After months of patient work on and off, I’m 99% complete. The entire scene is assembled except for three stubborn purple pieces that refuse to fit anywhere. I’ve tried every combination, shifted flowers from one section to another, convinced there’s a solution if I just find the right angle.
This morning, staring at those final pieces, I recognised something familiar. The same feeling I’ve had countless times in my corporate career when grappling with seemingly unsolvable problems. That relentless pursuit of the perfect solution, even when diminishing returns have clearly set in.
Here’s what I’ve learned about the law of diminishing returns in leadership: sometimes that final 1% of completion demands 80% of your remaining time and energy. The question isn’t whether you can solve it. It’s whether you should.
As women leaders, we’re often perfectionists by nature. We’ve been conditioned to prove ourselves by going above and beyond, by never leaving anything unfinished. But what if our pursuit of completion is actually keeping us from making progress on things that truly matter?
In my work with women leaders, I see this pattern repeatedly. Brilliant women spending weeks perfecting a presentation that was already excellent, or endlessly refining strategies that are ready to implement. Meanwhile, opportunities for real impact are diminished or lost.
The most successful leaders I know have mastered the art of ‘strategic incompletion’. They recognise when good enough is actually perfect for the moment, freeing their energy for the work that creates lasting change.
My puzzle will remain 99% complete, and that’s perfectly fine. Sometimes the wisest decision is knowing when to step away from the table and focus on what truly makes the biggest difference.
What are you pursuing to completion that might be better left at ‘good enough’ so you can focus on your real impact?
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