1, 2, and 3 with complete and supporting information. All references to the textbook, and outside sources must be cited in the body and end of the paper. Respond to the questions in a 2-3 page, double spaced, essay format. DO NOT RESPOND IN A Q & A format. It is recommended that you use headings to indicate how you are responding to each question. Limit the urge to use I, we, they, them, our…Always specify who or what you are writing about. This will cause you to re-word/restructure your sentence.

ive perfectionism the boot
Strive instead to put forth your best effort

by Kellye M. Garrett Posted: November 1, 1998

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Debra Chatman Finley knows no one’s perfect, but it took her years to actually believe it. She fought her way up the corporate ladder for 15 years to become vice president of marketing at Prudential Reinsurance Co./Everest Reinsurance in Liberty Corner, New Jersey, in 1995. But the higher she climbed, the more her self-esteem plummeted.

Rather than being excited about her new six-figure position, Finley, 44, began to internalize the increasing pressures associated with being the highest-ranking African American in a largely white company. She did more than outperform her white counterparts–she secretly vowed to never make a mistake in front of them. When things didn’t go exactly as planned, she would get depressed, then force herself to work even harder.

Late nights and weekends in the office were a regular part of Finley’s routine. She literally studied for meetings, hoping to eliminate any possible chance for error. “My work was a large part of my identity,” she says. “How well I performed determined how good I felt about myself.”

“Perfectionism can be an obsessive-compulsive disorder that causes the sufferer to believe he or she must do everything right,” says Daniel E. Williams, Ph.D., a clinical psychologist in East Orange, New Jersey. “Subsequently, perfectionists put undue stress on themselves to do everything perfectly, which, of course, is impossible.”

After watching her stress levels skyrocket, Finley quit her job last year and sought professional counseling. “Now I’m not afraid to make mistakes if I know I’ve done my best,” says Finley, who used her time to earn a master’s degree in psychology from the College of St. Elizabeth in Morristown, New Jersey. “Sometimes I can even find pleasure or humor in my shortcomings–it’s such a relief. I no longer feel the need to be perfect. Having shortcomings is OK.”

If you’re battling perfectionist tendencies, consider these simple suggestions from the State University of New York Potsdam Counseling Center:

Set realistic goals.
Focus on the process of getting things done–not just the end result.
Understand that you can’t learn and move forward without making some mistakes.
Avoid all-or-nothing thinking in relation to your goals.
Use feelings of anxiety and depression as opportunities to ask yourself, “Have I set up impossible expectations for myself in this situation?”
Confront the fears behind your perfectionism by asking yourself, “What’s the worst thing that can happen?”

Questions 1 2 3 below

1 What warning signs might have suggested to Finely that her goals for her performance is unrealistically high?

2. How do you handle your mistakes? Do you think your strategy adds stress to your life, and if so, how can you improve it?

3. Imagine how it would feel to work with a perfectionist. Taking on each of the following roles, write a summary of the concerns you would have wanted to express to finley while she worked for Prudential/everest

a. finely’s supervisor
b. One of finely’s colleagues
c. an employee finely supervised

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