Coaching clients who self-identify as perfectionists typically have high standards and expect top-quality work from themselves and the people around them. However, they can also be overbearing, demanding and unhappy if those “perfect” standards are not met. Consequently, they can hinder their own progress.

Coaches need to take a nuanced approach when dealing with clients who think of themselves as perfectionists. To help, a panel of 14 Forbes Coaches Council members shared their best advice on how to help recovering perfectionists get out of their own way and start moving forward.

1. Help Them Build Trust In Themselves

I support clients who self-identify as perfectionists. I am a recovering one myself. Perfectionism is a strength overused. In the extreme, it is a sabotaging behavior in leadership and life. But often, the behavior is more about the person’s internal fear and lack of trust. For effective leadership, learning to build trust in themselves and others is nonnegotiable. - Jodie Charlop, Exceleration Partners

2. Compare Their Priorities To How They Spend Their Time

Perfectionism is not a singular condition. Different life experiences can be instrumental in shaping a client’s mindset. What many perfectionists do have in common is that they may spend more time “getting it perfect” than “getting to it” at all. I ask my perfectionism-driven clients to consider their priorities compared to how they spend their time. Often, that is out of sync. - Karyn Gallant, Gallant Consulting Group

3. Encourage Strategic Perfectionism

Successful leaders are strategic perfectionists. Help a perfectionist client choose to activate their perfectionism trait strategically, where it has the maximum upside. In all other cases, they should notice their default pattern of aiming for perfection and build an intervention so that they are not unnecessarily draining their energy and resources. - Shefali Raina, Alpha Lane Partners

4. Identify The Root Cause Of Their Beliefs

Working with self-proclaimed perfectionists requires identifying the root cause of their beliefs. Often, early experiences in childhood with an overbearing parent, or as a young adult with an overbearing boss, may have contributed to a perfectionist mentality. Once the root belief system is identified, only then can it be addressed. Perfectionism is the enemy of progress and performance. - Lori A. Manns, Quality Media Consultant Group LLC

5. Ask Them To Define ‘Perfection’ And ‘Success’

Ask your clients to define what they consider to be “perfection” and what they consider to be “success.” For example, if they’re more concerned with doing everything their way on their own than with getting things done well and consistently, they may be better suited to doing those things themselves. If we can find a happy middle ground between their desires and perfection, we can move forward. - Anna-Vija McClain, Piccolo Marketing

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6. Have Them Focus On Building Trust In Others

The worst decision is to make no decision; and leaders who are perfectionists have a distinctive fear of being wrong. This fear, if left unchecked, can lead to less innovation and slow decision making, which makes it challenging to realize the full return on those decisions. In these cases, it is important to focus the leader on building trust and confidence in others to offer advice and help make decisions. - Brad Cousins, Ingage Human Capital Strategies

7. Walk Them Through Worst-Case Scenarios

Perfectionists sometimes come from a place of fear or anxiety. I often hear, “What if X happens?” I use worst-case scenario questions, such as, “What’s the worst that could happen?” and scaling questions, such as, “If you get a nine out of 10 on this project, what will happen?” Getting them to see another perspective can get them out of their head, and even laughing at the extreme standard they are trying to beat. - Susan Sadler, Sadler Communications LLC

8. Educate, Educate, Educate

Perfectionism is actually nothing to brag about if you understand what it is and how it actually halts positive gains and effective performance. Many tools and resources are available, particularly for women, to help them learn about and understand their perfectionism. Elements of perfectionism can be helpful in doing excellent work, but other elements can hold people back. - Susan Madsen, Jon M. Huntsman School of Business

9. Talk In Terms Of Progress Instead Of Perfection

When working with a perfectionist, I have found it most effective to talk in terms of progress, not perfection. Once they’ve realized their tendencies toward perfection, you can start shifting their mindset toward making progress instead of continuing to embrace an all-or-nothing ideal. Then I help them take small, actionable steps that can be replicated over time and will lead to progress. - Jon Dwoskin, The Jon Dwoskin Experience

10. Listen Deeply To Gain Trust And Build Empathy

I start with deeper listening to match a client’s energy, as well as to notice when it’s the right time to introduce subliminal empathy. As I gain trust with a “never good enough” leader, they become aware of their deeper need for acceptance. With patience, I extend restorative energy to co-create deeper realms of connection. They realize that “good enough” is an exciting world to explore! - Ruth Simone, Luminare Coaching & Consulting

11. Promote ‘Agile Perfectionism’

I promote the concept of “agile perfectionism.” First, they must accept that perfectionism isn’t always a good thing and understand why; if they can’t do this, they have a mental block. You have to break through that first. Being agile means being okay with submitting something that is less than perfect, yet still working to improve the end product until it is no longer viable to improve it through further effort. - John Knotts, Crosscutter Enterprises

12. Look At The Costs And Benefits

Each person who self-identifies as a perfectionist has their own unique meaning attached to it. I enable them to understand what that meaning is, analyze the cost and the benefit of having this tendency in their life, understand whether this level of perfectionism is required and help them grant themselves permission to dismantle it. It can be a lengthy process, but the relief of unburdening themselves from it is palpable and empowering. - Arthi Rabikrisson, Prerna Advisory

13. Explore Where They Learned It

Perfectionism is a learned behavior. It is a result of beliefs deeply rooted in our subconscious mind. Perfectionism usually stems from the feeling that they are not good enough. I work with my clients using a hybrid coaching model to help them understand where the belief is coming from. Then we can work on rewiring their brain to create new neural pathways that support positive change and promote lasting, positive behavior. - Melanie Towey, Melanie Anne, LLC

14. Strengthen Self-Love And Belief In Their Own Work

What people refer to as “perfectionism” is, more often than not, an expression of fear. It is hard to expose oneself to criticism. It is hard to put your work out into the world and risk being ridiculed for it. The way to work with that is to show a lot of empathy and strengthen the person’s self-love and belief in their own work. It also helps to be aware that not every critic’s voice counts. - Rajeev Shroff, Cupela Consulting