Excellence is not an option

Sometimes we need to strive for perfection

I have come across several business management posts about the dangers of striving for perfection - how it is fine to deliver content, perhaps a slide deck, a whole project, or maybe a manuscript, at a level that is anywhere between 70-85% of what the deliverable would be in its most ‘excellent' form. The idea is to deliver ‘fast and furious’, to be wary of the ‘damaging effects of perfectionism’ in order to minimise derailing the business achieving its strategy and realising goals in a timely fashion.

How do we become good at what we do if we don’t have a chance to practice excellence?

I don’t disagree with this premise, it can be very useful in some instances to produce drafts that can be the shared with the team, and collectively refined and revised with a level of input that can really achieve the intended outcome. But - what about the times when your manager has empowered you to own a project, to take accountability for delivering on behalf of your team, to lead this work. Is it OK then to produce something that is maybe only 70% of what you are a capable of, just to get it done?

How does this work in Medical Affairs? Many of us have medical or deep scientific backgrounds. When performing surgery I don’t recall ever giving a 70% effort to the procedure, I gave it my all and treated it as a privilege and learning opportunity each time. Similarly, when tasked and entrusted with a project in Medical Affairs roles I try to apply a level of thought and attention such that is at least my 99% effort that I am sharing with my manager or team. I believe we owe this level of excellence to our doctors, patients and carers who use our products or devices in the same way a surgeon treats her/his patients.

A valuable life lesson

In 2012 I learnt a very valuable lesson from my PhD co-supervisor, the late Professor Stephen D Lawn. He reviewed a draft manuscript that I had written - admittedly a 70% effort - and commented that he was really looking for a level of excellence in my work which he knew I was capable of, but that he hadn't seen in this work. My response was petulance, I felt annoyed and perhaps embarrassed that he had recognised this wasn't my best effort, and therefore by definition, would not be my best work. I replied this was just a first draft and that the next one would improve; his patient response "Sophia, excellence is not an option, we need to deliver it in everything we do no matter how small or big or whoever the audience might be". I heeded his advice and never looked back - and defended my PhD thesis without corrections.

Paying excellence forward

I try and instill this idea in the teams I work with and those I lead. Another great lesson I received was from a Medical Director in my first industry role. I sent him a slide deck that I felt was at least a 99% effort and found that he returned it with so many comments. At first I was upset, annoyed - how could he find fault in my near perfect effort?! Then I realized the gift he had shared with me - his time and effort to review my work and to give his feedback. Once I viewed his comments with positive intent I realized that someone giving their time and experience to help me to improve was magical. It would have been far easier for him to make some trite, positive comments and for us to move on 'fast and furious', instead I had the opportunity to keep learning. Once a team member gave an impressive 'eye roll' when I reviewed her work, making several comments and suggestions. My response to the eye roll was that it would be far easier and certainly take less time for me to make the revisions, but how could we cultivate excellence together? She now pays this ethos forwards with her direct reports, sans eye roll I believe.

If we truly want to be excellent as Medical Affairs professionals, as people who are entrusted with delivering robust and credible science, shouldn't we cultivate an ethos of excellence together, striving for 100% every time? Or at least we take it upon ourselves to put in 99% effort and perhaps share the 1% with the team so we all take our work to the next level?