For everyone
The Perfectionist
Instinctive centre · Types 8, 9 and 1 operate first from instinct: action, territory, survival.
“That's not right, it needs to be redone properly.”
The type
His core motivation
To be right, upright and beyond reproach. Type 1 wants to do things well, and even to do good: he is driven by an ideal of quality and integrity that he applies first of all to himself.
His great fear
To be at fault, corrupt or condemnable. His dread: making a mistake, doing things badly, or discovering that he is not up to his own standards.
His desire
To be a good, upright and balanced person, whose conduct cannot be criticised in any way.
His compulsion: what he avoids at all costs
Avoiding error. Everything is run through an inner judge who constantly compares reality to what it should be.
His passion (his dominant emotion)
Anger, most often held in: a permanent irritation against the imperfection of the world, of others and of himself.
His virtue (his quality when he is at his best)
Serenity: accepting things as they are, without giving up on improving them.
His belief that runs on a loop
Resentment: brooding over what is wrong instead of acting or letting go.
His strengths
- A keen sense of quality and detail
- Integrity, reliability, keeping his word
- A great capacity for work and organisation
- A sense of responsibility and fairness
His watch points
- A very harsh inner judge, towards himself as towards others
- Difficulty delegating without checking
- A tendency to postpone pleasure until “after duty”
- Rigidity when the rule becomes more important than the goal
His comfort zone
In an orderly environment, with clear rules, explicit quality criteria and the feeling of duty accomplished. The 1 relaxes when everything is in its place and no one can hold anything against him.
In a real-life situation
In an association, he is the one who proofreads the brochure before it is sent and spots the only spelling mistake, then stays late to fix the layout. Everyone complains, and everyone is very glad on the day of the presentation.
His movements: integration and disintegration
When secure, he integrates1 → 7
The Epicurean
When secure, the 1 opens up to Type 7: he becomes lighter, more spontaneous and joyful, able to enjoy the moment and to accept that “good enough” is sometimes perfect.
Under stress, he disintegrates1 → 4
The Romantic
Under prolonged stress, the 1 slides towards Type 4: he becomes gloomy, compares himself, feels misunderstood and different, and broods over everything he lacks instead of acting.
Wing 9 · The Mediator
The 9 wing softens the 1: more diplomatic, more patient, less frontal in criticism, he chooses his battles.
Wing 2 · The Altruist
The 2 wing makes the 1 warmer and more turned towards others: he gladly helps and advises, sometimes in a slightly directive way.
How to communicate with him
Do
- Be precise, factual and logical: state the criteria and deadlines clearly
- Acknowledge work well done, with concrete examples
- Offer your criticisms constructively, in private, with a path to improvement
Avoid
- Approximations and vague promises, which he spots immediately
- Criticising him in public: he experiences it as an injustice
- Talking down to him or joking about his values
His verbiage: his typical phrases
At work
A model colleague on quality and processes. Excellent in control, auditing, continuous improvement, wherever rigour counts. He benefits from learning that a “good” deliverable handed in on time is often worth more than a perfect deliverable delivered late.