When it’s okay to be a control freak

Nobody wants to work with a control freak who micromanages and makes you feel like nothing is good enough. But the following are some non-negotiables that in my view you must give yourself permission to be a ‘control freak’ on.

Pursuing excellence: Excellence isn’t about being perfect. It’s being your best, raising the bar by setting and achieving new levels of performance. Understanding your areas of great competence and working to excel in them. Practice continuous improvement and find someone you trust to give you meaningful feedback.

Holding yourself accountable: The essence of accountability is integrity, taking ownership of what you are responsible for and persevering to produce the best possible results even in the face of any twists and hurdles you encounter. Being accountable means you give up your right to make excuses. You face your choices and the repercussions that come with it, own up to your mistakes and be a person of your word always.

Having high ethical standards: This isn’t only about following accepted rules of conduct but also being your own person so that you are not swayed here and there. Ethical standards include doing the right thing especially when it’s hard, not having ‘multiple personalities’ so that people know who they are dealing with when interacting with you, are clear about what you stand for and can be trusted to do the proper thing every time.

Not playing victim: When you do this you assume the world is fair and spend time wondering why something happened to you. Reflect on that if you must but don’t remain there. Can you stop that thing from happening again? What could you have controlled and what not?. The longer you stay in the ‘why me’ zone the more difficult it’ll be to get out.

Now take action: What are your non-negotiables?