Why “Good Enough” Beats Perfection in Leadership: The Case for 60%

As leaders, a big part of our role is the pursuit of perfection. We seek impenetrable levels of team alignment, we craft thoughtful proposals where no detail goes unnoticed, we pick apart external comms until we have a V10 that we feel good about. In short, we have a vision for the potential of each and every project. Vision is a prerequisite of good leadership, of course, but what if our perfectionist mindset gone unchecked is actually holding us back?

Perfection can feel an altruistic endeavor, but in practice, it often gets in the way of progress. The most meaningful progress usually begins when we move forward without waiting for 100% certainty. This will be upsetting for all the high achievers out there, but the truth is, sometimes results that fall short of 100% are enough. 

This isn’t about settling for mediocrity, it’s about giving up the fruitless chase for perfection. There’s a lot of room for success when we embrace the middle of the bell curve and aim for 60% consensus; 60% provides enough alignment to build momentum, and enough friction to leave room for iteration and future growth. 

This month, we’re spotlighting three frameworks that challenge the myth of perfection in the workplace: Chris Brooks’s proximity grid, Tom Seamand’s 60% rule, and David Glasgow’s traffic light matrix. The three leaders recently spoke at our Institute at Lone Rock Retreat, and we couldn’t help but notice a trend: although it may not have been the focus of their session, each spotlighted a practical way to balance speed and rigor, as well as conviction and adaptability. We hope these frameworks will help you consider where you might trade perfection for purposeful forward motion in your own leadership journey.

Tom Seamands, former Lieutenant General of the U.S. Army and current Senior Principal at McChrystal Group, shared a recommendation with attendees to look for consensus from folks who are part of the “60%.” As Tom put it, “If you take 100% of people, the top 20% will probably agree with what you’re doing…the bottom 20% are never going to get on board. The 60% in the middle is who you go to.” Rather than striving for full consensus or swinging too far on either side of a decision, Tom urges leaders to focus on the balanced insights of the middle and build momentum there first. The goal isn’t perfect alignment but continuous forward motion by empowering the majority who can be moved.

For his keynote address, David Glasgow introduced a “traffic light” framework to evaluate the legal risk of various DEI initiatives, based on his insights as Executive Director of the Meltzer Center for Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging at NYU. Red programs carry high legal and social risk and should be approached with caution. Green programs are safe, but often conservative and low-impact. The most strategic zone is yellow: programs that involve some risk but are calculated, thoughtful, and aligned with organizational values. Instead of retreating into the safety of the green zone or being too bold in the red, David challenged leaders to operate confidently in yellow, where great impact can be made. 

Inspired by his work as Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Clarendon Capital Ventures, Dr. Chris Brooks shared a proximity grid (shown below) to help leaders understand and segment stakeholders by empathy and proximity: from “Distant and Unmoved” in red to “Close and Moved” in green. When mobilizing new partners, the focus, he suggests, should be on those in yellow—the “Distant but Moved” and “Close but Unmoved” cohorts. Stakeholders in the yellow quadrants can be moved into action through data (to bring people closer to the issue) and storytelling (to increase people’s empathy). Rather than spending energy on the immovable red or spending too much energy on green, focus on moving the middle toward alignment and action can help us form new partnerships that wouldn’t have otherwise been possible. 

Although it’s a noble effort to strive for perfection, great leaders can discern when 60% is, in fact, enough. Progress often beats perfection, and discerning which efforts need precision versus those that benefit from momentum and iteration is a critical skill.

For more leadership insights, head to our website to download the full Lone Rock Impact Report—a report full of over 55 leadership insights from all of our Lone Rock Retreat speakers.

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